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User Guide

Workflow overview | Substance 3D Designer

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Substance 3D Designer

Substance 3D Designer

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  1. Substance 3D home
  2. User guide
  3. Glossary
  4. Getting started
    1. Getting started
    2. Activation and licenses
    3. System requirements
    4. Overview
      1. Overview
      2. What is a Substance 3D file?
    5. Workflow overview
    6. Shortcuts
    7. Tutorials & learning
  5. Workspace
    1. Workspace
    2. Customizing your workspace
    3. Home screen
    4. Main toolbar
    5. Preferences
      1. Preferences
      2. Project settings
      3. Version control
    6. Explorer
      1. Explorer
      2. Send to... / Interoperability
    7. Graph view
      1. Graph view
      2. Link creation modes
      3. Node finder
      4. Node alignment tools
      5. Graph items
        1. Graph items
        2. Dot node (also Portal)
        3. Frame
        4. Comment
        5. Pin
    8. Library
      1. Library
      2. Managing custom content and filters
    9. Properties
    10. 2D view
      1. 2D view
      2. Color sampler tool
    11. 3D view
      1. 3D view
      2. Scene browser
      3. 3D renderers
      4. Camera
        1. Post effects             
      5. Material properties
      6. Deprecated
        1. Iray
        2. OpenGL - GLSLFX shaders
        3. OpenGL - Switching your shaders to OpenGL Core Profile
    12. Dependency manager
  6. Resources
    1. Resources
    2. Importing, linking and new resources
    3. Bitmap resource
      1. Bitmap resource
      2. Bitmap painting tools
    4. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      1. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      2. Vector editing tools
    5. 3D scene resource
    6. AxF (Appearance eXchange Format)
    7. Font resource
    8. Warnings from dependencies
  7. Substance graphs
    1. Substance graphs
    2. Substance graph key concepts
    3. Creating a Substance graph
      1. Creating a Substance graph
      2. Material samples
    4. Instances and subgraphs
    5. Graph parameters
    6. Manage parameters
      1. Manage parameters
      2. Exposing a parameter
      3. Parameter presets
    7. 'Visible if' expressions
    8. Inheritance in Substance graphs
    9. Output size
    10. Values in Substance graphs
    11. Publishing Substance 3D asset files (SBSAR)
    12. Exporting bitmaps
    13. Exporting PSD files
    14. Sample Substance graphs
    15. Warnings in Substance graphs
    16. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      2. Atomic nodes
        1. Atomic nodes
        2. Bitmap
        3. Blend
          1. Blend
          2. Blending modes description
        4. Blur
        5. Channel shuffle
        6. Curve
        7. Directional blur
        8. Directional warp
        9. Distance
        10. Emboss
        11. FX-map
        12. Gradient (Dynamic)
        13. Gradient map
        14. Grayscale conversion
        15. HSL
        16. Levels
        17. Normal
        18. Pixel processor
        19. SVG
        20. Sharpen
        21. Text
        22. Transformation 2D
        23. Uniform color
        24. Value processor
        25. Warp
        26. Output
        27. Input
      3. Node library
        1. Node library
        2. Texture generators
          1. Texture generators
          2. Noises
            1. Noises
            2. 3D Perlin noise
            3. 3D Perlin noise fractal
            4. 3D Ridged noise fractal
            5. 3D Simplex noise
            6. 3D Voronoi
            7. 3D Voronoi fractal
            8. 3D Worley noise
            9. Anisotropic noise
            10. Blue noise fast
            11. BnW spots 1
            12. BnW spots 2
            13. BnW spots 3
            14. Cells 1
            15. Cells 2
            16. Cells 3
            17. Cells 4
            18. Clouds 1
            19. Clouds 2
            20. Clouds 3
            21. Creased
            22. Crystal 1
            23. Crystal 2
            24. Directional noise 1
            25. Directional noise 2
            26. Directional noise 3
            27. Directional noise 4
            28. Directional scratches
            29. Dirt 1
            30. Dirt 2
            31. Dirt 3
            32. Dirt 4
            33. Dirt 5
            34. Dirt gradient
            35. Fluid
            36. Fractal sum 1
            37. Fractal sum 2
            38. Fractal sum 3
            39. Fractal sum 4
            40. Fractal sum base
            41. Fur 1
            42. Fur 2
            43. Fur 3
            44. Gaussian noise
            45. Gaussian spots 1
            46. Gaussian spots 2
            47. Grunge concrete
            48. Grunge Damas
            49. Grunge galvanic large
            50. Grunge galvanic small
            51. Grunge leaks
            52. Grunge leaky paint
            53. Grunge map 001
            54. Grunge map 002
            55. Grunge map 003
            56. Grunge map 004
            57. Grunge map 005
            58. Grunge map 006
            59. Grunge map 007
            60. Grunge map 008
            61. Grunge map 009
            62. Grunge map 010
            63. Grunge map 011
            64. Grunge map 012
            65. Grunge map 013
            66. Grunge map 014
            67. Grunge map 015
            68. Grunge rough dirty
            69. Grunge rust fine
            70. Grunge scratches dirty
            71. Grunge scratches fine
            72. Grunge scratches rough
            73. Grunge shavings
            74. Grunge splashes dusty
            75. Grunge spots
            76. Grunge spots dirty
            77. Liquid
            78. Messy fibers 1
            79. Messy fibers 2
            80. Messy fibers 3
            81. Microscope view
            82. Moisture noise 1
            83. Moisture noise 2
            84. Perlin noise
            85. Plasma
            86. Caustics
            87. Voronoi
            88. Voronoi fractal
            89. Waveform 1
            90. White noise
            91. White noise fast
          3. Patterns
            1. Patterns
            2. 3D linear gradient
            3. 3D volume mask
            4. Alveolus
            5. Arc pavement
            6. Brick 1
            7. Brick 2
            8. Brick generator
            9. Checker 1
            10. Cube 3D
            11. Cube 3D GBuffers
            12. Fibers 1
            13. Fibers 2
            14. Gaussian 1
            15. Gaussian 2
            16. Gradient axial
            17. Gradient axial reflected
            18. Gradient circular
            19. Gradient linear 1
            20. Gradient linear 2
            21. Gradient linear 3
            22. Gradient radial
            23. Height extrude
            24. Mesh 1
            25. Mesh 2
            26. Panorama shape
            27. Polygon 1
            28. Polygon 2
            29. Scratches generator
            30. Shape
            31. Shape extrude
            32. Shape mapper
            33. Shape splatter
            34. Shape splatter blend
            35. Shape splatter data extract
            36. Shape splatter to mask
            37. Splatter
            38. Splatter circular
            39. Star
            40. Starburst
            41. Stripes
            42. Tile generator
            43. Tile random
            44. Tile random 2
            45. Tile sampler
            46. Triangle grid
            47. Weave 1
            48. Weave 2
            49. Weave generator
        3. Filters
          1. Filters
          2. Adjustments
            1. Adjustments
            2. Apply color palette
            3. Auto levels
            4. Channel mixer
            5. Chrominance extract
            6. Clamp
            7. Color match
            8. Color to mask
            9. Contrast/Luminosity
            10. Convert to linear
            11. Convert to sRGB
            12. Create color palette (16)
            13. Grayscale conversion advanced
            14. Hald CLUT
            15. HDR range viewer
            16. Height map frequencies mapper
            17. Highpass
            18. Histogram compute
            19. Histogram equalize
            20. Histogram range
            21. Histogram render
            22. Histogram scan
            23. Non-uniform histogram scan
            24. Histogram select
            25. Histogram shift
            26. ID to mask grayscale
            27. Invert
            28. Lighting cancel high frequencies
            29. Lighting cancel low frequencies
            30. Luminance highpass
            31. Min max
            32. Modify color palette
            33. Pow
            34. Quantize color (Simple)
            35. Quantize color
            36. Quantize grayscale
            37. Replace color
            38. Replace color range
            39. Threshold
            40. View color palette
          3. Blending
            1. Blending
            2. Color (Blend node)
            3. Color burn
            4. Color dodge
            5. Difference
            6. Dissolve
            7. Linear burn
            8. Luminosity (Blend node)
            9. Multi switch
            10. Switch
          4. Blurs
            1. Blurs
            2. Anisotropic blur
            3. Blur HQ
            4. Median filter color
            5. Median filter grayscale
            6. MLV color
            7. MLV grayscale
            8. Non-uniform blur
            9. Radial blur
            10. Slope blur
          5. Channels
            1. Channels
            2. RGBA merge
            3. RGBA split
            4. Alpha merge
            5. Alpha split
            6. Pre-multiplied to straight
            7. Straight to pre-multiplied
          6. Effects
            1. Effects
            2. 3D texture position
            3. 3D texture SDF
            4. 3D texture surface render
            5. 3D texture volume render
            6. Ambient occlusion (HBAO)
            7. Ambient occlusion (RTAO)
            8. Anisotropic Kuwahara color
            9. Anisotropic Kuwahara grayscale
            10. Bevel
            11. Bevel smooth
            12. Cross section
            13. Curvature
            14. Curvature smooth
            15. Curvature sobel
            16. Diffusion color
            17. Diffusion grayscale
            18. Diffusion UV
            19. Directional distance
            20. Edge detect
            21. Emboss with gloss
            22. Extend shape
            23. Flood fill
            24. Flood fill mapper
            25. Flood fill to Bbox size
            26. Flood Fill to gradient
            27. Flood Fill to grayscale/color
            28. Flood Fill to index
            29. Flood Fill to position
            30. Flood Fill to random color
            31. Flood Fill to random grayscale
            32. FXAA
            33. Glow
            34. Mosaic
            35. Multi directional warp
            36. Non-uniform directional warp
            37. Reaction diffusion fast
            38. RT irradiance
            39. RT shadow
            40. Shadows
            41. Shape drop shadow
            42. Shape glow
            43. Shape stroke
            44. Summed area table
            45. Swirl
            46. Uber emboss
            47. Vector morph
            48. Vector warp
          7. Normal map
            1. Normal map
            2. Bent normal
            3. Facing normal
            4. Height normal blender
            5. Height to normal world units
            6. Normal blend
            7. Normal combine
            8. Normal invert
            9. Normal normalize
            10. Normal sobel
            11. Normal to height
            12. Normal to height HQ
            13. Normal transform
            14. Normal uncombine
            15. Normal vector rotation
          8. Tiling
            1. Tiling
            2. Make it tile patch
            3. Make it tile photo
          9. Transforms
            1. Transforms
            2. 3D texture offset
            3. Auto crop
            4. Cartesian to polar
            5. Clone (Filter node)
            6. Mirror (Filter node)
            7. Noise upscale 1
            8. Noise upscale 2
            9. Noise upscale 3
            10. Non-square transform
            11. Non-uniform rotation
            12. Polar to cartesian
            13. Quad transform
            14. Safe transform
            15. Skew
            16. Symmetry
            17. Symmetry slice
            18. Trapezoid transform
        4. Material filters
          1. Material filters
          2. 1-click
            1. 1-Click
            2. Bitmap to material light
          3. Effects (Material)
            1. Effects (Material)
            2. Height blend
            3. Material height blend
            4. Season filter
            5. Snow cover
            6. Water level
          4. Transforms (Material)
            1. Transforms (Material)
            2. Material transform
          5. Blending (Material)
            1. Blending (Material)
            2. Material adjustment blend
            3. Material blend
            4. Material color blend
            5. Material switch
            6. Multi-material blend
          6. PBR utilities
            1. PBR utilities
            2. BaseColor / Metallic / Roughness converter
            3. Base material
            4. PBR Albedo safe color
            5. PBR BaseColor / Metallic validate
            6. PBR Dielectric F0
            7. PBR Metal reflectance
            8. PBR render
            9. PBR render mapping
          7. Scan processing
            1. Scan processing
            2. AO cancellation
            3. Atlas scatter
            4. Atlas splitter
            5. Clone patch
            6. Color equalizer
            7. Crop
            8. Material clone patch
            9. Material crop
            10. Multi-angle to Albedo
            11. Multi-angle to Normal
            12. Multi-clone patch
            13. Multi-color equalizer
            14. Multi-crop
            15. Smart auto tile
        5. Mesh-based generators
          1. Mesh-based generators
          2. Mask generators
            1. Mask generators
            2. Bottom to top
            3. Cloth wear
            4. Dirt
            5. Dripping rust
            6. Dust
            7. Edge blur
            8. Edge damages
            9. Edge dirt
            10. Edge notch
            11. Edge select
            12. Edge speckle
            13. Edge wear
            14. Fiber glass edge wear
            15. Grease
            16. Ground dirt
            17. Leaks
            18. Leather wear
            19. Light
            20. Mask builder
            21. Metal edge eear
            22. Paint wear
            23. Selective dirt
            24. Sun bleach
            25. Surface brush
          3. Weathering
            1. Weathering
            2. Cracks weathering
            3. Fabric weathering
            4. Leather weathering
            5. Metal weathering
            6. Moss weathering
            7. Rock weathering
            8. Rust weathering
          4. Utilities (Mesh-based generators)
            1. Utilities (Mesh-based generators)
            2. 3D planar projection
            3. Material mesh data blender
            4. Material selector
            5. Mesh data combiner
            6. Triplanar
        6. Spline & Path tools
          1. Spline & Path tools
          2. Working with Path & Spline tools
          3. Paths to spline
          4. Path tools
            1. Path tools
            2. Paths format specifications
            3. Paths 2D transform
            4. Mask to Ppths
            5. Paths polygon
            6. Preview paths
            7. Paths warp
            8. Quad transform on path
            9. Paths select
            10. Paths vertex processor
            11. Paths vertex processor simple
          5. Spline tools
            1. Spline tools
            2. Point list
            3. Scatter on Spline color
            4. Scatter on Spline grayscale
            5. Scatter Splines on Splines
            6. Spline 2D transform
            7. Spline (Cubic)
            8. Spline (Poly quadratic)
            9. Spline (Quadratic)
            10. Spline append
            11. Spline bridge (2 Splines)
            12. Spline bridge (List)
            13. Spline bridge mapper color
            14. Spline bridge mapper grayscale
            15. Spline circle
            16. Spline fill
            17. Spline flow mapper
            18. Spline mapper color
            19. Spline mapper grayscale
            20. Spline merge list
            21. Spline render
            22. Spline sample height
            23. Spline sample thickness
            24. Spline select
            25. Spline warp
            26. UV mapper color
            27. UV mapper grayscale
        7. 3D view (Library)
          1. 3D view (Library)
          2. HDRI tools
            1. HDRI tools
            2. Blackbody
            3. Color temperature adjustment
            4. Exposure
            5. Exposure preview
            6. HDR merge
            7. Nadir extract
            8. Nadir patch
            9. Panorama 3D position
            10. Panorama rotation
            11. Gradient 2 points
            12. Gradient linear (HDRI)
            13. Line light
            14. Physical sun/sky
            15. Plane light
            16. Shape light
            17. Sphere light
            18. Straighten horizon
  8. Substance function graphs
    1. Substance function graphs
    2. What is a Substance function graph?
    3. Create and edit a function
    4. The Substance function graph
    5. Variables
      1. Variables
      2. Built-in variables
      3. Get a variable value
      4. Create a variable
    6. FX-maps
      1. FX-Maps
      2. How it works
      3. The Iterate node
      4. The Quadrant node
      5. Using Substance function graphs in FX-Maps
        1. Using Substance function graphs
          in FX-Maps
        2. Iterate and $number variable
        3. Using the Sampler nodes
        4. Using the Set/Sequence nodes
    7. Warnings in Substance function graphs
    8. Sample Substance function graphs
    9. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      2. Function nodes overview
      3. Atomic function nodes
        1. Atomic function nodes
        2. Constant nodes
        3. Vector and Swizzle nodes
        4. Get nodes
        5. Sampler nodes
        6. Cast nodes
        7. Operator nodes
        8. Logical nodes
        9. Comparison nodes
        10. Function nodes
        11. Control nodes
      4. Function node library
        1. Function node library
        2. Color
        3. Random
          1. Random
          2. Hash functions
  9. MDL graphs
    1. MDL graphs
    2. Main MDL graph concepts
    3. Creating an MDL graph
    4. MDL library
    5. Exposing parameters in MDL graphs
    6. Substance graphs and MDL materials
    7. Exporting MDL content
    8. Warnings in MDL graphs
    9. MDL learning resources
  10. Working with 3D scenes
    1. Working with 3D scenes
    2. Overriding scene materials
    3. Extracting materials' values and textures
    4. Exporting scenes
  11. Bakers
    1. Bakers
    2. Bakers legacy interface
  12. Best practices
    1. Best practices
    2. Filesize reduction guidelines
    3. Graph creation etiquette
    4. Performance optimization guidelines
  13. Pipeline and project configuration
    1. Pipeline and project configuration
    2. Project configuration files - SBSPRJ
    3. Configuration list - SBSCFG
    4. User preferences - Automating setup
    5. Retrieving the installation path
    6. Environment variables
  14. Color management
    1. Color management
    2. Spot colors (Pantone)
  15. Package metadata
  16. Scripting
    1. Scripting
    2. Plugin basics
    3. Plugin search paths
    4. Plugins packages
    5. Plugin manager
    6. Python editor
    7. Accessing graphs and selections
    8. Nodes and properties
    9. Undo and redo
    10. Application callbacks
    11. Creating user interface elements
    12. Adding actions to the Explorer toolbar
    13. Using color management
    14. Using spot colors
    15. Logging
    16. Using threads
    17. Debugging plugins using Visual Studio Code
    18. Porting previous plugins
    19. Packaging plugins
    20. Scripting API reference
  17. Technical issues
    1. Technical issues
    2. Warnings and errors
    3. Cannot create/load a project
    4. Application does not start
    5. Crash when rendering graphs
    6. Parameters not working as expected
    7. Incorrect image output
    8. 3D View issues
    9. Baking issues
    10. User interface issues
    11. Python issues
    12. Substance model graph feature is missing
  18. Release notes
    1. Release notes
    2. All changes
    3. Version 15.1
    4. Version 15.0
    5. Version 14.1
    6. Version 14.0
    7. Version 13.1
    8. Version 13.0
    9. Version 12.4
    10. Version 12.3
    11. Version 12.2
    12. Version 12.1
    13. Version 11.3
    14. Version 11.2
    15. Version 2021.1 (11.1)
    16. Old versions
      1. Old versions
      2. Version 2020.2 (10.2)
      3. Version 2020.1 (10.1)
      4. Version 2019.3 (9.3)
      5. Version 2019.2 (9.2)
      6. Version 2019.1 (9.1)

Workflow overview

Substance 3D Designer is a Node-Based editor. That means almost every type of project or resource will involve placing nodes (building blocks) and connecting them to create a chain of operations (a Graph).This page explains the concept of Node-Based workflows, and provides a summary of the 3 main types of Graph you can author in Designer.

Table of contents

Node-based workflow

Graph instance workflow

Custom parameters

Graph types

Data flow simplified

Node-based workflow

Working in Designer is different from other 2D image editing software such as Photoshop. Instead of performing an action manually (like adjusting saturation by going to a menu option and changing a slider), you construct the logical steps of editing or creating your image. This happens by building a network of little building blocks, called "Nodes". Image data travels from left to right through the building blocks, connected by Links that determine the path of the information. Every Node, if connected, will contribute to the final results.

The major advantage is that your workflow becomes non-linear. Unlike actions performed manually that go into a history stack, you can always swap out or modify a Node at any point in time. If you decide that your very first Contrast adjustment, affecting the result of your image all the way to the end, was too much, then you can still go back and adjust it or even cut it out completely, without losing all the work you performed afterwards.

Graph instances simplified

Graph instance workflow

Instancing Graphs is a key process in Designer. It allows you to build your own nodes by taking any size or type of Graph and packaging it up as new Node building block. These types of Nodes are called "Graph Instances" This allows you to be much more efficient, save time and share work with others. Have you developed a great technique for edge wear for example? Create a Graph Instance out of it and re-use it yourself, share it with the community, or your team!

For more information about Graph Instances in Substance graphs, there is a dedicated section about them in the documentation.

Graph parameters simplified

Custom parameters

Any node in your chain of operations will have some form of control: buttons, sliders, settings for you to tweak, influencing the final result. If you create a Sub-Graph, or want to export your Substance File to another application, you can build your own "control panel" for your files, allowing anybody using the Graph to tweak and modify it with a fully unique control panel, exposing endless possiblities. Learn about the general concept of custom parameters here, or go more in depth and start exposing parameters.

Graph types

Below you can find a summary of the three types of Graph you can edit in Substance 3D Designer, as well as a link to the relevant section of the documentation.

Substance graphs

Substance graphs are the main type of graph created in Substance 3D Designer. Their purpose is to generate and process 2D image data that is not constrained to a set resolution, color or shape. They are meant as extremely versatile image-processing and generation tools, not just static, pre-set results.

The results can be in the form of a simple black-and-white pattern, a filter that only runs on other images and doesn't generate content by itself, or even a full-fledged procedural material with multiple channels.

Substance graphs are the most widely supported type of graph, and can be exported and used in a plethora of different workflows.

Examples

Below you can find some typical examples of common usecases.

Simple shape in Substance graph

A simple mask shape for a decal is created by generating a piece of text and a disc shape, extracting the edge from the disc and the finally blending them together before setting them as final output.

The Text with the number, or the thickness of the edge can be exposed externally to make this a more dynamic graph.

Adjustment filter in Substance graph

A filter graph takes a normal map as input (with a custom preview), converts it to curvature and then adjusts the contrast to create a mask of convex edges as final output.

The contrast values set in the Histogram can be exposed, making this a simple but useful filter in combination with the dynamic Input slot.

Full material in Substance graph

A more complicated graph blends two Base materials. One Base material is kept simple, the other uses some custom inputs to add interest. A mask is used to determine which of the two materials appear where before being set as final outputs.

This example makes use of Link Creation Modes to simplify using multiple links.

Substance function graphs

Functions process single values (integers, floats, vectors) instead of image data (whole sets of pixels). Functions are also Graphs with node networks, but the Nodes used and the interface is different from regular Substance graphs. The workflow is completely based on mathematical operations and does not show any image preview thumbnails, making it a much more advanced way to work with Substance 3D Designer.

Functions can be used in many different contexts, the main ones being to modify the behaviour of an exposed Parameter, to author the behaviour of Pixel Processors or FX-Maps and to to use Values in a Graph.

Examples

Below are some examples from common use cases for Substance function graphs.

Simple function graph

A simple function in the context of an exposed parameter. It gets an input float value called "Intensity" that is determined to go from 0 to 1 (a range easy to understand) and remaps it to a set range of 0.1 - 0.8. That means if the user sets Intensity ot 0, internally 0.1 will be used, if the Ui is set to 1, 0.8 wil be used, and any value in between will be interpolated linearly. This type of function is something commonly used when exposing parameters, but using custom functions.

This function could also be written as lerp(0.1, 0.8, Intensity) in a pseudocode similar to HLSL or GLSL.

Advanced function

This advanced Function shows the inner workings of a Pixel Processor meant for adjusting the Hue of a color map input based on the intensity of a second grayscale mask input.

It samples both inputs with the system "$pos" variable, then strips the Alpha, converts the color value to HSL and modifies the Hue component by multiplying it with the sampled grayscale value. Afterwards it re-assembles the vector, converts the HSL back to RGB and adds the Alpha back in for the final output.

in pseudo-code this would be a much more complicated function that would not fit on a single line.

 

MDL graphs

This page presents MDL graphs in Substance 3D Designer, which let you author MDL materials and preview their behavior in real time.

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