The Assets panel provides access to the Substance 3D Assets library from directly within Modeler. With the Assets panel you can search for assets using keywords and categories, but also based on the shape of objects in your scene.
The Assets panel is currently only available in the Creative Cloud version of Modeler. The Meta and Steam versions of Modeler do not include access to Substance 3D Assets.
Assets imported from the Assets panel enter the scene as clay layers, so you can use Modeler's tools to modify them directly, or integrate them into your scene.
Search for Assets
There are two main methods to search with the Assets panel:
- Keyword search allows you to use a word or phrase to search for objects.
- Shape matching searches for objects similar in shape to a selected object in the scene.
You can use Keword search and Shape matching together to further refine your results, or use them individually for a broader search.
Whether you use Shape matching or keyword search, the Assets panel automatically suggests categories that you can use to further refine the results of your search.
When you Include a category, the Assets panel prioritises objects that fit in that category. When you exclude a category, the Assets panel removes the results that match that category.
Add assets to your scene
Once you've found an asset that you want to use, you can select it to import it to your scene.
When searching with Shape matching, the asset is automatically resized to match the scale of the selected object. The imported asset will also appear at the same position as the selected object.
When searching only with a keyword, imported assets do not have a reference to your scene, and are imported at the scale of the asset. This means that objects can have an arbitrary scale and position on import. To work around this:
- On import, the new asset will automatically be selected. Use shortcut F to view the imported asset.
- Tap R twice to move the asset back to the scene origin.
- If the asset disappears, use shortcut F to frame it again with the camera.
- Resize the asset to match the scale of other objects in your scene.
Some assets may appear low resolution on import. This can be for one of two reasons:
- When the asset is imported, it may be displaying the incorrect level of detail. Try moving the camera closer to the asset, or resizing the asset.
- Some assets like fabrics or the leaves of plants have thin geometry which results in artifacts when they're converted to clay. There isn't currently an easy way to work around this.
Replace mode
When Shape matching is turned on, you can toggle Replace mode on or off. With Replace mode turned on, when you import an asset, the currently selected object in the scene will be replaced by the imported object.