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Substance 3D Painter

Substance 3D Painter

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  1. Substance 3D home
  2. Home
  3. Getting Started
    1. Getting Started overview
    2. Activation and licenses
    3. System requirements
    4. Project creation
    5. Export
      1. Export overview
      2. Export window
        1. Export window overview
        2. Export settings
        3. Output templates
        4. List of exports
      3. Export presets
        1. Export presets overview
        2. Predefined presets
          1. Predefined Presets
          2. USD PBR Metal Roughness Preset
          3. Default Presets
        3. Creating export presets
    6. Glossary
    7. Performance
  4. Interface
    1. Assets
      1. Assets overview
      2. Navigation
      3. Customizing the layout
      4. Filter by path
      5. Saved searches
      6. Advanced search queries
      7. Adding a new library
      8. Sub-library tab
    2. Substance 3D Assets
    3. Color picker
    4. Display settings
      1. Display settings overview
      2. Environment settings
      3. Camera settings
      4. Viewport settings
    5. History
    6. Layer stack
      1. Layer stack overview
      2. Creating layers
      3. Managing layers
      4. Masking and effects
      5. Blending modes
      6. Layer instancing
      7. Geometry mask
    7. Main menu
      1. Main menu overview
      2. File menu
      3. Edit menu
      4. Mode menu
      5. Window menu
      6. Viewport menu
      7. Plugins menu
      8. Help menu
    8. Project configuration
    9. Properties
    10. Settings
      1. Settings overview
      2. General preferences
      3. Shortcuts
      4. Libraries configuration
    11. Shader settings
      1. Shader settings overview
      2. Updating a shader
    12. Texture Set
      1. Texture Set overview
      2. Texture Set list
      3. Texture Set settings
      4. Texture Set reassignment
    13. Toolbars
    14. Viewport
      1. Viewport overview
      2. 2D view
      3. 3D view
      4. Camera management
    15. Miscellaneous
      1. Sliders
      2. Log
      3. Update checker
  5. Painting
    1. Painting overview
    2. Tool list
      1. Paint brush
      2. Eraser
      3. Projection
      4. Polygon fill
      5. Smudge tool
      6. Clone Tool
      7. Quick mask
      8. Path tool
    3. Straight line   
    4. Lazy mouse 
    5. Symmetry
      1. Symmetry overview
      2. Mirror Symmetry
    6. Fill projections
      1. Fill projections overview
      2. Fill (match per UV Tile)
      3. UV projection
      4. Tri-planar projection
      5. Planar projection
      6. Spherical projection
      7. Cylindrical projection
      8. Warp projection
      9. UV set to UV set projection
    7. Presets
      1. Presets overview
      2. Creating and saving presets
      3. Creating particles presets
        1. Creating particles overview
        2. Installing the particle editor
        3. Overview of the particle editor
        4. Creating a new particle script
      4. Photoshop brush presets (ABR)
        1. Photoshop brush presets overview
        2. Exporting Brush Presets from Photoshop
        3. Importing Photoshop Brush Presets
        4. Photoshop Brush Parameters Compatibility
    8. Dynamic strokes
      1. Dynamic strokes overview
      2. Enabling Dynamic Stroke feature
      3. Dynamic Stroke Performances
      4. Creating custom Dynamic Strokes
    9. Advanced channel painting
      1. Channel painting overview
      2. Ambient Occlusion
      3. Flow Map
      4. Height Map
      5. Normal Map
    10. Vector graphic (.svg & .ai)
    11. Text resource
  6. Effects
    1. Effects overview
    2. Generator
    3. Paint
    4. Fill
    5. Levels
    6. Compare Mask
    7. Filter
    8. Anchor Point
  7. Baking
    1. Baking overview
    2. How to bake mesh maps
    3. Baking visualization settings
  8. Content
    1. Creating custom effects
      1. Creating custom effects overview
      2. Generic filter
      3. Channel specific filter
      4. Generators
      5. Mesh map
      6. Mesh based input
      7. User data
    2. Importing assets
      1. Adding resources via drag and drop
      2. Adding resources via the import window
      3. Adding content on the hard drive
      4. Receiving assets from other Substance 3D applications
  9. Features
    1. Automatic UV Unwrapping
    2. Physical size
    3. Smart Materials and Masks
    4. Subsurface Scattering
      1. Subsurface Scattering overview
      2. Enabling Subsurface in a Project
      3. Subsurface Parameters
      4. Subsurface Material Type
    5. Dynamic Material Layering
    6. UV Reprojection
    7. UV Tiles
      1. UV Tiles overview
      2. Image Sequence
    8. Color Management
      1. Color management overview
      2. Color management with Adobe ACE - ICC
      3. Color management with OpenColorIO
    9. Post Processing
      1. Post Processing overview
      2. Color correction
      3. Depth of Field
      4. Glare
      5. Lens Distortion
      6. Tone Mapping
      7. Vignette
      8. Color Profile
    10. Iray Renderer
      1. Iray Renderer overview
      2. Iray Settings
      3. Viewer and MDL Settings
    11. Plugins
      1. Plugins overview
      2. Autosave
      3. Resources Updater
    12. Sparse Virtual Textures
    13. Custom Shaders
    14. SpaceMouse® by 3Dconnexion
    15. Universal Scene Description (USD)
    16. Send to
  10. Technical Support
    1. Performance Guidelines
      1. Performances guidelines overview
      2. Conflicts and background applications
      3. Mesh and UV setup
      4. GPU Drivers
      5. NVIDIA Drivers Settings
      6. GPU VRAM amount and bandwidth
      7. GPU VRAM and other applications
      8. Texture Sets amount
      9. Layer management
      10. Channels management
      11. Substance filters and materials
      12. Viewport display
    2. Configuring Pens and Tablets
    3. Exporting the log file
    4. Exporting a DXDiag
    5. Technical issues
      1. GPU Issues
        1. Crash when working with overclocked GPU
        2. Forcing the external GPU on Mac OS
        3. GPU drivers compatibility
        4. GPU drivers crash with long computations (TDR crash)
        5. GPU has outdated drivers
        6. GPU is not recognized
        7. GPU is not recognized and is mentionned as GDI Generic
        8. Issues with Nvidia GPUs on recent Mac OS versions
        9. Multi/Bi-GPU
        10. Running on integrated GPU
        11. Painter doesn't start on the right GPU
      2. Startup Issues
        1. Application failed to start because of Qt
        2. Crash or freeze during startup
        3. Software conflicts
      3. Rendering Issues
        1. Artifacts and glitches on Mac OS with Custom GPUs
        2. Blocky artifacts appear on textures in the viewport
        3. Mesh appears pink in the viewport
        4. Mesh flash to white when moving camera
        5. Some HDPI scaling values are not working
      4. Stability Issues
        1. Crash during export
        2. Crash when opening or saving a file
        3. Crash while baking
        4. Crash with low virtual memory
        5. Windows Blue Screens
      5. Miscellaneous Issues
        1. Corrupted texture error message
        2. Shelf resources are gone after 7.2 update
        3. Error there is no disk in the drive
        4. Error with missing api-ms-crt dll
        5. Impossible to drag and drop files into the shelf
        6. Impossible to use the ALT keyboard shortcut on Linux
        7. Assets (or shelf) previews are empty
    6. Workflow Issues
      1. Export Issues
        1. My exported opacity map is totally black
        2. Texture dilation or Padding
      2. Tools Issues
        1. Normal map looks incorrect when loaded in layer or tool properties
        2. Paint Tool bleeds on other UV islands
      3. Project Issues
        1. A project has been processed as a text file and is now corrupted
        2. Loading files from a network
        3. Preserve brush strokes setting stays disabled
        4. Projects are really big
      4. Library Issues
        1. Thumbnails in the shelf look incorrect
        2. Error when importing a Font
      5. Viewport Issues
        1. Mesh faces disappear when looking at them from behind
        2. Viewports and textures are blurry or lack sharpness
      6. Plugins Issues
        1. Substance Source plugin doesn't load
      7. License Issues
        1. Maintenance is expired dialog on startup
  11. Pipeline and integration
    1. Installation and preferences
      1. Preferences and application data location
      2. Automated installation
      3. Retrieving the installation path
    2. Configuration
      1. Command lines
      2. Environment variables
      3. Firewall Configuration
      4. Querying Current Software Version
      5. Remote Desktop
    3. Resource management
      1. Shelf and Assets location
      2. Resource paths
        1. Adding resource paths by editing preferences manually
        2. Editing resource paths manually
        3. Editing the Shelf Preferences with Python
      3. Adding saved searches manually
      4. Preferences and content migration
      5. Excluding resources in a resource path
  12. Scripting and development
    1. Scripts and plugins
      1. Creating a Javascript plugin
      2. Remote control with scripting
    2. Shader API Reference
      1. Shader API overview
      2. Changelog - Shader API
      3. Libraries - Shader API
        1. Lib Alpha - Shader API
        2. Lib Bayer - Shader API
        3. Lib Defines - Shader API
        4. Lib Emissive - Shader API
        5. Lib Env - Shader API
        6. Lib Normal - Shader API
        7. Lib PBR - Shader API
        8. Lib PBR Aniso - Shader API
        9. Lib Pom - Shader API
        10. Lib Random - Shader API
        11. Lib Sampler - Shader API
        12. Lib Sparse - Shader API
        13. Lib SSS - Shader API
        14. Lib Utils - Shader API
        15. Lib Vectors - Shader API
      4. Parameters - Shader API
        1. All Custom Params - Shader API
        2. All Engine Params - Shader API
        3. All Rendering States Params - Shader API
        4. Layering Bind Materials - Shader API
        5. Layering Declare Stacks - Shader API
      5. Shaders - Shader API
        1. PBR Material Layering - Shader API
        2. PBR Metal Rough - Shader API
        3. Pixelated - Shader API
        4. Surface Shader - Shader API
        5. Toon - Shader API
  13. Release notes
    1. Release notes overview
    2. All Changes
    3. Version 10.1
    4. Version 10.0
    5. Version 9.1
    6. Old versions
      1. Version 9.0
      2. Version 8.3
      3. Version 8.2
      4. Version 8.1
      5. Version 7.4
      6. Version 7.3
      7. Version 7.2
      8. Version 2021.1 (7.1.0)
      9. Version 2020.2 (6.2.0)
      10. Version 2020.1 (6.1.0)
      11. Version 2019.3
      12. Version 2019.2
      13. Version 2019.1
      14. Version 2018.3
      15. Version 2018.2
      16. Version 2018.1
      17. Version 2017.4
      18. Version 2017.3
      19. Version 2017.2
      20. Version 2017.1
      21. Version 2.6
      22. Version 2.5
      23. Version 2.4
      24. Version 2.3
      25. Version 2.2

Blending modes

Layers and effects have access to many Blending Modes. They allow to mix the result of a layer with the other layers below in different manners.

Not all the Blending Modes are suited for all use cases. For example the Normal map Blending Modes are only useful for the Normal channel in a Texture Set.

Blending Mode Order

To understand how and when a Blending Mode is applied, it is important to understand the order in which operations are performed in the Layer Stack:

  1. The Layer at the Bottom is computed.
  2. The Layer at the Top is computed and mixed with the layer below based on the Blending Mode (example: Multiply).
  3. The Mask is applied to give the final look at the Top layer.

Changing The Blending Mode

The Blending Mode can be changed for each channel in a layer. To switch between the channels use the top-left dropdown available in the layer stack window.

To change the blending mode simply click on the Blending Mode dropdown on a specific layer:

Note:

It is possible to quickly switch between Blending Modes with the following shortcuts if the dropdown has the focus:

  • Arrow Up or Down keyboard shortcuts
  • Mouse Wheel Up or Down

List of Blending Modes

Below is the list of all the Blending Modes available in Substance 3D Painter layers and effects. Most Blending Modes work via operations in RGB (or in Grayscale) but some operations are also performed via a different mode which is HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value). All Blending Modes are performed in Linear Gamma space internally.

Name

Description

Normal

Displays the Top layer over the Bottom layer without transformation (copy mode). If the Top layer has transparency (alpha) it will display the Bottom layer through the transparent pixels.
Passthrough

Flattens the Bottom layer into the Top layer. Mostly useful in the following cases :

Note:
Effects can be drag and dropped directly into the layer stack, doing so will create a layer with the Blending Mode set to PassThrough for all its channels.
Disable

Discards the blending of the layer, displaying only the previous layers. It can be used to optimize the computation of a channel by ignoring it in the Top layer.
Replace

Overwrites the Bottom layer. This is useful for example to avoid blending information with the layers below. Replace works differently from the Normal blending because it will also ignore the alpha present in the Top layer, which could result is Transparent pixels.
Multiply

Multiplies the Top layer over the Bottom layer. The result will always be a darker color.
Divide

Divides the layers below by the color information of the current layer. The result image is most of the time lighter and sometimes can look burned out.
Inverse Divide

Identical to the Divide blending mode but the Top and Bottom layer are exchanged in the blending operation.
Darken (Min)

Keeps the minimum color value between the Top layer and the Bottom layer.
Lighten (Max)

Keeps the maximum color value between the Top layer and the Bottom layer.

Linear Dodge (Add)

Adds the Top layer color value to the Bottom layer. The result can give colors that are below 0 or higher than 1, in which case the result will be clamped/clipped if the channel is not HDR. This Blending Mode is useful to accumulate height information for example.
Subtract

Subtracts the Top layer Color from the Bottom layer. The result can give colors that are below 0, in which case the result will be clamped/clipped if the channel is not HDR.
Inverse Subtract

Identical to the Subtract Blending Mode but the Top and Bottom layer are exchanged in the blending operation.
Difference

Subtracts the Top layer Color from the Bottom Layer, but take the absolute value of the result (negative values will become positive).
Exclusion

Similar to the Difference blending mode but it will produce a result with a lower contrast.
Signed Addition (AddSub)

Both Adds and Subtracts Color information from the Bottom layer based on the Top layer colors. Grayscale values have no effect, while darker colors will subtract information and lighter colors will add information.
Overlay

Combine both the Screen and Multiply Blending Modes. Grayscale values in the Top layer will have no effect, but dark colors will Multiply colors while bright colors will lighten the colors.
Screen

Color information from the Top and Bottom layer are inverted then multiplied against each other, this result is then inverted again. This produce a visual result that is the opposite of the Multiply blending mode and gives a brighter image.
Linear Burn

Adds the Top and Bottom layer Color information together and then subtract 1 from the result.
Color Burn

Divides the Bottom layer by the Top layer. The Bottom layer is inverted before the operation is performed. This blending operation darkens the Top layer and increase its contrast to show the colors of the Bottom layer. The darker the Bottom layer is, the more of its color is used.
Color Dodge

Divides the Bottom Layer by the inverted Top layer. This operation lightens the Bottom layer depending on the value of the Top layer. The brighter the Top layer is, the more its colors affect the Bottom layer.
Soft Light

Similar to the Overlay Blending Mode, but applied with a different curve to blend the Color information which result in a less contrasted image.
Hard Light

Similar to the Overlay Blending Mode (combine both the Multiply and Screen operations). The difference is that the order of operation is inverted which result in an image with darker or brighter colors but with less contrast .
Vivid Light

Combines Color Dodge and Color Burn blending modes. Dodging is applied to colors that are lighter than gray and burning is applied to colors that are darker than gray. Gray values are unaffected. The result is a more contrasted image.
Linear Light

Combines Linear Dodge and Linear Burn. Dodging is applied to colors that are lighter than gray and burning is applied to colors that are darker than gray. Gray values are unaffected. The result is similar to Vivid Light but with less contrast.

Pin Light

Lightens and darkens color information based on the Top layer colors. If the dark colors on the Top layer are darker than the colors on the Bottom layer they will be visible, if they aren’t they will drop away. Same principle applies for bright colors. This blend mode can result in patches or blotches (large noise), and it completely removes all mid-tones.
Tint

Performs the operation with the HSV model. Keeps only the Hue of the Top Layer and uses the Saturation and Value of the Bottom Layer. Black and very dark colors don't have any Hue, therefore colors of the Bottom layer will remain unchanged.
Saturation

Performs the operation with the HSV model. Keeps only the Saturation of the Top Layer and uses the Hue and Value of the Bottom Layer. Black and very dark colors are desaturated, therefore colors of the Bottom layer will become grayscale values.
Color

Performs the operation with the HSV model. Keeps only the Hue and Saturation of the Top Layer and uses the Value of the Bottom Layer. Black and very dark colors don't have any Hue and are desaturated, therefore colors of the Bottom layer will become grayscale values.

Value

Performs the operation with the HSV model. Keeps only the Value of the Top Layer and uses the Hue and Saturation of the Bottom Layer.
Normal Map Combine

Whiteout Blending operation. Preserve details while making sure flat normals still operate properly.

See Normal Map Painting for more information.

Normal Map Detail

Detail Oriented Blending operation (Reoriented Normal Mapping), more precise than Normal Map Combine. Preserve flat normal maps and the intensity of the two sources. To ensure that result the Top layer normal is reoriented to follow the surface of the bottom layer.

See Normal Map Painting for more information.

Normal Map Inverse Detail

Same behavior as for the Normal Map Detail blending operation, however it is the Bottom layer that is transformed to fit the surface of the Top layer.

See Normal Map Painting for more information.

 Adobe

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