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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

Paint brush

The Paint tool is the default tool of Substance 3D Painter to apply colors and material properties on a 3D mesh. It has specific parameters which can be edited via the Properties .

The Paint tool simulates brush strokes via various behavior and settings to give the feeling of painting onto the 3D mesh.

Toolbar

The Toolbars will display the following shortcuts (see their explanation in next sections) :

  • Size
  • Flow
  • Stroke Opacity
  • Spacing

Additional shortcuts are available which are common across some other tools :

Preview

At the top of the Properties are the brush and material previews. They can be used to quickly glance at how the current tool is setup.

Name

Description

Brush Preview

The brush preview displays how the brush will behave based on the brush parameters. It is possible to click in the preview to draw a custom stroke.

Note:

The Brush preview doesn't support Pen pressure.

Material Preview

The material preview shows the properties of the material currently used to paint. It is possible to click in the preview to rotate the lighting and see better how the material will behave before painting.

Brush

The Brush parameters are what defines the look and feel of the brush stroke when performed on the 3D mesh.

Note:

Some parameters may be controlled by Pen Pressure when using a graphic tablet. This information can also be saved in Presets .
Click on the dedicated button to enable or disable the pressure :

Name

Description

Size

Controls how big the stamps inside a brush stroke will be. The brush size is relative can changed depending of the relative space is defined in (see the Alignment Size Space parameter below).

This parameter can be controlled by Pen Pressure.

Flow

Intensity or opacity of the individual stamps inside the brush stroke.

This parameter can be controlled by Pen Pressure.

Stroke Opacity

Maximum global opacity of a brush stroke. Contrary to the Flow parameter, the Stroke Opacity cannot be controlled via Pen Pressure because it is applied at the end of the stroke drawing process.

Difference between Flow and Stroke Opacity :

  • Left : Flow at 50%, Stroke Opacity at 100%
  • Right : Flow at 100%, Stroke Opacity 50%

Note:

It is possible to continue a previous stroke like in the animation above by pressing the shortcut "A".

Spacing

Distance between the individuals stamps of a brush stroke. Small values allow to create continuous lines but are more expansive to compute as they draw much more stamps in total. High values allow to create gap between the stamp which may be more suited for specific patterns (like Nails on wood).

Angle

Orientation of the stamps inside the brush stroke. Useful to rotate the Alpha if not properly aligned. Can be combined with the Follow Path.

Follow Path

Orients the stamps inside the brush stroke to follow the painting direction.

Note:

To compute the stroke direction Substance 3D Painter compares the previous stamp with the current one, which is why when Follow Path is enabled a single click to paint will not produce any results. At least a minimum of two stamps are required to paint a brush stroke with this feature enabled.

Size Jitter

Apply a random size value per stamp inside the brush stroke. A value of 0 means no randomness, a value of 1 means full randomness.

Flow Jitter

Apply a random flow value per stamp inside the brush stroke. A value of 0 means no randomness, a value of 1 means full randomness.

Angle Jitter

Apply a random additional rotation angle per stamp inside the brush stroke. A value of 0 means no randomness, a value of 1 means full randomness.

Position Jitter

Apply a random position offset per stamp inside the brush stroke. A value of 0 means no randomness, a value of 1 means full randomness.

Alignment

Determines how the stamps inside the brush stroke will be projected / oriented on the surface of the 3D mesh. The following values are available :

  • Camera : Orient the stamp toward the viewport point of view
  • Tangent | Wrap (default) : Orient the stamp to align with the 3D mesh surface. The stamp will also be deformed to conform to the surface.
  • Tangent | Planar : Orient the stamp to align with the 3D mesh surface. The stamp will fade its border are too far from the 3D mesh surface.
  • UV : Orient the stamp based on the 3D mesh UVs.

Backface Culling

Allows to ignore surfaces on the 3D mesh that are not aligned with the stamp. To compute which parts of the 3D mesh should be ignored, the painting engine looks at the normal at the surface of the 3D mesh and compares its angle against the value defined.

Size Space

Controls in which relative space the brush size is computed. Possible values are :

  • Object (default) : The brush size is synced with the 3D mesh size. Moving the camera in the viewport will affect the size to keep it relative to the 3D mesh.
  • Viewport : The brush size is linked to the viewport. Resizing the interface will affect the brush size. Moving the camera won't have any effect.
  • Texture : The brush size is linked to the 2D viewport level of zoom.

Alpha

The Alpha is the grayscale mask that is applied over each stamp inside the brush stroke. It can be a Substance file or a bitmap.

Note:

If a Substance graph has a parameter "hardness" (identifier) exposed, it can be controlled with the Hardness Shortcuts.

Physics

The Physics properties allow to control the particles that are projected when painting.

By default the Physics properties are not available but can be enabled by two means :

  • By switching the tool to "Physical" in the Toolbars (or via the keyboard shortcut).
  • By clicking on a Particle brush preset in the Assets window.

Stencil

The Stencil is an additional grayscale mask for the brush stroke. Contrary to the alpha which is applied for each individual stamps, the Stencil is a global mask applied from the Viewport point of view.

Note:

It is possible to reset the Stencil transformation by pressing the S key and then clicking on the " Reset " button at the top right of the viewport :

Mode

Viewport

No resource loaded

When no resource is loaded, the stencil has no effect.

Note:

It is possible to disable temporarily the Stencil mask without removing the resource by pressing and maintaining the Shortcuts "N".

Move Stencil

Moving the Stencil can be done by pressing the S key and click and dragging with the Middle Mouse button.

Rotate Stencil

Rotating the Stencil can be done by pressing the S key and click and dragging with the Left Mouse button.

Additionally , pressing the Shift key allows to snap the rotation every 90 degrees .

Resize Stencil

Resizing the Stencil can be done by pressing the S key and click and dragging with the Right Mouse button.

The tiling mode setting controls how the Stencil mask is repeated over the viewport (this setting affects the texturing as well) :

Tiling Mode

Description

No Tiling (default)

The Stencil mask is not repeated.

Horizontal Tiling

Repeat the Stencil mask only on the horizontal axis.

Vertical Tiling

Repeat the Stencil mask only on the vertical axis.

H and V Tiling

Repeat the Stencil mask on both the horizontal and vertical axis.

Material

A Material is composed of multiple channels where each retain specific properties. The list of channels is dependent of those defined in Texture Set settings .

The Material mode button is an easy way to load a Substance files or a preset to quickly assign and edit multiple channels at once.

Clicking on a channel button will select or deselect it. When deselected the channel property cannot be modified and won't be used during the painting process.

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