Substance Designer for Architectural Visualization

Learn how to quickly create a variety of commonly-used architectural materials in Allegorithmic Substance Designer for application in design-visualization projects.

Introduction

• Create photorealistic arch viz materials with Substance Designer
• What you need to know

1. Creating Acoustic Ceiling Tile (ACT-1)

• Establishing the tile height
• Adding surface detail
• Creating the normal map
• Adjusting roughness and metalness
• Adding ambient occlusion
• Using a height map to add to the normal
• Challenge: How to test down-facing materials
• Solution: Changing the sample geometry

2. Creating Vinyl Flooring (LVT-2)

• Starting the herringbone
• Creating horizontal rows
• Creating vertical rows
• Blending the herringbone rows
• Randomizing surface slope
• Adjusting roughness
• Adding color to the albedo
• Using noise to modulate metalness
• Exposing hues in the herringbone

3. Creating Vinyl Flooring (LVT-1)

• Creating a color base
• Arranging the herringbone pattern
• Creating a base material
• Adjusting roughness
• Using noise to modulate metalness
• Normal map and final adjustments

4. Creating Vinyl Flooring (LVT-3)

• Matching the manufacturer's colors
• Creating a color base sheet
• Adding edge darkness
• Adjusting the size of a fine pattern
• Using noise to modulate metalness

5. Creating Carpet Tile (CPT-1)

• Creating the micro-pattern in grayscale
• Creating the macro-pattern in grayscale
• Adding color to the macro-pattern
• Blending the pattern colors
• Creating the normal map
• Fine-tuning metalness and roughness

6. Drawing Crazy Pattern Materials (TX-1)

• Tracing an image in Adobe Illustrator
• Creating a normal map
• Generating a roughness map
• Crafting subtle metallic properties
• Creating the albedo
• Setting up a function to swap colors

7. Creating a Cast Concrete Surface

• Establishing a form tie pattern
• Creating the form panels
• Combining the normal map
• Subtracting small surface bubbles
• Adjusting the roughness
• Calibrating the occlusion and metalness
• Creating the varied albedo