Custom Substance Painter Export Template - Asset Pipeline

FraserJamesH
May 7, 2020
2 min read

I don't think I have mentioned it yet but I have been using a custom Substance Painter Export Template to compile my textures in a certain way. The system I am using is:

_C = RGB is Colour map, Alpha is Opacity
_MR = RGB is Metal, Alpha is Roughness/Smoothness
_N = Normal Map (OpenGL)
_E = Emission 
_AO = Ambient Occlusion
_M = Mask Map (Used for Tint Masks)

By using a custom template I save a bunch of time when it comes to both first time exports but also making texture tweaks. The only map I haven't added to the template is the mask map as I just do this by hand however it could easily be added. I am also using Targa (.TGA) files for all my textures and exporting in 2048x then down-scaling in Unity itself so save on time and gives me more flexibility. The reason for using Targa files over something like JPEG or PNG is that JEPG files dont support alpha channels and PNG files can often give strange results with the alpha especially in Photoshop. The trade off for easily handling Alphas is the file size of each texture is usually bigger however I am not pushed for storage space so this is not an issue.

Within Painter I also try and keep to just one Texture set (one material) and refrain from using Colour ID maps, instead just masking withing black and white masks. I do this to save time and extra steps when exporting as when I have multiple texture sets then combining them takes time. If I do ever need to combine textures I use the Texture Set Combiner linked below however because the assets I make are usually small or don't require that much detail I stick to one material.

Refining your Asset pipeline is crucial when doing any project and finding ways to speed up tasks can help save a lot time over the duration of a project. This goes not only for texture names but custom base textures, smart materials, model names, import settings, export settings, modelling tools and base meshes etc.

Interesting Links:

Texture Set Combiner = https://www.artstation.com/artwork/DgBDo

PNG vs TGA = https://polycount.com/discussion/112149/png-or-tga-i-dont-get-it

Export Template Documentation = https://docs.substance3d.com/spdoc/creating-export-presets-98959398.html