Weeks 7-10 - PBR Shader, Substance Painter, Lighting and Rendering


Week 7

  In this week's lecture we learned about PBR and Arnold Shaders. It was interesting to learn about the various texture maps that are used in the creation of the overall texture. The albedo map is used to show the main colors of the texture. The metalness map is used to represent how reflective a certain surface is. The roughness map is used to create shininess/glossiness of the texture. The height map is used to show the displacement of details in the texture, and finally the normal map is used for surface detail.

  We also learned about certain concepts regarding how light interacts with the textures such as energy conservation, index of reflection, the Fresnel effect and microfacet theory. In addition to that we discussed 2 PBR workflows, Metalness and Specular, and the differences between these workflows such as the texture maps used to create the final texture. Later we learned about the advantages of using PBR such as being able to produce any material, create mixed, complex and high quality materials as well as having a consistency in the workflow and appearance. We also briefly covered color management, specifically gamma correction and color space, as well as how the texture processing works in Maya.

Week 7 Notes

Week 8

  This week we started by going over the steps to successfully export a model. These steps include:
  1. Deleting the edit history
  2. Cleaning the mesh 
  3. Freezing transforms
  4. Using the distance tool to measure and scale the model using real world values
  5. Deleting empty transforms (parenting)
  6. Renaming the files
  7. Centering the model
  8. Adjusting the UVs, making sure to add padding to the UVs so they have enough space
Mesh Cleanup Settings

  We then moved on to working in Substance Painter, starting with correctly setting up the project file: 
  1. Setting the resolution to 2048
  2. Setting normal map format to OpenGL
  3. Enabling the UV Tile Workflow
  4. Deselecting the Import Cameras and Auto-unwrap options
We also discussed the importance of using separate low and high poly meshes so that, when baking the mesh maps, there would be no bleeding. Later we went through the basic toolsets as well as important keyboard shortcuts that Substance Painter provides. In addition to that we did a bit of practice on texturing a model using the fill layer workflow as well as layering brushes to create custom textures.

Substance Painter Practice

Week 8 Notes

Week 9

  In week 9 we continued to work in Substance Painter. We first covered how to create texture sets in Maya and how to use them in Substance Painter. It is important to create these as it allows to paint on the model without going over parts of the model that might be textured differently as well as create more uniformity between different parts of the model that might have the same material. We continued to learn about the different tools that Substance Painter provides for creating a variety of details in the textures. We also learned about UDIMs and how these maps can be used as masks when creating textures in our models. In addition to that we explored generators and how they can be used for texturing the model. Later we were walked through texturing a model using the tools we learned in the sessions on Substance Painter.

Generator Practice

Week 10

  In the final week we were shown how to light and render our models. We started by creating a simple studio by placing a model inside a cube in order to capture the lighting better. We then went through all the various lighting options that Maya provides as well as when and how to use different lights to create the desired effects in the render. The second half was primarily taken up with more lighting practice using a provided model. We started by looking at different light setups and how they work to light a model. We also covered how to light different details of the model as well as how to better separate the model from the background in the final render. At the end of the session we looked at creating a revolving camera and animating a rotation around the model similar to what we will be using for the final renders for our submission. 

Character Lighting Exercise 


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