Jun. 01, 2018
Hi, material lovers!
This is it. The moment when we follow up on our promise to release a massive amount of materials dedicated to automotive texturing. The team has been busy, and the result is our most substantial material package so far! We thought we’d deliver a bit over 300 materials and that’s what we promised; in fact, it’s going to be almost 500.
This release is also our broadest collection of materials so far, as we cover all the materials needed for the construction of a car: paints, leathers, plastics, textiles, and composites. Each of these materials is a fully tweakable procedural, scan, hybrid or MDL shader. And it’s all on its way to Substance Source.
We know that it’s a lot. So we decided to give you the time to dive into the various categories and material types. This is why we planned a release every week in June. And a few surprises to spice it up, because, why not?
Friends from everywhere: we worked on offering maximum customizability to the materials to ensure you’ll find useful stuff for any texturing project.
And friends from the automotive world, you’ll be pleased to know that for this release we partnered with talented professionals from the automotive industry. We stepped into their shoes to understand the constraints and opportunities in designing useful digital assets for the industry.
In short, the spirit of this release is a blend of universes and usages.
So have fun! Browse more than 1,000 presets or play with endless variations within each material! And why stop there? Get (technically) creative – hack into the SBS and MDL graphs; mix, layer or expose your magic!
Car Prototyping Materials
Today, we introduce the Substance Source automotive release, with a selection of the first 45 materials associated with concept cars prototyping.
Artists and designers can have a photorealistic vision of pre-concepts at the earliest stage of the design process. The materials we offer are those used in the creation of mock-ups.
The production of a car model is a long process. It begins with an extended period of iteration around the shapes and volumes of the car. Once this has been validated, and to get an impression of the final vehicle, modelers build 1:4, then 1:1 scale models.
It is important to note that mock-ups aren’t always created using the same process. In fact, since they anticipate the validation of visual cosmetics, the process varies according to the part of the car constructed. Designers need to use rapid prototyping techniques, automated multi-axis machining and hand modeling of plasticine.
Clay is the reference material in the design process of a car. Its neutral aspect is ideal for the comparison of different concept-car shape proposals.
We created digital clays reproducing the material surface, taking into account the impact of the various tools used to shape, cut and smooth the model. You will get an ultra-realistic look and feel.
Digital artists can now use digital clay textures over 3D speedforms at early stages of design to compare the digital model to the physical clay mock-up.
Full-scale models are created in clay. They usually consist of a wooden or iron frame, which modelers then cover with styrofoam. They then smooth clay over the foam. After this, modelers use various tools and slicks to finalize the shape of the car.
Camouflage Stickers
Later on, the design process prototypes test takes place with the cars wrapped in crazy checkerboard or swirl patterns.
The level of preparation that goes into such seemingly haphazard patterns is considerable. Car makers assign engineers to be in charge of developing bespoke camouflage for each new model. They work in conjunction with the vehicle’s designers to erase character lines almost as soon as they are drawn. Future models must be kept secret.
So today, in Substance Source, we introduce vinyl camouflage materials, with eight completely procedural patterns. This allows artists to adjust patterns directly on the 3D car model – or even to design new patterns with the .sbs graph.
Composite
While clay might be the material of choice for the main body of the car, prototypes of additional parts may be produced using composite materials.
The composites have several uses. You can create communication visuals to demonstrate the design process of a show car, for instance, or you could get a glimpse of the component before even launching fabrication of the mock-up.
Artists now have access to materials such as carbon and glass fibers, woven composite textiles, and felt. And each of these materials is completely procedural – and therefore customizable.
Metals and Coatings
Finally, prototyping calls for the creation of metallic structures. They will be used for the reproduction of the surfaces of cast and machined metals, as well as for baked metallic paints used in low-volume manufacturing processes.
That’s it for the first part of our massive Substance 3D Assets automotive release! Download the selection of free materials and start experimenting.
See you next week for the next release: we’ll be focusing on exterior materials. In the meantime, drive safely!
See you next week for the next release: we’ll be focusing on exterior materials. In the meantime, drive safely!
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Source Automotive Materials: Prototyping | Adobe Substance 3D
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Jun. 01 2018
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Source Automotive Materials: Prototyping | Adobe Substance 3D
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Get a glimpse of the latest Substance Source Automotive prototyping materials Perfect for creating realistic textures for car prototypes. Learn more.