Why did you decide to use Substance? How did it help you in the visual quality and atmosphere you wanted to achieve? How did it help you in terms of production speed and iteration?

Tito: Substance came to my attention when, 4 years ago, I was directing some cinematic for an AAA video game. The artists were turning around outstanding-looking assets at a speed and quality I couldn't believe, given my experience in commercials, broadcast, and film. Even though it wasn’t used in those ‘high-end media’ I saw its potential then, and kept my eye on its development, which naturally permeated into the VFX establishment. Given the non-existent budget for KIDDO and the tight availability of artists, who generously contributed their spare time for the cause, Substance became our logical and only option when it came to painting our 3D world. And we’re all very glad that was the case! By then, the tool was up to the task; it tackled the high resolutions we were trying to hit as well as the quality and efficiency in productivity. We definitely wouldn’t have reached the look and quality we ultimately achieved without this extraordinary tool.

Raphael: For creatures, compared to the hard-surface assets, Substance wasn’t our first option and we actually started the texturing with other tools. We ended up using Substance to add the majority of the details. It was way more efficient to use procedural maps combined with maps painted by hand. By mixing some presets, and with just a few parameter adjustments, we were able to quickly get close to what we wanted and achieve our goals on time.

Craig: Substance has been a tool I’ve used for a few years now and it’s a real asset for me in both film and commercials. I textured both the drone and the exterior of the bunker with Substance Painter. It helped massively, especially in initial look development when Tito and I sat down to block out all the different base materials and colors. I worked with around 15 UDIMs for the drone, and around 5 for the bunker; at 4K the resolution was more than enough. I think the drone took around 4 solid days to finish, and the procedural workflow of Substance allowed me to get something that was around 90% finished in a short space of time. The rest of the time was spent adding the custom elements and decals. I had to change my UV layout about halfway through texturing the drone, but keeping things mostly procedural meant that I didn’t lose any work. These benefits meant that Substance was the obvious choice for us, and at the time we were just starting to adopt Substance into our workflow at Unit. I find it really handy for these reasons, especially in the fast-paced environment of commercials.





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