I then began testing materials, seeing how they work together and if they feel physically accurate. This is where strong reference gathering really helps. The next step is to start adding wear and tear. It’s really easy to go too little or too much with this part of the process, as the mask generators in Substance have very varying levels of strength. Applying some basic edge wear to assets always looks nice, regardless of age. The generators are also really great for adding roughness variation so you get nice light bounces off your assets.

I usually save height information for the end of the texturing process. This is because it’s the most destructive part of the process and can more often than not have a more negative impact. Try to use small height values, and keep track of where they’re placed in your folders as it’s very easy for materials to have subtle height changes which could interfere with the rest of the height information.

Feedback

The biggest thing I’ve learned throughout this project would be the photogrammetry techniques and getting to grips with Marvelous Designer. They’ve both contributed massively to the quality of my scene and neither tool had a large learning curve. Even though it was my first time using them, it saved me lots of time.

I’ve learned a lot about lighting and about how sometimes less can be more. Achieving the effect I wanted with as few lights as possible really helped simplify my lighting process. I also want to push myself further and do an evening version of the room with some different night lighting.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my work, you can find it here at my Artstation. If you want to follow my continued development on this project, you can find it here on Polycount. I’d love to get some feedback as the project comes to a close.

Thanks for reading!

Jonathan Hemmens, Environment Artist