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AVC 185 • Spring 2026

Week 8

Substance Painter Fundamentals & UV Unwrapping Review & Substance Painter Workflow
March 09 – 11, 2026
← Week 7 Week 9 →

Week Overview

Monday covers this lecture introduces Substance Painter for advanced texturing, covering the workflow from Blender export to material creation using paint layers, fill layers, smart materials, and mesh map data. Wednesday focuses on this lecture reviews UV unwrapping assignments, discusses triplaner mapping applications, and demonstrates the complete workflow from Blender to Substance Painter and back using USD files.

Substance Painter Texturing Materials Workflow Smart Materials Mesh Maps UV Unwrapping Triplaner Mapping Material Creation USD Export
Monday
March 09, 2026

Substance Painter Fundamentals

This lecture introduces Substance Painter for advanced texturing, covering the workflow from Blender export to material creation using paint layers, fill layers, smart materials, and mesh map data.

Watch Full Lecture →
1
Setup and Workflow
0:00 Introduction and Setup
2:38 Substance Painter Overview
6:40 Blender to Substance Workflow
13:42 Installing Delivery Kit Add-on
2
Interface and Basic Tools
18:17 Substance Painter Interface Tour
31:25 Paint vs Fill Layers
41:12 Multi-Channel Painting Concepts
51:06 Height and Normal Channels
3
Advanced Techniques
59:32 Levels Adjustment Deep Dive
1:19:41 Texture Application and Projection
1:24:06 Masking Techniques
1:35:40 Triplanar vs UV Projection
1:47:15 Advanced Masking Tools
4
Smart Systems
2:00:00 Smart Materials Introduction
2:08:27 Mesh Maps and Baking
2:16:30 Smart Masks and Effects
5
Resources and Custom Creation
2:22:14 Substance Community Resources
2:27:02 Building Custom Materials

Key Concepts

  • One material equals one texture set for optimal workflow
  • Paint layers offer direct control, fill layers provide parametric flexibility
  • Levels adjustment is crucial for controlling texture contrast and range
  • Smart materials use mesh map data to create realistic wear patterns
  • Triplanar projection can solve UV seam issues automatically
  • Mesh maps must be baked to enable smart material functionality
  • Always decrease contrast rather than increase for better visual quality
  • Height channel textures almost always need levels adjustment
Wednesday
March 11, 2026

UV Unwrapping Review & Substance Painter Workflow

This lecture reviews UV unwrapping assignments, discusses triplaner mapping applications, and demonstrates the complete workflow from Blender to Substance Painter and back using USD files.

Watch Full Lecture →
1
Project Review
0:00 Introduction and Setup
1:20 UV Unwrapping Project Review
4:57 Student City Triplaner Application
9:15 Materials Template Discussion
2
UV Analysis
14:00 UV Map Analysis and Feedback
3
Student Feedback
12 projects
30:53 Student Presentations Begin
46:17 Triplaner Mapping Examples
1:23:30 UV Test Results Review
4
Study Methods
1:37:00 Note Taking and Study Tips
5
Substance Workflow
2:02:30 Blender to Substance Painter Workflow
2:17:00 Substance Painter Setup and Baking
2:23:00 Substance Sampler Material Creation
2:30:00 Painting and Texturing Techniques
2:42:00 Export and USD Roundtrip Process

Key Concepts

  • UV maps exist in normalized 0-1 space regardless of texture resolution
  • Triplaner mapping works best on box-like geometry with clear front/side/top faces
  • Proper seam placement minimizes distortion and follows natural object edges
  • Subdivision surfaces work with UV maps when base topology is clean
  • USD export preserves both geometry and material connections between programs
  • Substance Painter requires mesh map baking for advanced masking features
  • Smart masks use baked geometry data to automatically place materials
  • Note-taking significantly improves learning retention and understanding