CLERMONT-FERRAND, FRANCE — A jump in graphics used to mean more effort for game artists; now it’ll just be a better showcase for their skills with the introduction of Allegorithmic’s Substance Painter, a patented, next-gen painting application that accurately replicates the look of age, decay and fractures virtually via a new particle-based painting system.
Substance Painter's multi-channel particle brushes follow physical laws and come with presets that mimic aging processes like decay, cracks, dust accumulation and stains. Next-gen quality details are easily achievable through controls that naturally follow the artist's hand movements.
Other Key Features in Substance Painter include:
- 3D + 2D: Substance Painter is a true 3D painter that can also be used as a dedicated 2D tool, notably through the automatic tiling and UV islands influence features.
- Multi-Channel: With Substance Painter, artists can paint a full material (with multiple channels/maps) in one stroke. As they are painting, they have Diffuse, Albedo, Normal, Specular, Roughness, Metallic (and more) options at their disposal.
- Non-Destructive: Every action is recorded by Substance Painter, giving artists the option to backtrack and test out new creative choices. For instance, now an artist can paint their character with a particular skin type and then non-destructively cycle through new skin materials later if they have a different idea.
- Parametric Brushes: Substance Painter's parametric brushes automatically adapt to the underlying mesh, so if skin pores and wrinkles are added they are adapted to the geometry and properties of the mesh.
The beta version of Substance Painter is available upon request on both the Mac OSX and PC platforms. During the open beta (planned for January 2014), special pre-purchasing discounts will apply.