
When it comes to 3D modelling, the question of whether to work with high poly or low poly models is a common dilemma. High poly models, with their intricate geometry, are ideal for advertising, films, and animations, while low poly models are optimised for game development, as they have a lower polygon count, making them cheaper to store and render. Substance Painter is a popular tool for texturing 3D models, and it can be used with both high poly and low poly models. However, the process of baking, which involves transferring details from a high poly model to a low poly one, is often employed to get the best of both worlds. This allows for high-resolution detail at a lower performance cost.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Can you paint low-poly models in Substance Painter? | Yes, you can paint low-poly models in Substance Painter. |
| High-poly models | High-poly models have many polygons (often millions) and can display high-resolution 3D detail. They are used in advertising, trailers, films, animations, and 3D printing. |
| Low-poly models | Low-poly models have fewer polygons (usually a few thousand) and are cheaper to store and render. They are used in games as they are more cost-efficient. |
| Baking | Baking is the process of transferring information from a high-poly mesh to a low-poly mesh. It allows you to get the high-resolution detail of the high-poly model with the low performance costs of the low-poly model. |
| Substance Painter advantages | Substance Painter can handle higher poly counts and user-made procedural textures that adapt to your mesh, improving the quality of your models. |
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What You'll Learn
- Substance Painter can be used for both high and low poly models
- You can paint low poly models directly in Substance Painter
- Baking textures allows you to combine high poly detail with low poly performance
- Substance Painter supports a range of mesh maps with different uses
- Substance Painter is good at handling higher poly counts

Substance Painter can be used for both high and low poly models
Substance Painter is a texturing software that can be used to paint directly onto low poly models. This is because Substance Painter has the option to bake to normal, which means that the high poly model's details can be transferred onto the low poly model. This allows users to see the end result as they are painting, and they do not need to unwrap their high poly model.
Substance Painter can also be used to paint high poly models, as it can handle higher polys. Working at a resolution of 2048x2048, users can create textures on a low poly model that can then be applied to a high poly model without any loss of quality.
Baking is the process of saving information from a 3D mesh to a texture file (bitmap). This process typically involves a high poly mesh and a low poly mesh, with the high poly mesh details being transferred onto the low poly mesh. Substance 3D Painter generates Mesh Maps by baking mesh information, which can then be used to add incredible detail to 3D models in real-time with smart materials, masks, and brushes.
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You can paint low poly models directly in Substance Painter
Substance Painter also has the option to bake textures, which is the process of saving information from a 3D mesh (high poly) to a texture file (bitmap). This allows users to get the best of both worlds: the high-resolution detail of the high poly mesh and the low performance costs of the low poly mesh. The baking process is particularly useful for creating game-ready models, as it is more cost-efficient to use low poly models in game development.
However, it is not necessary to use a low poly model in Substance Painter. The software can handle higher polys, and if you work at a 2048x2048 resolution, you should be fine. Additionally, creating a whole new low poly model and baking it can be time-consuming and may not be worth it, as the performance boost may be marginal.
Overall, Substance Painter offers users the flexibility to work with either high or low poly models, depending on their specific needs and preferences.
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Baking textures allows you to combine high poly detail with low poly performance
Baking textures is an essential step in the 3D modelling process. It allows artists to transfer the intricate details of a high-poly model onto a simpler, low-poly version, which is more suitable for real-time applications like games and simulations. This process is known as high-poly to texture baking and is a critical technique in software like Blender.
The high-poly model's fine details are captured and baked into a texture map, which can then be applied to a less complex version of the model. This maintains the visual quality of the original model while optimising its performance. The process essentially combines high poly detail with low poly performance, resulting in efficient graphics rendering. This is especially useful for games, where high poly models may be too costly in terms of performance.
Substance 3D Painter is a software that supports baking textures. It can read mesh properties and bake them down to a texture, allowing for the combination of high poly detail and low poly performance. The baking process in Substance 3D Painter involves transferring mesh information to enhance the look of materials. For example, it can provide information about ambient shadows, the edges of geometry, or the thickness of a mesh.
There are various methods and considerations for the baking process. One method is to create a contiguous low-poly mesh, which avoids overlap baking errors and minimises aliased edges. Another consideration is the use of UV maps, which are crucial for projecting the details of the high-poly model. It is important to ensure minimal overlapping and efficient space utilisation on the UV map. Additionally, test bakes are recommended to fine-tune the bake settings and identify any errors before the final bake.
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Substance Painter supports a range of mesh maps with different uses
Substance 3D Painter supports a wide range of mesh maps with different uses. The software offers a flexible and efficient texturing application, allowing artists to work on games, films, or virtual reality projects. Substance 3D Painter supports various map formats, including standard formats like PNG and JPEG, as well as specialized formats for different rendering engines. This flexibility enables artists to export textures in the format that best suits their specific pipelines.
The standout feature of Substance 3D Painter is its ability to use generated Mesh Maps to drive texturing effects. This means that textures can respond dynamically to the underlying geometry, providing a level of realism that is challenging to achieve with traditional texturing methods. The software supports various map sizes, catering to different project requirements, and offers real-time previews of textures and materials, showcasing their responses to light and other environmental factors.
Substance 3D Painter's Mesh Maps are created by baking mesh information from a high poly mesh to a low poly mesh. This process allows artists to retain the high-resolution detail of the high poly mesh while benefiting from the low performance costs of the low poly mesh. The high poly mesh, with its many polygons, can display intricate 3D details, while the low poly mesh, with fewer polygons, is more cost-effective to store and render.
Substance 3D Painter's integration with Adobe Inc. further enhances its capabilities. The software supports industry workflows such as UDIM mapping, enabling detailed texturing of large models without a loss in resolution. This makes Substance 3D Painter a preferred choice for 3D professionals working in video game development, visual effects, and animation. The software's flexibility in modifying textures and map sizes also makes it well-suited for the iterative process of game development, where consistency and polish are paramount.
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Substance Painter is good at handling higher poly counts
Substance Painter is a texturing software that can be used to paint both low poly and high poly models. While it is possible to use Substance Painter on low poly models, the software is particularly good at handling higher poly counts.
Substance Painter offers a number of advantages when working with high poly models. Firstly, it can handle larger data sets and supports UDIM and 8K export, allowing users to import a high number of triangles and paint on them smoothly, even on mid-range GPUs. The software's ability to handle high poly models is further enhanced by its support for high-end graphics cards, such as the Pascal Titan/TI graphics cards, which can significantly improve performance when working with large data sets.
Another advantage of using Substance Painter for high poly models is its ability to bake high poly models. While the baking process can be time-consuming and may take longer for models with higher poly counts, Substance Painter offers flexibility in this area. Users can choose to bake the high poly model directly or use a more manual approach by baking out in chunks and compositing the normal maps. This flexibility ensures that users can work with high poly models without overwhelming their system.
Additionally, Substance Painter provides a seamless workflow when working with high poly models. It allows users to create full materials and plug maps directly into the material in the engine. This streamlined workflow makes it easier to work with high poly models and can result in faster iterations and more natural-looking outputs.
Overall, while Substance Painter can be used for both low poly and high poly models, its ability to handle higher poly counts, support for high-end graphics cards, flexible baking options, and seamless workflow make it a powerful tool for working with high poly models.
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Frequently asked questions
A high poly model has a lot of geometry and is used in advertising, films, animations, etc. A low poly model is a version of the high poly model with an optimized poly count, making it suitable for use in games.
Yes, you can paint low poly models in Substance Painter. Substance Painter is used to texture assets, and it can also bake a model from itself.
Substance Painter offers several advantages, including the ability to create full materials, bake models, and utilize custom alphas to add details. It also provides a large collection of user-made procedural textures that can enhance the quality of your models.
Baking in Substance Painter involves saving information from a 3D mesh to a texture file. It typically uses a high poly mesh and a low poly mesh. The high poly mesh provides high-resolution detail, while the low poly mesh has fewer polygons, making it cheaper to store and render. The baking process transfers the high poly mesh information onto the low poly mesh, resulting in a texture that combines high-level detail with low performance costs.











































