Lena Rivera
When setting up a shelf in Substance Painter, you'll come across a 『Painter』 folder that contains multiple subfolders such as 『materials』, 『brushes』, 『alphas』, and 『filters』. You can create subfolders within these folders to organise your usable materials. For instance, you can have 「Bolts」 and 「Rivets」 subfolders inside the 「Hard Surface」 folder. You can also import materials directly into Substance Painter, choosing to define import resources to the current session, project, or library.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How to create a new project | Click on File > New or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N |
| How to add a 3D model | Click on File > Select and add your 3D model file |
| Document resolution | Set to 4096 |
| Display settings | Edit as per requirements and link the downloaded color profile file to the Active Color Profile area |
| Texture files | Load as Mesh maps and assign them in the Texture Set settings |
| Mesh maps | Follow a specific naming convention to be automatically assigned to their Texture Sets |
| Physical size settings | Adjust to determine the physical size of the mesh in real-world units |
| Material scale | Use mesh file's internal unit scale to apply materials at a realistic scale |
| Texture Set | Created per material definition found on the imported 3D model |
| Multiple objects | Can be imported through a single file if they have different materials |
| Shelf setup | A folder with multiple subfolders for materials, brushes, alphas, filters, etc. |
| Subfolders | Can be created within folders to organize usable materials |
| Material files | Saved into the library for a specific project |
| Material import options | Current session, project, or library |
| File sharing | Possible with users who have the same or newer version of the software |
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What You'll Learn
How to import materials into Substance Painter
When setting up a shelf in Substance Painter, you will find a folder structure with multiple folders, such as materials, brushes, alphas, and filters, all contained within a folder titled 'Painter'. However, some studios may prefer to place their materials in specific folders, rather than within the Painter folder.
To import materials into Substance Painter, you can follow these steps:
- Designate a Substance Painter shelf: When you designate a Substance Painter shelf, the software will create the necessary folders to search for resources and categorise them.
- Import the material as a resource: You can import a material (resource) into Substance Painter (SP) by dragging and dropping the file into the software. This will place the material into the materials folder of your custom shelf.
- Ensure compatibility: Substance Painter requires cooked SBSAR files. While image files can be used without issues, SBS files are not supported.
- Choose the appropriate shelf location: If you want the imported substance to be accessible for a specific project only, import it into the project's designated shelf. If you want the substance to be available across all projects, import it into the general Shelf location.
By following these steps, you can successfully import materials into Substance Painter and organise them within your desired folder structure.
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How to set up a Substance Painter shelf
Setting up a Substance Painter shelf involves organising your project folders to efficiently store and access resources. When setting up a Substance Painter shelf, you should consider the following:
Folder Structure
The Substance Painter shelf is a repository for various resources, including brush alphas, material presets, and custom assets. The folder structure typically includes multiple folders such as "materials", "brushes", "alphas", and "filters", all contained within a parent folder titled 'Painter'. This parent folder can be placed within a "`Substance Painter`" folder in your project directory, allowing easy access to all the required resources.
Subfolders
Within the main "materials" folder, you can create subfolders for specific types of materials, such as "Bolts" and "Rivets" within a "Hard Surface" subfolder. These subfolders help organise your materials and make them easily accessible within the Substance Painter shelf.
File Compatibility
It's important to note that Substance Painter uses cooked SBSAR files, and importing SBS files directly may not work. Ensure that your files are in the correct format and placed in the appropriate folders for Substance Painter to recognise and utilise them effectively.
Separate Shelves
Depending on your project's scope and the number of custom materials and filters, you may consider creating separate shelves for different teams or projects. This helps maintain organisation and ensures that specific resources are easily accessible to the relevant team members.
Importing Resources
When importing materials or resources into your Substance Painter shelf, you may need to commit changes to source controls. Importing resources as a specific folder structure and ensuring they match the server folders can help Substance Painter recognise and utilise them effectively.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively set up a Substance Painter shelf, facilitating efficient resource management and accessibility for your projects.
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How to create subfolders within folders
When setting up a shelf in Substance Painter, you will encounter a folder titled 'Painter', which contains multiple folders such as 'Materials', 'Brushes', 'Alphas', and 'Filters'. Within the 'Materials' folder, you can create subfolders to organise your content. For example, you can have a "Bolts" and "Rivets" subfolder inside the "Hard Surface" folder.
To create subfolders within the 'Materials' folder, you need to follow the designated folder structure in Substance Painter. For instance, if you want a "Concrete" subfolder, you need to place it inside the "Materials" folder. This will result in the "Concrete" subfolder appearing in the shelf editor. You can also put materials into subfolders within a shelf, which works fine.
Additionally, you can create subfolders within the specific folders in Substance Painter to organise your usable materials. For example, when downloading and importing materials, you can define the import destination as the "Current Session", "Project", or "Library". If you choose "Project", the materials will be organised within the project folder.
It's worth noting that the organisation of materials and folders can impact how you paint and create materials, especially with complex, photorealistic substances. Therefore, understanding how to create subfolders within folders can enhance your workflow and material management in Substance Painter.
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How to share Substance Painter files with others
When sharing Substance Painter files with others, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, it's important to understand how project folders work in Substance Painter. Studios tend to place their materials in very specific folders, so organising files in a way that makes sense for the recipient is key.
You can set up a shelf in Substance Painter, which is essentially a folder containing multiple subfolders for materials, brushes, alphas, and filters. Within the project folder, you can create a "`Substance Painter`" folder to house all the relevant shelf option folders. This helps keep things organised and ensures that recipients can easily access the files they need.
When sharing Substance files, it's important to specify in the contract which parts are SBS and which are SBSAR. If you're sharing a considerable amount of work, such as generators that could be reused for other clients, consider charging extra. .SPP files are convenient for sharing with other artists as they are fast, all-in-one packages that can be checked quickly. However, some artists may feel hesitant to share their entire workflow, as it may make it easier for clients to replicate their style.
To export custom Substance Painter "Output Templates" for others to use, you can locate them in the following path: \Documents\Adobe\Adobe Substance 3D Painter\assets\export-presets\. These files have a .spexp extension.
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How to download and install Substance Painter
To download and install Substance Painter, you can purchase the software on Steam. The latest version is Substance 3D Painter 2025, which is compatible with Unity, Unreal, Godot, V-Ray, Redshift, and Renderman.
Substance Painter is the reference texturing app for 3D professionals and enthusiasts, used by AAA Game Developers and Indies, as well as Feature Animation and Visual Effects studios. The software allows users to convert textures into the right format for their final platform.
Substance Painter comes with a range of starter content materials, but there are many material types not included. You can create your own materials with Substance Designer, or download additional materials from the Marketplace.
To download new materials, simply click on "Send to App" in the Marketplace and choose Substance Painter. This will download and send the material to Substance Painter, placing the file into the correct folder directory. The file will then be available in your Library. The folder directory for downloaded materials is typically C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Adobe\Adobe Substance 3D Painter\assets\materials.
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Frequently asked questions
When setting up a shelf in Substance Painter, you will create a folder with multiple subfolders for materials, brushes, alphas, and filters. You can add subfolders within these folders to organise your materials.
In Substance Painter, go to File > Import Resources. Select Add Resources and choose the materials you want to import. You can then define where you want to import your resources to: Current Session, Project, or Library.
Yes, it is possible to point the 'Material' folder to another folder outside. However, some sbsar files will not function correctly inside Painter unless they are in the correct category.
The asset import options determine how things are saved within the Assets window. The "current session" option will cause any assets imported this way to be removed from the Assets list after Painter is closed. If the asset was used in a layer, it will still be preserved, but you won't have access to the original file.
