Exporting Diffuse Maps: A Substance Painter Guide

Adobe Substance 3D users have asked about exporting diffuse maps from Substance Painter, specifically how to export only one map and how to export the map as seen on the texture preview screen. While some users have suggested using the 2D View output template when exporting textures, others have recommended using free software like Blender to bake the combined onto a new image texture. Another user has suggested creating a fill layer and importing the texture map to drag into the Diffuse/Base Colour properties. The output files of the Bakers can be found next to the Substance graph where the mesh is linked or saved inside the project file.

Utilise the 2D View output template

To export only the diffuse map from Substance Painter, one method is to utilise the 2D View output template. The 2D View in Substance 3D Painter allows users to view and interact with mesh UV islands from the selected Texture Set. It provides the ability to paint on these mesh UV islands and offers various display modes to control the information visible in the viewport.

To utilise the 2D View for exporting the diffuse map, follow these steps:

• Navigate to the "Painter" menu, then select "Interface" and choose "Viewport" to access the 2D View settings.
• Within the 2D View, you can select the desired Texture Set to work with. Choose the appropriate set that contains your diffuse map.
• The 2D View displays mesh UV islands, allowing you to paint or make adjustments specifically to the diffuse map. Utilise the painting tools and settings within the 2D View to make the necessary modifications.
• The display mode dropdown gives you the option to display single channels, mesh maps, or the final material result with lighting. Select the appropriate display mode to ensure you are only exporting the diffuse map.
• Once you have made the desired changes and are satisfied with the diffuse map, initiate the export process within Substance Painter. Ensure that you select the appropriate export settings and output template to include only the diffuse map.
• Save your work, and you should now have successfully exported only the diffuse map from Substance Painter by utilising the 2D View output template.

By following these steps, you can isolate and export the diffuse map while working within the 2D View in Substance 3D Painter. This method provides a targeted approach to exporting specific aspects of your project while utilising the flexibility and customisation options offered by the 2D View.

Use a PNG with an alpha channel

If you are working with a PNG file and want to export only the diffuse map from Substance Painter, you can utilise the alpha channel. This method allows you to work with four grey channels: RGBA. By placing the diffuse map in the R channel, you can utilise the other channels for additional information. For instance, you can place the grey displacement map in the B channel and the AO in the A channel. It's important to remember that the albedo colour is required and will utilise three channels. If transparency is not a necessity, you can utilise the A channel to incorporate an extra grey texture map.

When using a PNG with an alpha channel, you can efficiently organise and export specific data within the PNG file format. This flexibility enables you to work with multiple maps within a single file, streamlining your workflow and ensuring that essential data is preserved during the export process.

The RGBA channels in a PNG file provide a versatile means to store and manipulate image data. By utilising the alpha channel, you can incorporate additional information beyond the standard red, green, and blue channels. This extra channel enhances your ability to work with transparency and overlay effects, making it a valuable tool for image editing and compositing.

When exporting diffuse maps from Substance Painter, utilising the alpha channel in a PNG file offers a strategic approach to managing your image data. By carefully allocating specific maps to the available channels, you can consolidate essential information into a single file. This method simplifies the export process and ensures that your diffuse maps are exported in a structured and organised manner.

The alpha channel in a PNG file serves as a versatile tool for image editing and compositing. It empowers you to go beyond the limitations of the standard colour channels, providing a dedicated space for transparency and additional map information. By understanding and harnessing the power of the alpha channel, you can achieve more intricate and controlled outcomes when working with diffuse maps in Substance Painter.

Bake combined onto a new image texture

Baking is the process of saving information from a 3D mesh to a texture file (bitmap). This process typically involves two meshes: a high-poly mesh with a high resolution and a low-poly mesh with fewer polygons, making it cheaper to store and render. Baking allows you to combine the high level of detail from the high-poly mesh with the low performance costs of the low-poly mesh.

To bake combined onto a new image texture in Substance Painter, you can follow these steps:

• Import your low-poly mesh into Substance Painter.
• Prepare your high-poly model, which will provide the details to be baked onto the low-poly mesh.
• Create a new project in Substance Painter, selecting your low-poly mesh as the base model.
• Navigate to the "Bake Mesh Maps" option and adjust the baking settings to match your needs, such as output size, anti-aliasing, and dilation width.
• Choose how the high-poly details should be transferred. A common method is "By Mesh Name," which ensures that corresponding parts of the meshes are correctly aligned.
• After setting up the baking parameters, select the maps you wish to bake combined onto a new image texture. This could include Normal Map, Ambient Occlusion (AO) Map, Curvature Map, and Position Map, depending on your requirements.
• Click the "Bake" button. Substance Painter will process the high-poly details and apply them to your low-poly mesh.
• Once the baking process is complete, you can further refine and apply additional textures, such as base color and roughness/metallic maps.
• Finally, export the texture maps for use in your game engine or 3D application. Ensure that you use consistent naming conventions and prepare your UV unwrapping to avoid texture stretching and artifacts.

By following these steps, you can successfully bake combined onto a new image texture in Substance Painter, allowing you to work with a single texture set instead of multiple maps.

Import your texture map and drag it into Diffuse/Base Colour properties

If you have a pre-existing texture map, you can import it into Substance Painter 2 and add it to your model. To do this, first, create a fill layer. Then, import your texture map and drag it into the Diffuse/Base Colour properties.

This process should be straightforward, but some users have reported issues with their UV coordinates not applying to the model. If you encounter this issue, you may need to use a different version of Substance Painter or try the fill layer trick with different settings.

Alternatively, you can try using the "baked stylised" filter to paint your model to a single texture. You can also try exporting as a 2D view, which may allow you to export the diffuse map as seen on the texture preview screen.

Use the File > Export Textures dialog and choose the export preset Mesh maps

To export diffuse maps from Substance 3D Painter, you can use the File > Export Textures dialog. This powerful export dialog allows you to customise the format and settings of the exported files.

To do this, access the Export Textures dialog and select the Settings tab, which contains the primary settings for your export. Here, you can enable or disable the export of texture sets using the checkboxes on the left. You can also adjust the settings for individual texture sets or disable the output of specific maps.

Under Presets, you can view and select from a list of available templates. Selecting a template will show you the files that the template exports under "Output maps." You can also add extra files to a template using the buttons next to "Create."

To export only the diffuse maps, choose the export preset "Mesh maps." This will ensure that only the diffuse maps are included in the output.

Additionally, you can create a custom Output template to configure your exports according to your specific needs. This allows you to choose which template to edit, duplicate, or rename. When creating a custom template, you can drag maps from Input maps, Mesh maps, and Converted maps into the channels of the available files to customise your export further.

Frequently asked questions