The Substance 3D Assets library includes a vast range of 3D textiles, including a wide selection of embroideries and laces. Creating such delicate materials at a photorealistic level requires some knowledge of the real-life fabrication techniques used. Fortunately, Pauline Boiteux is an authority on the creation of textiles in 3D, bringing real-world insight into the creation of her 3D materials. Here, we examine some of the laces and embroideries she has created as part of her work within the Substance 3D Assets team.
Parametric lace materials, such as those below, look outstanding in their own right. Here, first, we’ll look at examples of some of the lace materials present in the Substance 3D Assets library.
The materials in this article are drawn from the Delicate Touch Collection on Substance 3D Assets; you can access those materials right now!
Parametric Lace Materials are Stunning on Their Own…
Every material within the Substance 3D Assets library is parametric – that is, each material includes modifiable parameters, which can be adjusted to suit the precise needs of a specific 3D project. Here (below) we can see how easy it is to modify characteristics such as the density of the weave within a 3D material, or its color.
Texturing assets in this way also gives designers the possibility to iterate rapidly, adding details and testing out ideas as needed, to quickly find the perfect fit for their creation.
… And They’re Outstanding With Extra Layers of Detail
As mentioned above, while Pauline’s lace materials are exquisite in their own right, that’s only half the story. It’s a simple matter to add details such as sequins. This approach might prove useful for a fashion designer, for instance; this 3D material could then be applied to clothing meshes directly.
In the clip below, Pauline has created a base lace material of mesh, and added an extra layer of embroidery. The clip highlights how easy and fast it is to modify the characteristics of the material.
As always, there are a lot of options to help you customize the materials. For instance, you can play with the sequins parameters.
The material parameters also helps you be creative: step away from sequins with patterns.
Above: changing the parameters of a parametric lace base material, Dots Fine Knit Lurex Fabric. Below: a render of that same base material, with a pattern applied.
A wide range of base materials are available on Substance 3D Assets; these are high-quality materials with modifiable parameters, allowing you an essentially infinite amount of possibility for variation. The clip below illustrates how modifying a material’s parameters can change its overall appearance enormously.
Even More Personalization with Substance Designer
Modifying materials by adjusting each material’s exposed parameters, as seen in the video above, is certainly the most accessible way to change a material’s characteristics. But for those seeking an even greater degree of customization, and who have some familiarity with Substance 3D Designer, each material’s SBS node graph is also provided; editing these graphs in Designer opens the door to a higher level of potential for personalization, providing the possibility of mixing or copying selected sections of each material’s graph, adding in truly bespoke characteristics, and much more. In this way, a 3D artist can recreate various layers of weaves or knits within Substance 3D Designer, to produce a material that is realistic and beautiful.
Here, below, is an example of a high resolution base material that would be suitable for a vast range of fabric projects.
Regular Mesh Fabric (above and below).
Everything comes together to create materials of exceptional quality, which can be used to texture underwear garments, or even entire outfits – Pauline’s artwork below is one example of the exceptional results possible with this sort of approach.
You can take a look at the Delicate Touch collection, as well as a huge range of 3D fabric materials besides, on the Substance 3D Assets library right now.
