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The Bi-Weekly Substance Challenge (Challenge 3 & 4)

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interpolator
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3DKyle interpolator


Hello everyone, welcome to the Bi-Weekly Substance Challenge. 
Like the previous challenge that was ran by Tejay, this is going to be running everyone 2 weeks to give people a little longer to work on the materials.

How it works
  • Every 2 weeks a new reference will be shared to be recreated, you are also encouraged to find your own reference, as long as it still fits the topic for that bi-weekly substance, for example if we share a mud reference, you can gather you own mud reference. 
  • You can be creative with the reference and make it look either realistic, stylized or hand-painted, it is up to you.

Guidelines
  • Try and give constructive criticism, giving and receiving this should help each of us artist grow.
  • This is a Substance Challenge, so stick with that software.
  • You can post Wip's and finished materials here. 
  • Don't share work you've done in the pass, if you done a material before, try it again don't try pass old work off as something you did for this. 
  • Final material renders to be rendered in a real-time engine (Marmoset, UE4, Unity, Cryengine, Stingray, IRay is also accepted).
  • This is a learning experience for all, don't be afraid to ask questions.
  • Learn all that you can and do share what you also learn. 
  • Please be respectful to each and everyone. 

Discord
We have a channel in the Allegorithmic Discord group where you can share WIP's and final images as well as discuss the challenge, Click here to go to it.
If you have any other questions in relations to any of the Allegorithmic's software, use the appropriate channels for those questions.

Resources

Previous Challenges

Challenge 3 - Rock on! (Rock) || Time Limit 2nd Mar - 16th Mar.
Click the pictures for bigger resolutions.
 

Challenge 4 - Sewer Drain || Time Limit 17th Mar - 31st Mar.
Click pictures for bigger resolutions. 
   

Replies

  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    My last render was horrible, here's a better one (and more in my sketchbook).
  • Hirudo89
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    Hirudo89 triangle
    @Hirudo89 wow looking super cool, mind me asking how you got the text to bend around the edge? 

    Sure. I used the Cartesian-to-polar node, you have to fiddle with the text size box to make it look right though.

  • alexholmesl93
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    alexholmesl93 polycounter lvl 7
    @Hirudo89 oh nice, that looks so useful, thanks!

    EDIT: Tonight's wip, gave the Cartesian-to-polar node a go! 



  • Merlynn
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    Merlynn polycounter lvl 8
    That looks pretty cool already everyone. Here is my latest wip. Somewhat struggling with the colors.
  • Sean VanGorder
    Awesome stuff!

    First pass on blocking in height and some color, a bit more refining and then on to the details

  • Bruno Afonseca
    Wow, some impressive stuff there guys :) I've spent a few days out of town so I'm late on my rocks, but I'll get it done.
    One thing that you guys might find useful is this node I made: https://share.allegorithmic.com/libraries/2408
    It allows you to do all sorts of custom coordinates and it doesn't create the seams the polar coordinate node sometimes does.
  • ibanwar
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    ibanwar polycounter lvl 5
    Aweome stuff out there!
    He is my participation to this challenge! Hope you like it :smiley: fell free to leave a feedback on how i can improve it :)
  • kimkir
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    kimkir polycounter lvl 13
    I'm loving the volume you're all getting so far! 
  • alexholmesl93
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    alexholmesl93 polycounter lvl 7
    @Bruno Afonseca That tool looks really cool, but I cant quite get it working. Your images on Substance Share show 3 inputs to the UV lookup node, I only see 2? 

    @ibanwar good start! I think that the text would look better on a flat background, rather than on top of a pattern. Also that inner square pattern is non-symmetrical, I would fill that gap with something or continue the pattern all the way around. Hope that helps!
  • Bruno Afonseca
    @alexholmesl93 Yeah, there's a switch in there that changes the inputs, to allow you to either input the U and V channels separately or all at once. Mainly for convenience really! If you use in conjunction with this node here https://share.allegorithmic.com/libraries/2401 you can get some cool stuff :)

  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    Added some rust today! I also upgraded to SD6, so I added text!

  • alexholmesl93
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    alexholmesl93 polycounter lvl 7
    @Bruno Afonseca awesome, I am seeing some results with UV lookup now, and yeah your Advanced Gradients generator is so useful! cheers man!
  • Merlynn
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    Merlynn polycounter lvl 8
    @Sean VanGorder  @Daniel_Swing really nice rendering. Looks pretty cool.

    Here's an update on my progress. Using Marmoset for the first time to render, so I'm happy for any feedback.
  • ansh0488
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    ansh0488 polycounter lvl 11
    Here's another screenshot of the texturing WIP. Cheers!






  • lukors
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    lukors polycounter lvl 9
    Here is my contribution to this challenge. I'm going for realism. Criticism is welcome!


  • Bruno Afonseca
    Finally got a moment to finish my #3!



  • Grindy
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    Grindy polycounter lvl 10
    Here's my humble progress so far. Being quite new to Designer I've already learned a couple of things at this point in this project.

  • Hirudo89
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    Hirudo89 triangle
    I'm calling mine done now. Hope you like it and feel free to leave some feedback for me  to improve! 



  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7
    everyones is looking super good :) didnt have much time to do this one but squeezed this out somehow.
     
  • lukors
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    lukors polycounter lvl 9
    Really nice work everyone!

    @Hirudo89 the material looks great to me, really nice work. In my opinion the design itself is a little bit too busy though. Looks like some advanced cog or something almost, and it looks awesome, but maybe it's a bit too much for a sewer drain?
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Some great ones coming out on this one guys well done :) hoping to start mine at some point but been busy with freelance work. 

    @Hirudo89 That looking really good. Glad to see you got some bevel on the edges so the stretching when the height is up isn't too obvious. 

    @Adelphia Very interesting dude, Did you do that middle pattern in SD because if you did call me impressed. If not do remember this challenge is to be full on Substance, not imported bitmaps. 
  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7
    3DKyle said:
    Some great ones coming out on this one guys well done :) hoping to start mine at some point but been busy with freelance work. 

    @Hirudo89 That looking really good. Glad to see you got some bevel on the edges so the stretching when the height is up isn't too obvious. 

    @Adelphia Very interesting dude, Did you do that middle pattern in SD because if you did call me impressed. If not do remember this challenge is to be full on Substance, not imported bitmaps. 
    It's all in substance, no bitmaps, ill post the graph later on once I've cleaned it up, it's a mess right now. 
  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    @Grindy : Really good start! Hope you stay around to learn even more!
    @Merlynn : Looks nice! The intense edge-damage makes the lid look a bit stylized - I don't know if it's intentional. If it's not, lowering the intensity would solve that pretty good, I think.
    @ansh0488 :
    Looking good, though I feel like you have a lot of flat surfaces - some scratches or a bit of damage would be nice!
    @Adelphia : Everything is substance? Even the bird-thing???
    @Hirudo89 : Looking really nice! Maybe the height-map is a bit intense though? I feel like it can rip tires and shoes. I also feel like more dirt would have been collected in those crevasses.

    @Bruno Afonseca : Really sweet rocks!
  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7
    @Daniel_Swing yup everything in substance
  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    I'm looking forward to see the graph!
  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7

    here it is, think i did a good job cleaning it up, it was a riot. this is the pattern before it gets slop blurred etc. if anyone wants me to zoom in on any part just let me know
  • 15wgray
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    15wgray null

    Hey guys, first post to the challenge. I've been following along using this as a fun way to learn substance. It's been great seeing everyone's work and the community around here.
    Any criticism would be great!
  • Nette
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    Nette polycounter lvl 4
    Hello guys!!! Really loving all the versions here. Im having trouble with the circular splatter. Cant find the correct rotation so all the pieces get along with the correct rotation for each piece like the reference. What i'm doing wrong?

  • Bruno Afonseca
    Nette said:
    Hello guys!!! Really loving all the versions here. Im having trouble with the circular splatter. Cant find the correct rotation so all the pieces get along with the correct rotation for each piece like the reference. What i'm doing wrong?
    try checking "Center Orientation" and rotating the shape with the dial right above!
  • Nette
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    Nette polycounter lvl 4
    Nette said:
    Hello guys!!! Really loving all the versions here. Im having trouble with the circular splatter. Cant find the correct rotation so all the pieces get along with the correct rotation for each piece like the reference. What i'm doing wrong?
    try checking "Center Orientation" and rotating the shape with the dial right above!
    Thanks a lot!!! That was it, so simple thanks ^_^ 
  • ansh0488
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    ansh0488 polycounter lvl 11
    Had some time during the weekend. Calling it done for now. Cheers!


  • JoachimC
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    JoachimC polycounter lvl 7
    @ansh0488 Very cool! I especially like the the material definition on the metal itself. If I could say one thing is maybe the dirt in the crevices could use another mask to randomize its spread.

    @15wgray Good stuff, maybe you could try adding a bit more of a height effect as it's looking a little flat right now?

    @Adelphia Jesus, that pattern. Well done. :D

    @Hirudo89 Great work! I love the amount of depth there is to it.

    @Grindy Looking like a good start, keep it up.

    @Bruno Afonseca Awesome rocks!

    @lukors Cool stuff, maybe you could make the little squares a bit sharper? Maybe it's just me but they look a little bit like blocks of chocolate rather than metal.

    @Merlynn Nice, I like the sharp little cuts and dents you've got everywhere. In your second pic the lighting makes the central section look a bit like tiles though.

    @Daniel_Swing Looking good so far, pretty realistic! Maybe a bit on the light colored side?

    @ibanwar Cool, I would say to go and take a look at some reference pics and choose a pattern, try to recreate that. I'd also try and add more depth and color contrast, and make the text a bit smaller and less stretched out. :)

    @Sean VanGorder Impressive, nice material definition, depth and lighting.

    @alexholmesl93 Good progress! The dirt looks a bit too strong for me but other than that really cool.

    Here's an update on mine, nearly there :) spent some time making a concrete around it that can be tweaked with amount of rainfall, just because.

    Spent a lot of time on the drain itself to clean up the graph because it became really messy. Added stuff like dirt buildup and rust. Not completely happy yet with the colors and roughness on some of the dirt in the hexes though. Going to work on that next before adding more stuff.

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    About 50% there. This isn't presentable at the moment, I'm just getting super frustrated as I've spent around 10 hours on this and as usual I've over complicated the setup. So my graph is an absolute mess because I keep trying to remake different masks and getting different details to different maps is getting really confusing. Also for some reason my ambient map is screwed, even though I think my normals are ok my AO looks terrible no matter what node/setting I use.

    I know how to improve my albedo and add variation in the roughness/metallics but I'm tempted to go and try and clean my graph, doing this might result in a late submission though. 

    Sorry for the rant, thought it would be interesting for newbies to see that even people who have been using this software for several months can mess up their substances.







    My graph :( 


  • JoachimC
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    JoachimC polycounter lvl 7
    @capone Nice work! I also totally have the same issue about the graphs and making them too complicated at first. You are definitely not alone here.

    I have found myself over the course of these challenges spending the first few days or even first week experimenting and doodling as I find out where I want to go with the substance, and then rebuild the thing from scratch in a different, more logical order. Basically ripping my experimental work apart and piecing it back together in a way that makes sense.
    Every time I've done it, it was definitely for the best as I ended up with a few less nodes to manage, much easier to read connections, and ultimately a better overall quality.
  • Merlynn
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    Merlynn polycounter lvl 8
    Little update on my side. Mostly focusing on pushing more towards realism. Thanks for the feedback @Daniel_Swing and @JoachimC Let`s see if I can add a proper ground. I'm a bit short on time.

    @ansh0488 looks very nice
    @15wgray I think you could add more roughness variation and it might help to make the white marks fully metallic, if it is supposed to be bare metal?
    @capone my graph is super messy too
  • Freezy Demon
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    Freezy Demon polycounter lvl 5
    Awesome work here!
    Here's my go at the challenge. It was a nice experience playing with the text node for the first time.
  • Merlynn
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    Merlynn polycounter lvl 8
    Here's my final entry so far. Any feedback welcome :)


  • JoachimC
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    JoachimC polycounter lvl 7
    @Merlynn Nice work, definitely improved from last version.

    @Freezy Demon Also quite cool! I like your use of text and an elaborate pattern. I do feel there is a bit too much contrast between the stone and metal colors, but maybe that was also in your reference or you were going for that? :)

    And here's mine, calling it done because I reached a place where I'm happy with it and I don't have too much time in the next few days before deadline. I may have also gone a bit off topic by doing the concrete but it was just too darn fun.
    Have a look on Artstation for more: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/V0wlZ





  • alexholmesl93
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    alexholmesl93 polycounter lvl 7
    Might make a few more tweaks before calling this done, anyone got any ideas for fine scratches / a brushed metal look?


    Having so much fun with these Sewer covers, thought I would have another go with this new reference image I came across. Probably won't finish this by the end of the challenge though.

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Sad to say my attempt is going to miss the deadline but  JoachimC inspired me to really go in and clean up my graph. It's in a much more controllable state now and am pleased with where this is going. Here is a WIP showing a much cleaner refined design of what I had before. This is just the height/normals.



    Can I ask a question? If you look under the lettering at the bottom there is some weird noise banding going on. I've tried blurring potential culprit nodes and can't kill it. I recall a past tutorial where they mention this but I can't for the life of me remember where it was but it had something to do with adjusting the mip mapping setting on 2D Transforms? I tried some different settings but nothing fixed it. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean this artifacts up? Here is another focused example of it;


  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    You'll are really killing it.

    Sorry for lack of feedback, was hoping to also join this but I've been busy with some freelance stuff. The next challenge will be up this weekend. (Most likely Saturday morning GMT). 
  • lukors
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    lukors polycounter lvl 9
    capone said:
    If you look under the lettering at the bottom there is some weird noise banding going on. I've tried blurring potential culprit nodes and can't kill it. I recall a past tutorial where they mention this but I can't for the life of me remember where it was but it had something to do with adjusting the mip mapping setting on 2D Transforms? I tried some different settings but nothing fixed it. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean this artifacts up?
    Is it a 2D Transform that causes the issue? I think all you can do with mipmaps for those are to set the "Mipmap Mode" to manual, which allows you to manually set the "Mipmap Level" to something. I had an issue like this that I think came from using a bevel node on a source that was was too sharp, I ended up simply using a blur instead of bevel to get the shape I wanted.
  • Zombiecrackers
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    Zombiecrackers polycounter lvl 5
    Found a little time to have a go with this one, getting close to the end of the semester so pretty busy, not bad for a first attempt, the pattern and design has come out fairly well but I think the colours and metal are letting it down and could use some work, CC welcome and appreciated :smile:


  • sZXZ
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    sZXZ polycounter lvl 2
    http://imgur.com/a/a84tj This is what I got. Blended with default material basically you plug any material and have manhole on it 
  • bobmartien
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    bobmartien polycounter lvl 11
    Hi guys, cool stuff !
    here is my contribution. I just wanted to reproduce the "pattern" so I don't think I will push this further.
    Only normal/heigth map.


  • Nette
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    Nette polycounter lvl 4
    Hello guys!! Awesome works :D 
    Here is my take in the sewer, learned a lot. Cant wait for the next one. 

  • etienneh99
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    etienneh99 polycounter lvl 3
    My entry for the challenge.
  • Matchiine
    Hello everyone, here's my try at the sewer drain, though perhaps a little late. I'll try to join in earlier next round for more chances at feedback and stuff!
  • Nepfish
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    Nepfish polycounter lvl 8
    Calling this one finished. Thats some pretty nice looking sewer man hole cover thingies I'm seeing here.
    GOOD JAB ALL! Eager to start on the next challenge.

  • N4meless
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    N4meless greentooth
    Finished mine yesterday but didn't have time to post it on here, so here we go more on my artstation:



    A lot of really good work on this challenge, Sewer was really inspiring !

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