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The Bi-Weekly Substance Challenge (2018 Challenges)

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interpolator
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3DKyle interpolator


Hello everyone, welcome to the Bi-Weekly Substance Challenge 2018. 

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 past, 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 16 - Rail Road || 4th Jan - 18th Jan
Click the images for higher resolutions.
    

Challenge 17 - Substance Food || 20th of Jan - 3rd Feb 
Click the images for higher resolutions.
     

Here are some tasty substances from other artists to give you that appetite of inspiration.

Alice Gionchetta - Pizza
Stephen Honegger - Fried Egg
Curt Smith - Waffles
Jeff Kleinzweig - Pizza
Thomas Meurisse - Grill and Meat

Challenge 18 - Circuit board || 12th Feb - 26th Feb
Click the images for higher resolutions.
    

Challenge 19 - Concrete Damaged Floor || 1st March - 15th March 
Click the images for higher resolutions.
     

Challenge 20 - Cassette Tape || 17th March - 31st March 
Click the images for higher resolutions.
      

Challenge 21 - Old Shield || 5th April - 19th April.
Click the images for higher resolutions.
    

Challenge 22 - Grass || 1st May - 15th May.
Click the images for higher resolutions.
    

Challenge 23 - Metal Zinc Plates || 27th May - 10th June
Click the images for higher resolutions.
    

Replies

  • shaya
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    shaya null
    Ok @Keven_B , that texture is just stunning. The texture of a choclate is just so spot on!

    @rosen_kazlachev Thanks for sharing your breakdown with us! As someone who is quite new to SD and all this procedural stuff, I always love seeing how versatile it is and all the crazy different functions we can create.
  • LorasTyrell
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    LorasTyrell polycounter lvl 5
    @capone have a look at this link https://gumroad.com/l/pcHdw and the video he has made. There are some nodes in there that might suit your needs for tiling, I haven't looked too much though. But there is for example a node called height sampler that looks interesting
  • Kazperstan
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    Kazperstan greentooth
    Decided to actually render this out properly: 
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    I'll update this challenge tomorrow with the new topic. Only just recovered from being sick. I'll be doing a little blog about everything you guys done too :) 
  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    @Kazperstan Awesome toast! Love the variations.
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    New challenge, first post been updated. 
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    This new challenge is a fun one. I'm currently tacking the circuits;

    this kind of stuff 

    So, I'm doing it the slow and hard way (creating multiple versions that I hope to piece together into a tiling mural) but I bet there is some clever person out there who figures out a way of setting up a generator for this  :)
  • lucasz
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    lucasz polycounter lvl 7



    @capone - Looking at the texture it looks like you could just use multiple instances of lines / sloped down points and then make that edgy direction with the directional warp node - try inputting something very contrasty into the line like a cube.

    In work : lines => directional warp + shapes (blur hq)

    hope that speeds up your process - on a sidenote, seems your Portfolio Website is up for sale / out of date.

    ----

    Here's my Submission so far
     


     I think I will probably bail on the ,,circuits,, of my reference itself. They vary even more then the Pins and im too exhausted for this work atm to make 60+ instances and handplace them again :/






  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    @LucasOfero

    Your circuit board looks great! 

    So yeah I did it all manually last night, took a while and that's just the circuit mural  :'(  I like your idea with creating multiple lines with directional warp and shapes but worry that it will be difficult to avoid overlaps, make it feel manufactured etc. Might do a quick test when I get time. 

    Anyway yeah ideally with circuit boards you'd have all the circuits be very specific and line up with all the pins/plugs/features of the board but I don't think anyone will even attempt that? So might will just serve as a background mural. I may try and mask sections out where I place features to avoid circuit lines getting too close to them, to make it feel more functional.




  • Zocky
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    Zocky greentooth
    Hey people!
    I really need to improve my really bad SD skills, so i thought i'd try this challenge. I did read instructions, but if i'm still doing something wrong with this, please do let me know!
    Anyhow, here's my first WIP image:



    Right now, i have one bigger problem. AS it is now, i'm basically for each shape, like the bars, the large black square, etc....i'm making separate network of nodes, before i combine them all. Meaning, make square, duplicate/transform, blend, repeat, etc. This is so that i can still have masks for colors, cause if i combine them into one shape, and THEN duplicate...i'm not sure how to separate various elements.
    But this doesn't seems to be good idea either, since network is of course, getting rather complicated for something rather simple. So...anyone having any ideas, how to approach this? Basically, how do i duplicate all these elements and transform them around, without having too many  nodes that are basically the same, and still have control over various elements, via mask?

    Anyhow, tnx and cheers!
  • GhostDetector
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    GhostDetector polycounter lvl 10
    @Zocky
    Create an array node, I did mine with an FX map.

    I'm not done with mine yet, still finding things out.  Anybody know the vocabulary of the parts of the chip?  I assume this is a RAM chip.


  • Zocky
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    Zocky greentooth
    Looking great, man!

    Ok, i did work a little with FX maps, but i'm not entirely sure what you mean with array node...could you maybe explain a bit what you mean  with that? And tnx!
  • ChristenLA
    Zocky said:
     Basically, how do i duplicate all these elements and transform them around, without having too many  nodes that are basically the same, and still have control over various elements, via mask?
    Edit: Listen to GhostDetector they are wise.

  • GhostDetector
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    GhostDetector polycounter lvl 10
    @Zocky

    As in, create an FX map that iterates the input "x" many times with an offset of (x,y).
  • Zocky
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    Zocky greentooth
    Ah, hm, yeah, that does sounds like a good idea, tnx!
  • CharlyBrownP
    This is where I am so far in this challenge: I'm currently working on the height map:

  • lucasz
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    lucasz polycounter lvl 7
    @GhostDetector

    - No idea what it is (vocabluary) but it seems you're missing additional fonts on top of the Chip ( 84HT ).

    - MT / TG Letters are both a bit offset in the ref.

    Just my five Cents
  • Ra6ga5ka
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    Ra6ga5ka polycounter lvl 9
    how you guys manage the typo on the chips? is it a Texture or generated from atlases? I try to keep everything generated. The chip Shape and connectors are created but I missing the typo and how to place them in a generic way that it is still believable.
    The Placing is a bit random because I wanted to nail the objects and subgraphs fist to get the look and feel.
  • rexo12
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    rexo12 interpolator
    @Ra6ga5ka I, (and I assume everyone else) just use a Text node. It's been a feature since whenever the curve node was implemented.
  • Ra6ga5ka
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    Ra6ga5ka polycounter lvl 9
    @rexo12 thanks for the reply.
    I use SD 5.6.2, there is no Textnode so maybe I am a bit behind :D but then i Think i going to create my own Textnode with a LookupTable and a PixelProcessor or FXmap depends on the algorythm and how I will implement it.
    For me the SD challanges are for testing new techniques and learn a lot about procedural calculation methodes. Not to push the most beatiful art because I wont get paid for the Stuff I build and good art needs a lot of time Hopefully i get the things done I planned.

    But creating my onw textnode sounds like a nice challange to me.
  • Ra6ga5ka
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    Ra6ga5ka polycounter lvl 9
    So the glyph extraction works fine, But i think with the limited ammount of programming possibilities inside of Substance (no loops) and no textinputs (at least in SD 5.x) making it more or less impossible to build up the graph.
    I thought about creating a tool that combines the textinformations and Atlas informations into the colorvalues of at Bitmap and then read the stuff per pixel in a FX map or another PixelProcessor. but then I am not flexible anymore.
    I think I need to buy a new SD version.

    But it was an interesting approach to create such a Tool. maybe I can use it anywere else.

  • Ra6ga5ka
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    Ra6ga5ka polycounter lvl 9
    and I managed it to bring some "random" text and type into substance. it was an interesting task
  • lucasz
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    lucasz polycounter lvl 7
    @Ra6ga5ka

    Hey Robin, I personally just use the text node for the chips, but I mean, you could just photoshop and import as a bitmap - tough im not sure if thats an option for this challenge due the guidelines - Maybe Kyle allows some exceptions for the Letter Part .    Personally I would advise not to buy a License and rather getting a Subscription, due the Updates and Stuff. Might be worth waiting tough depending on your Situation, I bought my annual on Cyber Weekend when it was 40%? off - but I bet that they will have other discounts available this Year.
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Oooh my attempt this is bringing back some issues that I've failed to figure out before, curious if anyone can help.

    1) In tile generators is is possible to adjust a limit distance for how close shapes can be drawn together? In order to avoid distances like 1+2 and make them appear more further away like 1+3? I know how to do this with more nodes and masks (tile sampler mask input and threshold) , just seems strange for such a parameter not to exist in the tile generators?




    2) You know your exposed parameter setup menu? Is there a way to 'clean' this? As in delete those that are no longer links anymore? I often end up with 'exposed' parameters based from old nodes that no longer exist. I wish there was a way to clean it, even if it just highlighted the broken links that would be useful.

     
  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    @capone
    1) There's several ways you can go about distancing tiles equally. One way would be to tile everything equally(as in a standard grid, maybe with some offset, but try to avoid overlapped tiles). Use an input image as your pattern and scale down the shape within it then transform it to a corner or anywhere other than the center of the image. Lastly, add some random fixed rotation.

    Another way would be to use the Random Tile node. play with its "interstice" settings. I believe it even allows you to rotate within a tile and avoid overlap.

    You might also consider the splatter node as well. Tile Sample is super powerful, but i've found theres a few functions existing in other nodes that i wish were in the tile sampler and vice versa. wouldn't be surprised if we ultimately end up with one singular tile generator at some point.

    Edit: You could also create a noise. Something like a cellular noise, then mask out specific value ranges, and use that result as a mask to drive your tile sampler. 

    2) You should be able to delete empty exposed parameters with the lil "x" to the far right of each of them. Also, if the nodes they originated from still exist, be sure to click the expose dropdown list and hit "clear."
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Ah the rotation random was a smart idea, I'd messed around with the position randoms and offsets but after lowering them to zero and just locking them down to a grid I was able to set a more 'mechanical' looking layout which I wanted for this material. Thanks.

    As for the exposed parameters I think you missed my point. Sure, I can delete them if they are not being used but can you identify which ones are linked and which are not? Otherwise I just have to use my current process which is;

    - Press X to delete
    - Does anything change in the final material? 
    - If no then it's probably not linked and ok to delete. Go down to the next parameter and repeat.
    - If something changes then UNDO and move down to the next parameter.

    It's not a big deal but a bit of a pain, especially for a material like this where I can see myself having dozens of exposed parameters.
  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    ah i get ya. yeah, a "clean unused parameters" button could be helpful.
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Ooooh this is tricky.

    Just trying to get a nice layout/size setup for the height map at the moment. Currently 7 individual 'parts'. When I'm happy with what I have I'll need to create a SVG mask to hide a few of the circuit murals. There are too many 'obvious' overlaps, especially with the large circle and pill shaped parts. They are a bit of an awkward size, as I can't mask them between the circuits. Unfortunately at this stage I'm pretty sure I won't be able to fully avoid that issue, starting to think I shot myself in the foot making this type of board.

    Before this challenge I thought all circuit boards were generally the same, how wrong I was!


  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    Anyone having any luck with wires? I can't figure out a good way to do them, I'm currently using a tile generator with a bevel which sort of works. I'm constraining myself to procedural elements only, I must be able to seed a variation, change size etc... 

  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    This one is pretty interesting, I'm fascinated by the challenge of figuring out these wires. I don't think I have ever seen a procedural wire system in Substance Designer before. 

  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    Finally got something I feel is working, not focused to much on how it looks yet. Just trying to nail the distribution and flexibility. This is what I have so far. I'm super addicted to this, I wasn't planning on doing much then just got hooked trying to figure it out.
  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    Here's what I was able to come up with...
    Was pretty tricky getting the circuits I wanted. Tried to make logically placed circuits at the start, but quickly found how hard that would be to accurately pull off(doesn't help im no electrician) So instead, I went for something greebly. Anyway, I ultimately settled on creating a small bank of circuit patterns, then used a tile sampler to place them. They pick their shape and orientation based off rotation/distribution maps derived from where the chips are placed. Its pretty fun to plug a new random seed in and see the different patterns that come up.

    ArtStation Link


  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Awesome stuff guys, to answer one of the questions I've been given, the whole purpose of this challenge it to 'challenge' yourself like the name implies. It also is a Substance challenge so only use that software, though there is not a rule about not importing your own bitmaps, but it is preferred if you can do it without anything imported and just using Substance. 

    You guys are doing a stellar job on this recent challenge. 
  • Steppenwolf
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    Steppenwolf polycounter lvl 15
    My contribution to the circuit challenge:
    https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nRAdE




  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    That's really cool Steppen, now all I'm doing is trying to figure out how you did it :wink: I struggled to try and make everything procedural. I never got to the point of doing the detail work, purely focused on the layout and procedural structure. So unfortunately its no where near finished. I will come back to it at some point I think. 

    EDIT: I just did some messing around and figured it out. I feel like a bit of an idiot. I went about making my lines backwards I focused on the line instead of just creating shapes and edge detection *facepalm* I'm going to have to redo what I did. 

  • IchII3D
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    IchII3D polycounter lvl 12
    It turned out way better! Still got to add lots more elements, but looks way more natural. 

  • Steppenwolf
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    Steppenwolf polycounter lvl 15
    If it's any help i didn't focus on accuracy or realism with my substance. I tried at first but really couln't figure out how to direct lines on the paths i wanted them to go. Instead i settled for a random greeble approach and then just tried to make it read as circuit board with the colors and the little random texts/numbers.
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    I totally just noticed that the circuit board one was named as challenge 17 also, I've updated it to 18. Sorry for those who posted their work already and may have used number 17. I'll be sure to double check next time. 
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    My attempt, tempted to run a whole load of holes over the circuits. Not sure if it needs it though.

  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    New Challenge has been activated! 
  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    Woah! I made a concrete material very recently for a small game project, so I think I'll brush up on it and make it portfolio-ready!
    Also, super nice work on the circuit boards, guys! Care to share how you generated your patterns?

  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    Woo! btw @Daniel_Swing, saw those windows you made on Art Station. Nice work!
    You can DL my circuit board if you're interested in dissecting that mess. Good luck! (I'm working on optimizing it for sale in the meantime.)
    Link is in the description
    (I'd just post the direct DL link, but not sure what polycount's rules are on DL links)
  • Ra6ga5ka
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    Ra6ga5ka polycounter lvl 9
    This is how far i could get in the 2 Weeks .
  • Daniel_Swing
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Nice work, guessing it's partly down to flood fill to gradients. Works really well. Here's my (for now) finished height map.


  • ChristopherHenrick
    Hey polycount!

    This is the first time I participate in the challenges of this community and I would like to share the result I had with my damaged concrete floor!

    Hope you like it ;)

    Better res: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kJmW2



  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    Working on a crack generator for this. Trying to focus on more fracturing at areas where major crack lines meet as in real life. The noisy damage is coming from other blends driven by this generator. I'll def have to calm that down a bit as I go further. 
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    That's incredible Nick! No idea how you would determine to place something where cracks meet.

    Tried creating albedo and roughness for my height map but it didn't go too well. As usual I get lumpy, undefined results.


  • NickWilliams
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    NickWilliams polycounter lvl 4
    Thanks @capone! Its actually not so tricky. I just mask off more and more dense cell nodes via the inverse values of the prior cell noise. I'll edit this post tomorrow with a lil guide. Super simple technique! :smiley:
    Update:

    Edit:
    Here's how I restrict smaller cracks to places where larger cracks join. Its just a mask derived from the previous cell noise. Its nice, using the Cell 1 node since it produces a voronoi noise with a nice falloff. You can get similar noise from tiling over-sized parabolas, gaussians, or even your own gradated shapes! The only catch here, is sometimes the edge detect node wont play well with a noise that's TOO dense. From what I understand, the node is looking for a difference in adjacent pixel values exceeding a certain threshold to detect edges. So when you have a noise that is too dense(i.e. pixel values begin to blend or equalize with their neighboring pixels), the edge detect node won't pick that up. Also note, how the edge detect node result will vary dependent on texture size since that will affect density as well. A cellular noise that is only represented in blocked values like Cells 3 node, will give cleaner results but require further manipulation to get the same effect as in the method described here. 

    This is only one way to do it of course. Experiment!

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    That's amazing, had to really experiment until it started to click but am getting some more natural results with this method. I don't think I have an handle on it enough yet to make them my 'main' cracks but more something to blend in here and there within my crack tree. I tried using all sorts of nodes but for me I got the best results with cells1 every time. Oh also, unfortunately I don't think that this will work with floodfill>flood to gradient setup to get tilts for the general pattern which is why I'm going to use these as support cracks. Curious how it will look, especially with some warps/slopes. Will dabble with that tomorrow. Anyway thanks for sharing/explaining.


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