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The Bi-Weekly Substance Challenge (Challenge 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12)

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interpolator
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3DKyle interpolator


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

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 7 - Stuck in the mud! (Muddy ground) || 12th May - 26th May.
Click the pictures for bigger resolutions.
  

Challenge 8 - Copper || 27th May - 10th June.
Click the pictures for bigger resolutions.
        

Challenge 9 - Windows || 13th June - 27th June
Click the images for higher resolutions. 
        

Challenge 10 - Ornate Door || 28th June - 12th July
Click the images for higher resolutions. 
        

Challenge 11 - Moorish Mosaics || July 17th - 31st July
Click the images for higher resolutions. 
        

Challenge 12 - Round Ornaments || August 2nd - 16th August
Click the images for higher resolutions.
         

Replies

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    WIP on my height/normals. Still wanting to add more to it such as footprints, I've seen other people do footprints in substance but it always seems to bitmaps rather than procedural. I really really tried it a few months ago but found myself too restricted with my abilities, I think I could do it now even if was a mad mess of transform2Ds and shapes etc. I just wish you could draw your image inputs along a path (to get the tracks going around the foot soul).



    Just had a go, haha how horrendous is this attempt. Damn it's SO difficult.




  • K
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    K polycounter lvl 9
    Thats a pretty solid start!
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Great start @capone
    Going to start mine today. Hopefully see more people joining in soon. 
  • Eggfruit
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    Eggfruit polycounter lvl 3
    Nice stuff capone. I realy like the trails left behind by the flowing water.

    I realize now I should have taken some progress shots. Anyway, here is what I've been doing over the weekend.


    I think the close-up looks a bit green because I was using the cave entrance HDR. But it fits the theme I guess.
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    This is what I got so far. The color is really just block color to separate each component. 

  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Hope everyone else is doing well with their versions. 
    Would love to see updates. 
    Here is my update from today. Not happy with the stones yet but the mud itself I'm liking. 

  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    Looking really good! I'll be joining in sometime over the weekend.
  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7
    WIP of mine today looking forward to seeing others stuff

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    @Eggfruit Some nice chunky volume going on here, almost feels stylized in a Uncharted sort of way. That close up shot looks really nice, liquid has nice depth. WIP obviously so you may be doing this stuff but I think the following would help;

    - More variation in size of rocks, rocks lighter in colour in general again more variation, not as many
    - Vegetation needs more colour

    @3DKyle Amazing detail work here, can easily spot the variation in sizes. I think it might have been one of your video tutorials I purchased where you try to have that small, medium and large detail breakdown which this substance is really expressing well. Looking forward to seeing flats. In the cylinder it looks like the 'holes' (where there is no mud) seem like they are going to look too artificial in layout, might need a longer transition (less contrast in your mask?) so that at least in some places the transitions are not constant. At least from a distance. 

    @Nathan3D Love the markings on this. Almost looks like mud that has been driven on. Would blend out the transition between mud and liquid more perhaps. 

    Here is mine, I actually restarted as I always seem to do. Still WIP, generally want to improve micro detail, add small twigs (maybe vegetation too) and some cracks in the more dried out patches. I want to make the 'caked mud' heaps more mud like, perhaps with just more markings (looks too clean I think).



  • Eggfruit
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    Eggfruit polycounter lvl 3
    I haven't been able to work on my material for the last few days. But it's nice to see other people's progress

    @capone Thanks for the feedback. I love the material design of uncharted and I was indeed going for that more expressive kind of design. Glad you noticed! You're right about the colors, those definitely need some attention. And after seeing @3DKyle 's material I feel like I need to bring out my high frequency detail more. I might ditch the grass altogether, as I'm not to happy with it.

    I was writing feedback back to you, but you already noted most of what I was going to say. I do want to add that right now your low areas look dryer then the high areas, because the dirt in the high areas is darker and more saturated, as wet mud tends to be. And you would expect the low areas to stay wet longer.

    @3DKyle. Same thing: The edges of your dried up puddles look much dryer then everything else. I cans see what you were going for with floating stuff left behind by the drying water, but right now it just looks like dirt.(perhaps add a bunch of small twigs and other debris to these edges)
    Also, the orange feels a bit out of place. Perhaps it would work if there were some chunks of orange clay in other areas of the material as well. And the way the orange is streaked out makes it look like water was flowing in a straight line, rather then sitting in a pool. The fine detail is absolutely stunning by the way (although the rocks could do with being a bit smoother) The little twigs, the fine cracks in the dirt, all very satisfying to look at.

    @Nathan3D. Great looking clay-like mud. Could do with some separate chunks dirt. The fine detail in the low areas could do with a bit more variation as well.
  • Confrontation
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    Confrontation polycounter lvl 9
    My start on the challenge.
  • RobeOmega
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    RobeOmega polycounter lvl 10
    I made a start on it that I liked, but when I went to save it decided to crash.

    Here is the start of attempt 2

  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    more WIP, is this going more in the direction you were pointing me towards with the more saturated ground mud and less saturated 'heaps'? @Eggfruit

    Still got to work on my microdetails. I turned the pebbles into random little bits of 'stuff', might try and bring pebbles/stones back into it later. 




  • Drewtaylor3d
    Starting a bit late but heres my first WIP
  • Nathan3D
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    Nathan3D polycounter lvl 7

    here is my final for just now you can see more images over here https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EDebK
    @Confrontation
     looking like a good start, you should get your mud down first though before moving onto other elements like twigs and stones etc. maybe some more height variation like mud clumping or crumbling areas.

    @RobeOmega i hate it when that happens. how are you doing your footprints? just a mixture of shapes? definitely try get some more height in there though and your stones just look like colour info and no height?

    @capone looking good man your higher parts look a little soft though, keep going though :)

    @3DKyle terrible, start over ;);)
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Damn @Nathan3D that is really really nice. I love the depth and volume of the markings, looks really organic. The transition between pool and mud also looks much more natural now.

    My base is coming along. Can't wait to get this into marmoset and really push it.

    Brought back some larger rocks. Any ideas? Vegetation/Footprints/cracks/tracks/lines? I've made that error of not sticking to particular reference so I'm not quite sure what I'm aiming for  :s



    Closup shot!  you can see some subtle microdetail here. Is it enough?




  • RobeOmega
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    RobeOmega polycounter lvl 10
    @Nathan3D  Thanks for the feedback! I am currently using a bitmap off the internet for the footprints, but I may change that soon.

    Done some changes:

    Tweaked the height map for the rocks to make them stick out more
    Added some parts of smoother/flattened out dirt and mixed it with the more fine clumps of dirt
    Added some subtle flattened out parts where very old footprints have been
    Added more height variation
    Added more depth for the footprints
    Added some noise to the footprints as they were too super clean and perfectly shaped before

    Still up for more feedback as always.


  • ViniCortez
    Hi guys, here is my first w.i.p for the challenge :)


  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Just some personal notes though I may be wrong :)

    @RobeOmega

    - Looks too dry, almost like soil. I guess 3DKyle also created a dry looking mud but I think it works for him because of the transitions, microdetails and variation. 
    - I'd add more colour variation from the flat areas to the detailed areas? More colour variation in general.
    - Since it's dry mud try something like cracks in the 'flat' areas?
    - Rocks look a little too artifical? They all feel too similar, perhaps try getting some more tone difference in them?

    @ViniCortez

    - Needs more colour variation
    - The sunken in parts are currently too harsh in transition
    - I like the general markings you have going on, it's interesting details.
  • ViniCortez
    @capone Yeah, the base color is just a uniform color yet
  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    WiP image #1: Going for some horse-trampled mud.

    I'll be adjusting the rocks a bit and add twigs. The color also needs more work. What else do you guys think is missing?
  • BlackNeko
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    BlackNeko polycounter lvl 9
    Hi! here's my WIP


    @capone haha, I know what you mean. :D   it has already many elements though, I personally wouldn't worry too much about that.
                 have you added the micro-details into the roughness too? the dry areas might be better with a darker roughness value or some small variations

    @Daniel_Swing nice idea! :)
           was the basecolor in your reference toward pink? it looks a bit similar to wet granite, perhaps changing either the basecolor or adding some bigger bumps in the normal could improve it.
  • ViniCortez
    Finished it! B)
    this was fun to do.
    What do you guys think?

    More images: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/2aNOA





  • RobeOmega
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    RobeOmega polycounter lvl 10
    @capone Thanks for the feedback! I will get round to it in a few days
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    @ViniCortez Congrats on improving it and finishing it. The colour variation really brings it to life. 
  • ViniCortez
  • Eggfruit
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    Eggfruit polycounter lvl 3
    This is what I'm at now. Might be my final version, as a lot of  further changes I tried either made it look worse, or ruined the more stylized look I'm going for. Any further feedback would still be appreciated though.

    @capone Yeah, that's what I meant with the saturation. Your last screenshot really shows different amounts of wetness very well.
    Be careful with how steep the edges of your pebbles are. Right now they are forming these black outlines, which tells me the edges are to steep for your normal map. Either make them a bit lower or bevel/blur the edges a bit more. They could also do with a bit more variation in size. Also add another shape of twigs. It's very noticeable how every twig is the same straight stick. I think your microdetail looks pretty good. Some cracks in the dry areas aren't a bad idea. Also add some medium detail to the height, some bumpyness.

    @RobeOmega I like your microdetail, but would agree it looks a bit dry for mud. A bit more height variation would be nice. You have quite small little dimples in the ground now, add some larger dimples on top of that. Also add variation to the pebbles. Not just in tone, but also different sizes, and spaced out less evenly.

    @Daniel_Swing Very nice already. Perhaps add some medium detail to the height. Right now you have some fine grain on the surface, but no real bumpyness other then the very large subtle height variations.

    @BlackNeko Nice start. I like the variation of unevenly shaped bumps. Looks much beter then generic smooth bumps IMO. Looking forward to see what kind of details you'll add to it.

    @ViniCortez Very nice end result. The  only point of criticism I would have is that the puddles look oddly steep. Other then that it looks great. The difference in colors, different levels of detail. Satisfying looking cracks in the dry areas. Very nice.
  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    WiP image #2: Added some more height differences.

    I feel like it got a bit too grainy and I still need to manage the color.
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll drop some feedback tomorrow. 
    I'm calling mine done as I got a tutorial series coming out and want to make sure it's out this week. 
    More images @ https://www.artstation.com/artwork/5Em3A




  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Done for now.

    Something always goes a bit wrong when I start working in marmoset, have to keep adjusting textures to make it work in substance and then again in marmoset.  I think my WIP shots from SD look better? or have I just been looking at it too much! Also, when people render in marmoset do they make their textures 4K? (This is still set to 2K).

    Anyway learnt some interesting things here that I hope to correct next time, especially the value of reference and also the value of micro detail in the albedo (not just the height/normal).





  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    WiP image #3: Removed the color to get a clearer view of the roughness and height. Also lowered the AO by about 95%.

    @3DKyle : I think your puddles look a bit too sharp. But the dirt is superb!
    @capone : use your height map as a displacement map in marmoset, add a 'Flat' subdivision to your material and your result will really pop!
    @Eggfruit : Really like the look! Though the color an the wetness makes for a nauseating image.
    @ViniCortez : Really awesome! How did you get that beautiful fiber-grain?
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    @Daniel_Swing You're totally right with the puddles. You height is coming on well. The stones though look like they are taking in the details from the mud so might want to keep and eye on that. 

    @capone I keep my textures to 2k but that depends on the material as I will go lower if it is suppose to be lower in a game. I agree with Daniel in regards to getting a height map on your view in Marmoset to bring out the details more as the rocks are looking pretty flat without it. 

    @Eggfruit If you're going for stylized then ti looks pretty nice. Though with the grass I'm not sure about it. You might want to consider making more grass lumps and they all look the same. Maybe add some loose grass scattered around on parts to show the grass coming off too maybe. 

    @ViniCortez Nice looking mud. Though the footprints look super tiny compare to the details. It would have been nice to see more of the puddles like you got close to the camera around the material more as it just looks like one bit with the ones in the background in the blur not really viewable. 

    @BlackNeko Mud is coming on well, would be good to see more height variation on it. Add some rocks and bit of debris to the mud too to help make it stand out more. 



  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    Thanks for the replies regarding the height map. I had it applied but my triangulation wasn't high enough, after fixing that and a few other things I'm getting a better result.



  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    After some more work, I'm finally stuck. If you guys don't have anything to add, I'll call this one done:

  • K
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    K polycounter lvl 9
    After some more work, I'm finally stuck. If you guys don't have anything to add, I'll call this one done:

    Very cool! You could add some clumps of "horse debris" perhaps :P
  • K
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    K polycounter lvl 9
    Here is my approach:
    More renders here.
  • BlackNeko
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    BlackNeko polycounter lvl 9
    @ViniCortez  cool material! :D I love all the small details!

    @Eggfruit It looks a lot better! :)  an idea could be adding more color variation to the grass, the grass blade starts darker and green then it becomes lighter and yellower. You've already done that but it is difficult to notice, perhaps you wanted it subtle though.

    @Daniel_Swing well done! the pebbles and the surface details really work well together!

    @3DKyle Awesome material!

    @K  the one I like the best is the third iteration you posted on Artstation, but the green of the 2nd is a pretty cool idea too!

    thanks for the feedbacks so far!
    WIP.      as I'm authoring the material for UE4, I decided to switch to a tessellation from a POM. It seems some of the small mud details got lost while adding more height variation..?  I'll need to improve the pebbles too.

  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    A better rendered image! More on my Artstation and in my Sketchbook!
  • Drewtaylor3d
    Heres my final piece, I made a few more shots of it and put them here if you're interested https://www.artstation.com/artwork/YZK2Y
  • ju_dbn
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    ju_dbn polycounter lvl 4
    Hi everyone !

    This is my first post for this Polycount Substance Challenge. There's my final muddy ground material, after a lot of changes during last 3 days.
    I tried quite a lot of various details like footprints, pebbles, small branches, puddles...
    For my final version, I delete footprints which were not enough detailed for me, I favored small details such as pebbles not to overload the material.

    It's my first mud material made with substance, be indulgent :) and be indulgent with my poor english  (I'm French ;) )

    More screens on my Artstation


  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    Some nice work guys! Last day today then the new challenge will start tomorrow. 
  • BlackNeko
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    BlackNeko polycounter lvl 9
    here's the final one. thanks for organizing this challenge! :)

  • LorasTyrell
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    LorasTyrell polycounter lvl 5
    Late entry, but here is my attempt. I ended up not having enough time for this, but I will keep working on it to make it more like what I imagined. 
  • Deegnoot
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    Deegnoot polycounter lvl 4
    Hey guys. First time joining in and just in time I reckon.
    I did a quick mud thing some time ago but was unhappy with it. Then I found this thread and it really helped me settle on much of the shapes. I went for a poor man's festival terrain type of mud.

    I'll edit this post once I have some renders done. Probably an Artstation page as well.
  • 3DKyle
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    3DKyle interpolator
    New challenge has started! This time Copper! Check first post for reference. 
  • TobiasForsling
    Hi! First time posting on polycount, woho! Have mainly been lurking until now.

    I gave the new challenge a shot
    Any form of crits are welcome <3

    https://www.artstation.com/artwork/PZ6ln

  • Daniel_Swing
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    Daniel_Swing ngon master
    I won't be focusing that much on the height map this time around. Instead I will attempt a procedural copper material with an exposed "age" parameter, to control the oxidation level. Hopefully I'll have enough time to allow for custom map inputs too!

    Just the basic surface and color so far!
  • capone
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    capone polycounter lvl 18
    I've rarely done metal and when I have the PBR aspect of it has always gone wrong but perhaps now I'm better prepared for it. Glad this challenge popped up, I'm in. Early days but here is base (I still want to add scattered dents). Like Daniel above I'm going to have some oxidation layer on top of it. I may try adding frames/bolts/indents too if I have time.

  • K
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    K polycounter lvl 9
    Finished a bit late, but heres the final version of my entry:

    More renders here.

  • jth852
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    jth852 polycounter lvl 2
    Thanks for making these challenges its a fun way to practice with some purpose.  This is my first substance material attempt not based on a tutorial so I'm excited.  Just started today, going well so far but I need to make some adjustments to the scratches.  Then I can get to the rivets hopefully.
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