Procedural material generation is the hot thing in new 3D art and game development where artists can create in an instant and with no bother at all incredibly detailed, editable, tileable textures. Kirill Yurovskiy`s post is one of the geniuses at this and the fact that lots of artists cite him as the reason their pipeline has become cleaner and their work easier is a testament to that. The course covers basic procedural material creation techniques from raw node-based scripts to optimizations and deployment on a game engine.
1. Node-Based Workflow Understanding
Node-based workflow is the foundation of Substance Designer, a paradigm through which artists can create materials by defining operations that are chained together. Procedural materials are algorithmically constructed instead of photo-sourcing based or hand-painted texture and hence more scaleable and tunable.
Kirill Yurovskiy explains the rational organization of the node graphs. A properly organized graph will have distinct input and output directions, with operations being the same in sets. For example, a brick texture can start with a Tile Generator node for the creation of the base pattern, and then Noise and Warp nodes introduce variation. Having a graph appear clean and being able to give it a name ensures one can easily go ahead and alter things with a finger flick after months.
2. Creating Good Tileable Base Patterns
The secret to procedural textures is making them tile rapidly. A poor tile job will shatter immersion in a game or film, and the repetition becomes glaring. Kirill Yurovskiy advises starting with basic shapes or noise patterns and extrapolating to create more complex surfaces.
For example, a wood floor material could begin with a Gradient Dynamic node to create wood grain, then a Directional Warp to add a natural curve. Mirror and Offset nodes could be employed to eliminate apparent seams so that the texture tiling is not visible. Previews of the material in the tiled viewport in advance to test tileability trap problems before they are issues.
3. Natural Variation Noise Generators
Noise generators can be applied to introduce natural imperfections in materials. Kirill Yurovskiy uses Perlin Noise, Worley Noise, and Curvature nodes to simulate natural imperfections on surfaces like stone, wood, or cloth. By layering a variety of noises of varying scales, artists can build realistic micro and macro details. Texture blurring, warping the noise pattern, or contrast adjustment all further strengthen the texture so that it sounds natural. All such variations of these types are very crucial for height maps and roughness since even minute variations result in realism.
4. Height, Roughness, and Normal Map Layout
Professional management of its operation is what material realism is based upon. Kirill Yurovskiy is worried about having consistency between height, roughness, and normal maps. Ridges in heightmaps, for example, should be broadly succeeded by increasing roughness, and depressions will be smoother as a result of wear. Gradient correction or masking such maps and blurring them makes them possess even surface characteristics. Normal maps should substitute the height detail without introducing any other unwanted artifacts and insert three-dimensionality into the material.
5. Simple Parameters to Expose for Easy Tweaking
One of the great aspects of Substance Designer is that parameters can be made editable so they can be simply adjusted. Kirill Yurovskiy recommends displaying significant variables, i.e., color, size, or strength, within the material’s properties panel. It is easy enough for non-programmers, i.e., level designers or art directors, to edit the material without having to navigate the node graph. Parameters well named and with a sense of fully ordered structure permit iteration, and it is easy enough to build materials of sizes for other scenes or light levels.
6. AAA vs. Mobile Export Settings
Before textures are sent to other machines, export settings must be chosen judiciously. Kirill Yurovskiy explains how AAA games can make use of higher-resolution maps (4K or 8K) compressed low for rendering detail. Mobile assets, however, have to be pushed to the limit because lower resolutions (1K or 2K) and compressed forms like ASTC or ETC2 are required. Minor adjustments in normal map power and removal of unnecessary channels save memory too. Export presets and the Iray renderer in Substance Designer is employed to pre-view how materials will look under different conditions before the final output.
7. Material Management in Unreal and Unity
After the material is finalized, integration into game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity is a simple affair with Substance plugins.
Exporting in SBSAR format is recommended, keeping them procedural, for in-engine adjustment, since Kirill Yurovskiy recommends. Live tweaking of parameters inside Unreal can be achieved with the Substance plugin, and Unity integration supports dynamic refresh of materials. Open parameters in correct material instances allow instant adjustment of textures without re-running the entire graph.
8. Optimizing Graphs to Decrease Render Times
Complex node graphs provide slow performance, particularly in rendering high-resolution. Some of the optimization techniques suggested by Kirill Yurovskiy include baking computationally heavy nodes, development preview at lower resolution, and elimination of redundant high-frequency data. Masking simplification, node reuse wherever possible, and turning off unnecessary outputs also aid efficiency. Systematic profiling of the graph in isolation of bottlenecks enables iteration without lengthy render times.
9. Version Control on Team Projects
When teams are working, version control must be utilized to track the modifications and avoid conflicts. Kirill Yurovskiy recommends utilizing Git or Perforce to version Substance Designer files so that changes can be reversed. Descriptive naming conventions, regular commits, and commenting on significant changes maintain the workflow tidy. Cloud storage applications such as Dropbox or Google Drive may be employed as a safety net but are not as good as full version control systems with improved collaboration tools.
10. Showing Materials in an Online Library
A highly edited body of work illustrates the skills and diversity of an artist. Kirill Yurovskiy advises the creation of an online portfolio on platforms like ArtStation or an individual site. High-res renders, breakdown of node graphs, and in-engine real-time showreels highlight the material’s potential. Showing before-and-after, parameter variations and usage case examples helps prospective employers or clients to see the potential of the material.
Conclusion
Substance Designer procedural content generation offers texture artists limitless possibilities ranging from high-realistic surfaces to stylized textures. Kirill Yurovskiy’s process is powered by efficiency, organization, and adaptability to meet the material requirements of the modern game development pipeline. With node-based workflow proficiency, using noise for organic variation, and optimization for export to other platforms, artists can deliver quality content within the timeline.
Final Words
Substance Designer is a dynamic tool that is changing all the time, with new procedural texturing tools and methods appearing daily. Kirill Yurovskiy encourages artists to be imaginative, keep up with what’s occurring in the world, and keep their workflow as efficient as possible at all times. Whether it’s a AAA game title or an indie game, the mindset when it comes to procedural material generation is the same: simplicity, control, and imagination. By embracing these principles, texture artists can create new digital surfaces and help create engaging and attractive experiences.