Allegorithmic – Bitmap2Material – Basic Tutorial

Allegorithmic – Bitmap2Material – Basic Tutorial

With Bitmap2Material you can easily convert a simple bitmap texture as for example a .jpg image into a complex material with a lot of different channels as Base Color, Roughness, Metallic, Normal, Height, Ambient Occlusion. This is a must have tool for every 3D Graphic! It looks like great also in games development! Let’s go on!

Create a material

Start your standalone copy of Bitmap2Material

MAIN TOP MENU> Options> Switch engine…> choose between DirecX (Microsoft Engine) or SSE (PhysX Engine)

3D View>
> Geometry> Primitive List or Load a Mesh
> Materials> Default> Shader> physically_based

1. Bitmap2Material needs a power of 2 square image in order to work. Create it.

2. DRAG AND DROP the bitmap over the area that says: ‘Drop a bitmap here’> Load in ‘Main Input tweak’

3. Outputs roolout> activate Diffuse, Normal and all channels you need to show in 3D Preview Window

4. Bitmap2Material roolout> setup Output Size

Relief setup

1. 2D Window> Height label to focus about height map

2. Global roolout> Method> Slope Based> Light Angle> setup the light selector on the right to improve the height map. Tips: better results can be obtained if ‘Light Angle’ is the same of the image in the photography.

3. 2D Window> Normal label to focus about height map

4. Relief roolout>
a. setup Normal Intensity
b. setupRelief Balance
c. setup Relief Pinch and Relief Radius

IMPORTANT: sometimes the normal map will be inverted, if this happens use Global roolout> Invert Relief

Make it tileable

1. Global roolout> Make it Tile> Edges Quincunx, Linear (good for bricks), Linear X, Linear Y, Random (good for ground, rocks etc…)

Diffuse setup

1. Diffuse | Base Color roolout>
> Luminosity, Hue Shift, Contrast and so on…
> Light Cancellation, to remove darkest shadows

Roughness setup

1. 2D Window> Roughness label to focus about roughness map

2. Roughness | Glossiness roolout> setup Roughness Value and others

Tips: 3D Window> LMB+SHIFT to rotate light in the scene

3. Grunge roolout> Grunge On> Grunge Choice> select a grunge map to add dust, dirt and scratches

Metallic setup

1. 2D Window> Metallic label

2. Metallic | Specular roolout> Metallic Creation Method> From Metallic Input
3. Bitmap2Material roolout> Matallic (optional) slot> load your specular texture

OR

2. Metallic | Specular roolout> Metallic Creation Method> From Main Input
3. Metallic | Specular roolout
> Metal From Diffuse Keying Type> RGB
> Metal From Diffuse Keying Color> pick color box on the right> Pick> pick color, white color in the map will be a metallic material
> Metal Fron Diffuse Keying Settings> setup Range / Softness

Tips: 3D Window> LMB+SHIFT to rotate light in the scene

Export

Presets

TOP RIGHT CORNER> Presets> New File

Export to Unity3D

Bitmap2Material> MAIN TOP MENU> Export> Export as Bitmap…>
– Substance metadata: Enabled (embedded)
– Tweaks values: Embedded
– SBSAR file: Embedded (only once)
– Format: jpg

‘Export’ button

Unity3D> Project Window>
– create a folder and put inside all maps were generated
– RMB over Project Window> Create> Material> Inspector> Shader Type> example: Bumped Diffuse
– DRAG AND DROP Texture over empty slots
– select the Normal Map> Inspector> setup Bumpiness and click ‘Apply’ in the BOTTOM RIGHT of Inspector Window.