In this tutorial, we will see how to import and map a MASK to apply one material over another in Substance Painter, specifically using a PNG image with white symbols on a transparent background and the object's UV map.
Video Transcript
Hello everyone! In this tutorial, we will see how to import and map a MASK to apply one material over another in Substance Painter, specifically using a PNG image with white symbols on a transparent background and the object's UV map.
First, create a new Substance Painter project, specifying the template to use (in my case, PBR – Metallic), the project resolution (in my case, 2K), and, of course, the 3D model to use.
Now import the image Texture into the project as follows: from the File menu, choose Import Resources, then add the image by clicking "Add resources" in the window that appears. Change the resource type from "undefined" to "alpha", choose to import the texture into the current session, and click Import.
To demonstrate how to apply one material over another only in the areas specified by the mask, I will first assign a base material to the object. In my case, this is "Black Slate", which I am dragging from the Materials tab in the Shelf window into Layers.
For the symbol material, I want to use "Resin Epoxy", but with higher roughness. So I drag it from Materials into Layers, placing it ABOVE "Black Slate" so that it completely covers it, then I change the "Resin Roughness" value from 0.24 to 0.6.
To use the transparent PNG Texture as a mask and apply the "Resin Epoxy" material only to a specific area of the switch, right-click "Resin Epoxy" in Layers and select "Add bitmap mask", then type the name of the image to use and select it.
The mask is a white image on a transparent background, so it will apply the material it is associated with only where it is white. We therefore need to position the mask on the object.
Proceed as follows: click the "Fill" slot of the new mask in Layers, then change the viewport display mode from 3D to 3D|2D.
To preserve the Texture's proportions while scaling and moving it in the 2D view, hold down the SHIFT key while clicking and dragging one of the corners of the mask.
Notice that the mask is repeated across multiple parts of the object. To apply it only to the square visible in the 2D view, select the mask's "Fill" in Layers and change "UV Wrap" from "Repeat" to "None" in the "Properties – Fill" panel.
Complete the scaling and positioning of the mask on the object's UV map in the 2D view until you achieve the desired result.
Great, the operation is complete! Notice that, since "Resin Epoxy" is a fully featured material, you can enable or disable some of its PBR channels in the Material section of Properties – Fill to decide which effects to use and which ones should instead come from the underlying materials, in this case "Black Slate".
That's all for this tutorial! See you next time!