As we have all witnessed, Substance Designer is taking the game industry by storm. Almost anyones portfolio now working on textures and materials in games has a library of Substance materials they have worked on. There are so many different techniques and ways to create exactly what you want and even multiple ways to achieve the exact same thing. The more tools and tips we are aware of though, the greater the possiblities for us to solve those tough shapes or ideas that we want to create. Checkout a few of the ways Shray Khanna approaches texture creation in Substance Designer.

Also checkout more of his work here. 
https://www.artstation.com/shray

Thanks so much for sharing Ben! And I hope you all enjoy taking a look at his substance file and article.
Cheers,
​- Jacob Norris

The amount of art work out there these days and the quality of the work I have been seen is absolutely incredible! People are getting better and better and there are more and more people doing 3D Artwork.

I thought I would just share here some of the beautiful artwork, environments, and breakdowns that I have seen lately and hopefully you will all agree. There is always something new to learn and part of that is the motivation we get from seeing others succeed. So I am more than happy to be in a time with so many fantastic artists these days.

I recently was lucky enough to be featured in some magazine articles and while that is really exciting for me, it's also great news for you guys! Because one of the articles I contributed to was all about my experience with foliage in video games. Hopefully you will all be able to pick up some tips from this, as well as pass it along to your friends. I haven't said it yet, so Happy New Year everyone! And enjoy :)
​- Jacob

If you haven't been using ArtStation to share your work for feedback, potential employers, or simply to browse for inspiration from other artists, now is the time! It's one of the main sites for Industry Professionals and you'll want to be a part of it.
​
Feel free to take a look at some of the artwork I have uploaded there and examples of the descriptions I provide next to each of my projects.
https://www.artstation.com/artist/purepolygons

Click "Read More" to see the article with tips and tricks from Leonard Teo...

I've compiled a list of some of the youtube channels that I have found to be very useful or that others have recommended to me. There is tons of great learning to be had and even if you think you know your stuff, I'm sure there are still a ton of new tips/tricks that will help you out. Take a look and feel free to share with your friends, or recommend more channels for me to add here! 
Thanks,
​- Jacob

Warren Marshall - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5dRrOarPI6ufGWsabG28FQ
Unreal Engine Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/UnrealDevelopmentKit/playlists
Sam Jones - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJekoQFYfhHEjQbfvWf_E4g
DokipenTech - ​https://www.youtube.com/user/DokipenTechTutorials/videos
Playful Synapse - ​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmU2AlFc9vO6xnw1DYvNM0Q/videos

Since public release in 2014, Unreal 4 has set and raised the bar for third party engines. It's now free 
to use and there's no better time to get creating on your own.

Built from the ground up, Epic's newest engine is capable of producing truly incredible 3D art visuals. Its deferred rendering, custom materials and advanced lighting techniques are perfect for pushing the engine – and your art – to the next level.

I've worked professionally in Unreal 4 since its public release and have discovered some fantastic techniques for creating and presenting high-quality art in-engine. Here I share some of my personal tips and tricks I use on a day-to-day basis to help you light, texture, and render your own beautiful scenes within Unreal 4.

In this 3D World's online Vault you can find video tutorials as well as models and textures to get started in Unreal 4 today!

​You can import textures via the Import button in the Content Browser. Unreal 4 supports a large variety of texture formats, from .tgas and .pngs to .psds and .jpgs. One important tip is to make sure normal maps are compressed as TC Normalmap to prevent visual errors in engine. Also be aware that if your texture dimensions do not follow the power of two, they won't stream or have mipmaps.

Download Link Here: More images and video
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/o6E2q

I have also created a simple breakdown for the scene, sharing some of the workflow and process if you don't have a chance to pickup the tutorial. Of course for the full experience the tutorial is highly recommended and well worth it!

Direct Download Link:
http://www.gumroad.com/purepolygons

Here is the breakdown, more images and youtube video....

https://simonschreibt.de/

Simon Schriebt, has a great blog, which he continually updates with workflow techniques and discoveries from modern day games. There are all kinds of in depth analysis of next gen workflows or in game artwork that is picked apart and made into breakdowns.

"It seems that these are “just” projected textures and not “real” shadows.
I hope you like these little tricks as I much as I do. If not, take the assignment and show us how you would go for it. :) Have a nice day!"
​- Simon Schreibt

Definitely check it out if you're interested!
https://simonschreibt.de/

Enjoy,
​- Jacob Norris

Fundamental Concepts With Substance Designer - by Josh Lynch
Artist Josh Lynch, whom I'm sure many of you have seen his amazing Substance Designer Textures, one of which I have shared here above, has created his first video tutorial! Sharing tons of awesome tips and tricks on how he makes the amazing works that he does inside of Substance :) Definitely check it out, it's a must see for environment artists and texture artists alike!

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