How does tag material become associated with a material node in a model graph?

[cheyrn]

I'm following a tutorial about procedural modelling in substance, though I'm not clear on what one does with a model. Geometry is connected to set material geometry and tag material is connected to the material socket. The only parameters of tag material, are name and color. So, how does it know what to use as the actual material?

If I select a node in the model graph, then create a material node in a  substance graph, it uses the geometry that I selected. But, how do I assign different parts of a model to different materials?

[Luca Giarrizzo]

Hello,

Creating a material with a Tag material node, and applying it to Scene elements with a Set material node, only sets a material label and color information to a mesh's geometry.

This information lets you identify the material which you will then apply a shader and pass textures to.

I suggest taking a look at the Working with materials section of the Substance Model graphs documentation to learn more.

Best regards.

[cheyrn]

Thanks. I might be close to understanding now. In the substance graph there are 2 nodes one wood and another metal. If I follow instructions for applying materials, I view one of the nodes in 3D view and it lets me select one of the material names from the model graph. So, that does allow me to associate textures with parts of the model. How does it know to use output of the model graph as geometry, though? If someone else made this and I looked at the package for the first time, is there a way for me to tell where the wood or steel node is getting geometry from?

If I export the model graph as fbx, it looks like there are no materials exported. Should I be able to export the model with materials?

I'm generally unclear on what the model graph is for. Is a model graph meant to be exported as a 3d model, or is it supposed to be a form of material?

[cheyrn]

To expand on that: if I create two model graphs with geometry and tag material, then create a substance graph and add wood node, if I View in 3D View, it uses whatever the last model graph was outputting. So, I think you can't tell what geometry is being used. Is that right?

[Luca Giarrizzo · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply!

Substance Model graphs are separate from Substance graphs. The former generates parametric 3D models while the latter generates a set of textures.

The bridge between the two exists in the 3D View, as the generated textures can be passed to the shader used to render the generated models. Yet, they remain separate exports out of the software.

Currently, it is not possible to display the output of a Substance Model graph – which is defined by its Root node – automatically in the 3D View. This needs to be a deliberate user action every time a new graph is loaded.

In the 3D View panel, the panel title lets you know which graph is currently generating the current Scene  – e.g. <graph_identifier> - OpenGL - 3D View.

Additionally, multiple materials are currently not supported in exporting to FBX, OBJ or PLY. We plan to implement this in a future release of Substance 3D Designer, but do not have any ETA to share at the moment. Thank you for your patience!

I hope this addresses your questions. Feel free to let me know if I can help you further.

Best regards.