How to create a smart library of Alphas

[orcelli]

Hey guys,
So quick explaining the WHY, I need to put identification letters on models daily in my workflow.

So far I usually create an alpha with the lettering and typography in Photoshop and then export it.

I wanted to know if anyone knows of a more optimized way to already have a smartmaterial with all the alphas I would use it(all alphabets and numbers in Arial for example) or if there is a way to create a plugin that stocks as many alphas as I want with a few clicks.

[orcelli]

BTW, I was thinking something like this Alpha that alllows me to change between 1 ~ 9 only.
But with the entire Alphabet, without borders, and including the number.
Same way if I would like to stock runics inside one Alpha when working on it.

[davescm]

Hi

The easiest way is to make a material in Substance Designer for the font you want to use and any other design element. The text node in Designer allows you to choose the font, size and position of the text as well as the text itself. All of these can be exposed so that when the material is published they can be adjusted in Substance Painter.

So in Designer

1. Set up your nodes to give the default you want. Start with a text node and end with an output node

2. Expose the parameters for Text, Font Size and Position

3. Name the graph (the name will appear in the Painter shelf later)

4. Save the graph as sbs

5. Publish the graph as an sbsar to your library (shelf) alphas location

Open Painter and use it as you would any other Alpha, you can alter the text as you use it

Dave