How To Export a Base/Color .PNG that includes Transparency?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
July 1, 2023
2 replies
6645 views

How To Export a Base/Color .PNG that includes Transparency?

The layered material inlcudes already transparency / opacity.
The Opacity map is also visible on the canvas.

I want to export the Base/Color Map as a .PNG file that includes the Opacity map.
How to do that?

Thank you

Correct answer LoryAline

Hi,
You need to do channel packing. The opacity is a map on it's own as any other.
To make it appear in the BaseColor you need to transfer the Opacity map in the Alpha channel of the BaseColor (which is called Channel packing as we pack maps in different channels of a single image).

It isn't automatic, you have different ways to do it:

Manually: Open your BaseColor and your opacity in photoshop. Copy the Opacity and paste it in a mask layer to generate the Alpha or create a new channel to paste the opacity. You can follow this tutorial to help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL30-bJQJEE
With an export preset in Sampler: You can create your own export preset for 3D Sampler using 3D Designer:
In the graph just add an Alpha Merge node between the inputs and outputs, I kept the opacity output in mine just in case I need the opacity map alone.

Then add the export preset in 3D Sampler:

And chose it for exporting, hit export and you should have a Basecolor with the opacity in the Alpha channel!

I link the export preset (.SBSAR) I made and the .SBS file so you can explore the file or modify it as you need.

Regards,
Lory

LoryAline

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hi,
You need to do channel packing. The opacity is a map on it's own as any other.
To make it appear in the BaseColor you need to transfer the Opacity map in the Alpha channel of the BaseColor (which is called Channel packing as we pack maps in different channels of a single image).

It isn't automatic, you have different ways to do it:

Manually: Open your BaseColor and your opacity in photoshop. Copy the Opacity and paste it in a mask layer to generate the Alpha or create a new channel to paste the opacity. You can follow this tutorial to help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL30-bJQJEE
With an export preset in Sampler: You can create your own export preset for 3D Sampler using 3D Designer:
In the graph just add an Alpha Merge node between the inputs and outputs, I kept the opacity output in mine just in case I need the opacity map alone.

Then add the export preset in 3D Sampler:

And chose it for exporting, hit export and you should have a Basecolor with the opacity in the Alpha channel!

I link the export preset (.SBSAR) I made and the .SBS file so you can explore the file or modify it as you need.

Regards,
Lory

BC_O_ChannelPacking.zip

P

PixelFunAuthor

Inspiring

Thank you very much for your explanation. Yes, it would be great to have your Preset as a Default Preset available. I guess not a lot of people want to fire up Photoshop and go thorugh a manual process.

And not everyone is familiar with Substance Designer. I guess a packaged opacity solution should be always available as a Default or Shipped Preset wihtin Substance Sampler. Should be Standarf for Export Options and just makes it so much easier.

I guess it would be also nice to have an option to always include the opacity map as an Alpha Channel.

Thank you so much, appreciate it!

LoryAline

Community Manager

Happy to help!

Thank you for your feedbacks!

Regards.

Ares Hovhannesyan

Community Expert

Please use file format, preset and mark opacity in the list during export

P

PixelFunAuthor

Inspiring

sorry to disappoint you, but I did this before, and this doesn't allow you to export a .PNG file format that includes the alpha channel with the opacity, nor does it "cut out" the opacity within the base color (RGB).

See below the result.