metaverseDubai/docs/TEXTURING_WORKFLOW.md

Texturing Workflow - Dubai Metaverse

Overview

This document describes the texturing workflow from Substance Painter to Unreal Engine for the Dubai Metaverse project.

Workflow Overview

1. Model Preparation: Prepare model with UVs
2. Substance Painter: Create textures
3. Export: Export texture sets
4. Import to Unreal: Import and create materials
5. Assignment: Assign materials to meshes

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Model Preparation

UV Mapping

• UDIM Workflow: Use UDIM for hero assets (8K textures)
• Standard UVs: Use standard UVs for primary/background assets
• UV Layout: Optimize UV layout for texture space
• Seams: Minimize visible seams

Export for Texturing

• Format: FBX or OBJ
• Include:
  • High-poly mesh (for baking)
  • Low-poly mesh (for texturing)
  • UVs
  • Material IDs (if using)

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Substance Painter Workflow

Project Setup

1. Create Project:

   • Import low-poly mesh
   • Import high-poly mesh (for baking)
   • Set texture resolution (8K for hero, 4K for primary)

2. Bake Maps:

   • Normal map (from high-poly)
   • Ambient Occlusion
   • Curvature
   • Position
   • Thickness

Texture Creation

Base Color

• Purpose: Albedo/diffuse colors
• Content: Material colors, patterns, details
• Notes: No lighting information, pure color

Normal

• Purpose: Surface detail and geometry
• Content: Bumps, surface detail, geometry
• Source: Baked from high-poly or painted
• Notes: RGB format, tangent space

Roughness

• Purpose: Surface roughness (shininess)
• Content:
  • Glass: 0.05-0.1 (very smooth)
  • Metal: 0.1-0.3 (smooth)
  • Concrete: 0.4-0.6 (rough)
• Notes: Critical for material realism

Metallic

• Purpose: Metallic vs. dielectric materials
• Content:
  • Metal: 1.0 (white)
  • Non-metal: 0.0 (black)
  • Mixed: Grayscale values
• Notes: Binary or grayscale

Ambient Occlusion

• Purpose: Shadow and occlusion information
• Content: Baked AO or painted
• Notes: Enhances depth and realism

Additional Maps (if needed)

• Emissive: For neon lights, interior lighting
• Height: For parallax/displacement (optional)
• Opacity: For transparency (glass)

Export Settings

Resolution

• Hero Assets: 8K (8192x8192) per UDIM tile
• Primary Buildings: 4K (4096x4096)
• Background: 2K (2048x2048)

Format

• Export: PNG or TGA
• Bit Depth: 16-bit (recommended)
• Color Space: sRGB for base color, linear for others

Export Configuration

• Base Color: sRGB, 16-bit PNG
• Normal: Linear, 16-bit PNG
• Roughness: Linear, 16-bit PNG
• Metallic: Linear, 16-bit PNG
• AO: Linear, 16-bit PNG
• Emissive: sRGB, 16-bit PNG (if needed)

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Import to Unreal Engine

Texture Import

1. Import Textures:

   • Drag textures to Content Browser
   • Or use Import button

2. Import Settings:

   • Compression:
     • Base Color: BC7 (DXT5)
     • Normal: BC5
     • Roughness/Metallic/AO: BC7
   • sRGB:
     • Base Color: Enabled
     • Others: Disabled
   • Mip Maps: Generate mip maps
   • Virtual Texturing: Enable if using (optional)

Material Creation

1. Create Material:

   • Create new material asset
   • Name: M_AssetName_Type

2. Texture Assignment:

   • Base Color: Connect Base Color texture
   • Normal: Connect Normal texture
   • Roughness: Connect Roughness texture
   • Metallic: Connect Metallic texture
   • Ambient Occlusion: Connect AO texture

3. Material Settings:

   • Shading Model: Default Lit
   • Blend Mode: Opaque (or Translucent for glass)
   • Two-Sided: Enable for glass if needed

4. Parameters:

   • Expose parameters for material instances
   • Color tint
   • Roughness multiplier
   • Metallic value

Material Instances

1. Create Instance:

   • Right-click material > Create Material Instance
   • Name: MI_AssetName_Variant

2. Adjust Parameters:

   • Color variations
   • Roughness adjustments
   • Other exposed parameters

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UDIM Workflow (Hero Assets)

UDIM Overview

• UDIM: U-Dimension texture mapping
• Tiles: Multiple UV tiles (1001, 1002, 1003, etc.)
• Usage: Large assets requiring high-resolution textures

Texture Naming

• Format: T_AssetName_MapType_UDIMNumber
• Example:
  • T_Hero_CayanTower_BaseColor_1001
  • T_Hero_CayanTower_BaseColor_1002

Import UDIM Textures

1. Import All Tiles: Import all UDIM tiles
2. Create Material: Create material with UDIM support
3. Texture Arrays: Use texture arrays or virtual textures
4. UV Mapping: Ensure UVs use UDIM coordinates

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Quality Validation

Texture Quality

• Resolution meets requirements
• No compression artifacts
• Colors are accurate
• Normal maps are correct
• Roughness values are realistic
• Metallic values are correct

Material Quality

• Materials look realistic
• PBR workflow is correct
• Lighting responds correctly
• Performance is acceptable

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Best Practices

Texture Creation

1. Reference: Use real-world material references
2. Consistency: Maintain consistency across assets
3. Detail: Add appropriate detail level
4. Optimization: Balance quality and performance

Material Creation

1. Shared Materials: Use shared materials where possible
2. Instances: Use material instances for variations
3. Performance: Optimize shader complexity
4. Documentation: Document material usage

Workflow

1. Iterate: Iterate on textures based on feedback
2. Test: Test materials in level regularly
3. Validate: Validate quality and performance
4. Document: Document texture and material specifications

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Textures look washed out

• Solution: Check sRGB settings (base color should be sRGB)

Issue: Normal maps not working

• Solution: Check normal map format (BC5 compression)
• Solution: Verify normal map is tangent space

Issue: Materials too shiny/rough

• Solution: Adjust roughness values
• Solution: Check metallic values

Issue: Performance issues

• Solution: Reduce texture resolution
• Solution: Use texture streaming
• Solution: Optimize material complexity

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Tools

Primary Tools

• Substance Painter: Primary texturing tool
• Substance Designer: Procedural materials (optional)
• Photoshop: Additional editing (optional)

Validation Tools

• Unreal Material Editor: Material validation
• Performance Profiler: Performance testing
• Texture Validation Script: scripts/texture_validation.py

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Version: 1.0 Last Updated: [Current Date]