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Graph parameters | Substance 3D Designer

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    3. System requirements
    4. Overview
      1. Overview
      2. What is a Substance 3D File?
    5. Workflow overview
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    7. Tutorials & learning
  3. Interface
    1. Interface
    2. Home screen
    3. Customizing your workspace
    4. The main toolbar
    5. Preferences window
      1. Preferences window
      2. Project settings
      3. Version control
    6. Explorer window
      1. The Explorer window
      2. Send to... / Interoperability
    7. The graph view
      1. The graph view
      2. Link Creation Modes
    8. The Library
      1. The Library
      2. Managing custom content and filters
    9. Properties
    10. 2D view
    11. 3D View
      1. 3D View
      2. Material properties
      3. GLSLFX Shaders
      4. Switching your shaders to OpenGL Core Profile
      5. Iray
    12. Dependency Manager
  4. Resources
    1. Resources
    2. Importing, linking and new resources
    3. Bitmap resource
      1. Bitmap resource
      2. Bitmap painting tools
    4. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      1. Vector graphics (SVG) resource
      2. Vector editing tools
    5. 3D scene resource
    6. AxF (Appearance eXchange Format)
    7. Font resource
    8. Warnings from dependencies
  5. Substance graphs
    1. Substance graphs
    2. Substance graph key concepts
    3. Creating a Substance graph
      1. Creating a Substance graph
      2. Graph instances / Sub-graphs
    4. Exposing a parameter
      1. Exposing a parameter
      2. Parameter presets
      3. Visible if: control visibility of inputs, outputs and parameters
    5. Graph parameters
    6. Inheritance in Substance graphs
    7. Output size
    8. Values in Substance graphs
    9. Publishing Substance 3D asset files (SBSAR)
    10. Exporting Bitmaps
    11. Exporting PSD files
    12. Sample Substance graphs
    13. Warnings in Substance graphs
    14. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance graphs
      2. Atomic nodes
        1. Atomic nodes
        2. Bitmap
        3. Blend
          1. Blend
          2. Blending modes description
        4. Blur
        5. Channel Shuffle
        6. Curve
        7. Directional Blur
        8. Directional Warp
        9. Distance
        10. Emboss
        11. FX-Map
        12. Gradient (Dynamic)
        13. Gradient Map
        14. Grayscale Conversion
        15. HSL
        16. Levels
        17. Normal
        18. Pixel Processor
        19. SVG
        20. Sharpen
        21. Text
        22. Transformation 2D
        23. Uniform Color
        24. Value Processor
        25. Warp
        26. Output
        27. Input
      3. Node library
        1. Node library
        2. Texture Generators
          1. Texture Generators
          2. Noises
            1. Noises
            2. 3D Perlin Noise
            3. 3D Perlin Noise Fractal
            4. 3D Ridged Noise Fractal
            5. 3D Simplex Noise
            6. 3D Voronoi
            7. 3D Voronoi Fractal
            8. 3D Worley Noise
            9. Anisotropic Noise
            10. Blue Noise Fast
            11. BnW Spots 1
            12. BnW Spots 2
            13. BnW Spots 3
            14. Cells 1
            15. Cells 2
            16. Cells 3
            17. Cells 4
            18. Clouds 1
            19. Clouds 2
            20. Clouds 3
            21. Creased
            22. Crystal 1
            23. Crystal 2
            24. Directional Noise 1
            25. Directional Noise 2
            26. Directional Noise 3
            27. Directional Noise 4
            28. Directional Scratches
            29. Dirt 1
            30. Dirt 2
            31. Dirt 3
            32. Dirt 4
            33. Dirt 5
            34. Dirt Gradient
            35. Fluid
            36. Fractal Sum 1
            37. Fractal Sum 2
            38. Fractal Sum 3
            39. Fractal Sum 4
            40. Fractal Sum Base
            41. Fur 1
            42. Fur 2
            43. Fur 3
            44. Gaussian Noise
            45. Gaussian Spots 1
            46. Gaussian Spots 2
            47. Grunge Concrete
            48. Grunge Damas
            49. Grunge Galvanic Large
            50. Grunge Galvanic Small
            51. Grunge Leaks
            52. Grunge Leaky Paint
            53. Grunge Map 001
            54. Grunge Map 002
            55. Grunge Map 003
            56. Grunge Map 004
            57. Grunge Map 005
            58. Grunge Map 006
            59. Grunge Map 007
            60. Grunge Map 008
            61. Grunge Map 009
            62. Grunge Map 010
            63. Grunge Map 011
            64. Grunge Map 012
            65. Grunge Map 013
            66. Grunge Map 014
            67. Grunge Map 015
            68. Grunge Rough Dirty
            69. Grunge Rust Fine
            70. Grunge Scratches Dirty
            71. Grunge Scratches Fine
            72. Grunge Scratches Rough
            73. Grunge Shavings
            74. Grunge Splashes Dusty
            75. Grunge Spots
            76. Grunge Spots Dirty
            77. Liquid
            78. Messy Fibers 1
            79. Messy Fibers 2
            80. Messy Fibers 3
            81. Microscope View
            82. Moisture Noise
            83. Perlin Noise
            84. Plasma
            85. Caustics
            86. Voronoi
            87. Voronoi Fractal
            88. Waveform 1
            89. White Noise
            90. White Noise Fast
          3. Patterns
            1. Patterns
            2. 3D Linear Gradient
            3. 3D Volume Mask
            4. Alveolus
            5. Arc Pavement
            6. Brick 1
            7. Brick 2
            8. Brick Generator
            9. Checker 1
            10. Cube 3D
            11. Cube 3D GBuffers
            12. Fibers 1
            13. Fibers 2
            14. Gaussian 1
            15. Gaussian 2
            16. Gradient Axial
            17. Gradient Axial Reflected
            18. Gradient Circular
            19. Gradient Linear 1
            20. Gradient Linear 2
            21. Gradient Linear 3
            22. Gradient Radial
            23. Height Extrude
            24. Mesh 1
            25. Mesh 2
            26. Panorama Shape
            27. Polygon 1
            28. Polygon 2
            29. Scratches Generator
            30. Shape
            31. Shape Extrude
            32. Shape Mapper
            33. Shape Splatter
            34. Shape Splatter Blend
            35. Shape Splatter Data Extract
            36. Shape Splatter to Mask
            37. Splatter
            38. Splatter Circular
            39. Star
            40. Starburst
            41. Stripes
            42. Tile Generator
            43. Tile Random
            44. Tile Random 2
            45. Tile Sampler
            46. Triangle Grid
            47. Weave 1
            48. Weave 2
            49. Weave Generator
        3. Filters
          1. Filters
          2. Adjustments
            1. Adjustments
            2. Auto Levels
            3. Channel Mixer
            4. Chrominance Extract
            5. Clamp
            6. Color Match
            7. Color To Mask
            8. Contrast/Luminosity
            9. Convert To Linear
            10. Convert to sRGB
            11. Grayscale Conversion Advanced
            12. Hald CLUT
            13. HDR Range Viewer
            14. Height Map Frequencies Mapper
            15. Highpass
            16. Histogram Range
            17. Histogram Scan
            18. Histogram Scan Non-Uniform
            19. Histogram Select
            20. Histogram Shift
            21. Invert
            22. Lighting Cancel High Frequencies
            23. Lighting Cancel Low Frequencies
            24. Luminance Highpass
            25. Min Max
            26. Pow
            27. Quantize
            28. Replace Color
            29. Replace Color Range
            30. Threshold
          3. Blending
            1. Blending
            2. Color (Blend Node)
            3. Color Burn
            4. Color Dodge
            5. Difference
            6. Dissolve
            7. Linear Burn
            8. Luminosity (Blend Node)
            9. Multi Switch
            10. Switch
          4. Blurs
            1. Blurs
            2. Anisotropic Blur
            3. Blur HQ
            4. Non Uniform Blur
            5. Radial Blur
            6. Slope Blur
          5. Channels
            1. Channels
            2. RGBA Merge
            3. RGBA Split
            4. Alpha Merge
            5. Alpha Split
            6. Pre-Multiplied to Straight
            7. Straight to Pre-multiplied
          6. Effects
            1. Effects
            2. 3D Texture Position
            3. 3D Texture SDF
            4. 3D Texture Surface Render
            5. 3D Texture Volume Render
            6. Ambient Occlusion (HBAO) (Filter Node)
            7. Ambient Occlusion (RTAO)
            8. Bevel (Filter Node)
            9. Cross Section
            10. Curvature (Filter Node)
            11. Curvature Smooth
            12. Curvature Sobel
            13. Diffusion Color
            14. Diffusion Grayscale
            15. Diffusion UV
            16. Edge Detect
            17. Emboss With Gloss
            18. Extend Shape
            19. Flood Fill
            20. Flood Fill Mapper
            21. Flood Fill to BBox Size
            22. Flood Fill to Gradient
            23. Flood Fill to Grayscale/Color
            24. Flood Fill to Index
            25. Flood Fill to Position
            26. Flood Fill to Random Color
            27. Flood Fill to Random Grayscale
            28. FXAA
            29. Glow
            30. Mosaic
            31. Multi Directional Warp
            32. Non Uniform Directional Warp
            33. Reaction Diffusion Fast
            34. RT Irradiance
            35. RT Shadow
            36. Shadows (Filter Node)
            37. Shape Drop Shadow
            38. Shape Glow
            39. Shape Stroke
            40. Summed Area Table
            41. Swirl
            42. Uber Emboss
            43. Vector Morph
            44. Vector Warp
          7. Normal Map
            1. Normal Map
            2. Bent Normal
            3. Facing Normal
            4. Height Normal Blender
            5. Height to Normal World Units
            6. Normal Blend
            7. Normal Combine
            8. Normal Invert
            9. Normal Normalize
            10. Normal Sobel
            11. Normal to Height
            12. Normal To Height HQ
            13. Normal Transform
            14. Normal Vector Rotation
          8. Tiling
            1. Tiling
            2. Make It Tile Patch
            3. Make It Tile Photo
          9. Transforms
            1. Transforms
            2. 3D Texture Offset
            3. Auto Crop
            4. Cartesian To Polar
            5. Clone (Filter Node)
            6. Mirror (Filter Node)
            7. Noise Upscale 1
            8. Noise Upscale 2
            9. Noise Upscale 3
            10. Non-Square Transform
            11. Non-Uniform Rotation
            12. Polar to Cartesian
            13. Quad Transform
            14. Safe Transform
            15. Skew
            16. Symmetry
            17. Symmetry Slice
            18. Trapezoid Transform
        4. Material Filters
          1. Material Filters
          2. 1-Click
            1. 1-Click
            2. Bitmap to Material Light
          3. Effects (Material)
            1. Effects (Material)
            2. Height Blend
            3. Material Height Blend
            4. Season Filter
            5. Snow Cover
            6. Water Level
          4. Transforms (Material)
            1. Transforms (Material)
            2. Material Transform
          5. Blending (Material)
            1. Blending (Material)
            2. Material Adjustment Blend
            3. Material Blend
            4. Material Color Blend
            5. Material Switch
            6. Multi-Material Blend
          6. PBR Utilities
            1. PBR Utilities
            2. BaseColor / Metallic / Roughness converter
            3. Base Material
            4. PBR Albedo Safe Color
            5. PBR BaseColor / Metallic Validate
            6. PBR Dielectric F0
            7. PBR Metal Reflectance
            8. PBR Render
            9. PBR Render Mapping
          7. Scan Processing
            1. Scan Processing
            2. AO Cancellation
            3. Atlas Scatter
            4. Atlas Splitter
            5. Clone Patch
            6. Color Equalizer
            7. Crop
            8. Material Clone Patch
            9. Material Crop
            10. Multi-Angle to Albedo
            11. Multi-Angle to Normal
            12. Multi Clone Patch
            13. Multi Color Equalizer
            14. Multi Crop
            15. Smart Auto Tile
        5. Mesh Based Generators
          1. Mesh Based Generators
          2. Mask Generators
            1. Mask Generators
            2. Bottom To Top
            3. Cloth Wear
            4. Dirt
            5. Dripping Rust
            6. Dust
            7. Edge Blur
            8. Edge Damages
            9. Edge Dirt
            10. Edge Notch
            11. Edge Select
            12. Edge Speckle
            13. Edge Wear
            14. Fiber Glass Edge Wear
            15. Grease
            16. Ground Dirt
            17. Leaks
            18. Leather Wear
            19. Light
            20. Mask Builder
            21. Metal Edge Wear
            22. Paint Wear
            23. Selective Dirt
            24. Sun Bleach
            25. Surface Brush
          3. Weathering
            1. Weathering
            2. Cracks Weathering
            3. Fabric Weathering
            4. Leather Weathering
            5. Metal Weathering
            6. Moss Weathering
            7. Rock Weathering
            8. Rust Weathering
          4. Utilities (Mesh Based Generators)
            1. Utilities (Mesh Based Generators)
            2. 3D Planar Projection
            3. Material Mesh Data Blender
            4. Material Selector
            5. Mesh Data Combiner
            6. Tri Planar
        6. 3D View (Library)
          1. 3D View (Library)
          2. HDRI Tools
            1. HDRI Tools
            2. Blackbody
            3. Color Temperature Adjustment
            4. Exposure
            5. Exposure Preview
            6. HDR Merge
            7. Nadir Extract
            8. Nadir Patch
            9. Panorama 3D Position
            10. Panorama Rotation
            11. Gradient 2 Points
            12. Gradient Linear (HDRI)
            13. Line Light
            14. Physical Sun/Sky
            15. Plane Light
            16. Shape Light
            17. Sphere Light
            18. Straighten Horizon
      4. Graph items
  6. Substance function graphs
    1. Substance function graphs
    2. What is a Substance function graph?
    3. Create and edit a Substance function graph
    4. The Substance function graph
    5. Variables
      1. Variables
      2. System variables
      3. Get a variable value
      4. Create a variable
    6. FX-Maps
      1. FX-Maps
      2. How it works
      3. The Iterate Node
      4. The Quadrant Node
      5. Using Substance function graphs in FX-Maps
        1. Using Substance function graphs
          in FX-Maps
        2. Iterate and $number variable
        3. Using the Sampler nodes
        4. Using the Set/Sequence nodes
    7. Warnings in Substance function graphs
    8. Sample Substance function graphs
    9. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      1. Nodes reference for Substance function graphs
      2. Function Nodes Overview
      3. Constant Nodes
      4. Vector and Swizzle nodes
      5. Get Nodes
      6. Sampler nodes
      7. Cast nodes
      8. Operator nodes
      9. Logical nodes
      10. Comparison nodes
      11. Function nodes
      12. Control nodes
  7. MDL graphs
    1. MDL graphs
    2. Main MDL graph concepts
    3. Creating an MDL graph
    4. MDL library
    5. Exposing parameters in MDL graphs
    6. Substance graphs and MDL materials
    7. Exporting MDL content
    8. Warnings in MDL graphs
    9. MDL learning resources
  8. Bakers
    1. Bakers
    2. Bakers Legacy Interface
  9. Best Practices
    1. Best Practices
    2. Filesize Reduction Guidelines
    3. Graph Creation Etiquette
    4. Performance optimization guidelines
  10. Pipeline and Project Configuration
    1. Pipeline and Project Configuration
    2. Project Configuration Files - SBSPRJ
    3. Configuration List - SBSCFG
    4. User Preferences - Automating Setup
    5. Retrieving the installation path
    6. Installation via Command Line
    7. Environment variables
  11. Color Management
    1. Color Management
    2. Spot Colors (Pantone)
  12. Package Metadata
  13. Scripting
    1. Scripting
    2. Plugin basics
    3. Plugin search paths
    4. Plugins packages
    5. Plugin Manager
    6. Python Editor
    7. Accessing graphs and selections
    8. Nodes and properties
    9. Undo and redo
    10. Application callbacks
    11. Creating user interface elements
    12. Adding actions to the Explorer toolbar
    13. Using color management
    14. Using spot colors
    15. Logging
    16. Using threads
    17. Debugging plugins using Visual Studio Code
    18. Porting previous plugins
    19. Packaging plugins
    20. Scripting API reference
  14. Technical issues
    1. Technical issues
    2. Warnings and errors
    3. Cannot create/load a project
    4. Application does not start
    5. Crash when rendering graphs
    6. Parameters not working as expected
    7. Incorrect image output
    8. 3D View issues
    9. User interface issues
  15. Release Notes
    1. Release Notes
    2. All Changes
    3. Version 12.4
    4. Version 12.3
    5. Version 12.2
    6. Version 12.1
    7. Version 11.3
    8. Version 11.2
    9. Version 2021.1 (11.1)
    10. Old versions
      1. Old Versions
      2. Version 2020.2 (10.2)
      3. Version 2020.1 (10.1)
      4. Version 2019.3 (9.3)
      5. Version 2019.2 (9.2)
      6. Version 2019.1 (9.1)

Graph parameters

This page describes the standard parameters for the Substance graph.

A graph has several parameters that you can modify. You can find them by either clicking on empty space in the graph, or selecting the graph item in the Explorer panel. Parameters will be then displayed in the Parameters view.


Base parameters

Base parameters

The Base Parameters section includes parameters which have an impact on all the nodes it contains. Every node in this graph which have one or more Base Parameters set to Relative To Parent inheritance method will get their corresponding values from the graph's.

Alert:

In most cases, inheritance plays a significant role in defining these values, and how these values changes throughout the graph. It is strongly recommended to acquire a good understanding of inheritance in Substance graphs before using these values.

Output Size

This parameter allows you to chose the base resolution of images in the graph. Read more about the Output Size.

Note:

Use the lock button to have the Height value match the Width value.

Default: (0,0) - Relative To Parent

Output Format

Allows to choose base bit depth in the graph, from these options:

  • 8 bit
  • 16 bit
  • HDR Low Precision 16F (16 bit floating point)
  • HDR High Precision 32F (32 bit floating point)

Default: 8 Bits per Channel - Relative To Parent

Pixel Size

Defines the pixel size. We recommend leaving both Width and Height values set to 1.

Default: (1,1) - Relative To Parent

Tiling Mode

Defines the base tiling mode in the graph from these options:

  • No Tiling
  • Horizontal Tiling
  • Vertical Tiling
  • H and V Tiling

Default: H and V Tiling - Relative To Parent

Random Seed

Defines the base random seed for the graph.

Note:

Use the button to assign a new random value to the random seed.

Default: 0 - Relative To Parent


Attributes

The Attributes section contains metadata for the graph, which provides information for identifying, categorising and applying the graph as designed by its author.

Graph attributes

Identifier

This is the name of the graph, and must be unique – you cannot have two or more graphs with the same Identifier in the same package. It is used as the graph's name in the Explorer panel.

Note:

The identifier cannot be an empty string. Empty strings are automatically replaced by _ or Substance_graph.
You can use only the following characters for this value: A-Z, 1-9, @$%[{]}_-. Unauthorised characters are automatically replaced by _.

Default: New_Graph, or set by user at graph creation

Label

The Label is used instead of the Identifier to display the name of the graph for better readability in user facing scenarios – e.g. Library entry or Instance node label.
A label can be not unique, and can contain special characters.

Note:

Reminder

If you rename a graph – e.g. in the Explorer, you may also want to change the label!

Default: Empty

Type

The Type is used to define the intended purpose of a Substance graph. It is mainly used together with Send To functionality.

Physical Size

This indicated the span the texture would have in the physical world, in X (length), Y (width) and Z (height). It is therefore inherently related to the material which is produced in the graph.

The Physical Size can be used, for instance, to display the texture at its correct ratio in the 2D View and 3D View.

Note:

The Z value is currently not taken into account in the 3D View. The Height Scale value for the material should therefore be set using an Output node set to the heightscale usage, or directly in the Material Properties.

Default: (0,0,0)

Icon

This area lets you define an icon which will be used by the Library to display this graph's entry, both as an SBS and an SBSAR. The icon is also used in other situations, such as Substance Painter's Shelf.

The area offers the following options:

  • Browse: Lets you browse your system files for the existing image which should be used as an icon
  • Generate: This generates an icon using a built-in preset of the PBR Render node
  • Paste: Lets you paste the image data currently in the clipboard as an icon
  • Remove: This option removes the existing icon and leaves the icon slot empty
Note:

The Generate option uses the Physical Size to determine the PBR Render's Height Scale for its displacement effect.
If an Output node set to the physicalsize usage exists in the graph, this output is used. If no such output exists, the value from the graph's Attributes is used instead.
If the attribute's value is (0,0,0), then the preset value of 0.1 is used.

Note:

When no icon is defined, the first image output for the graph is used instead.

Default: Empty

Package

The absolute filename for the Package this graph belongs to.

The Folder button can let you open a new system file browser window at this location.

Default: Package filename / Empty if package was never saved

Exposed in SBSAR

This controls whether the graph and its outputs can be viewed in the SBSAR file published from the graph's Package.

This is useful if some graphs in the package are only used as subgraphs for the main graph of the package, and should not appear in the SBSAR.

Default: Yes

Show in Library

Controls whether the graph should be visible in the Library, if the package is stored in a location which is watched by the Library.

Default: Set in the Library tab of the Project Settings

Description

This is the description text of the graph.

It is visible in the tooltip for the graph entry in the Library, any Instance node for this graph, and software with an existing Substance Integration.

Default: Empty

Category

You can this field to set a category for this graph item in the Library.

Default: Empty

Author

You can use this field to put the name of the author.

Default: Empty

Author URL

This field lets you input an URL – e.g. the author's website.

Default: Empty

Tags

You can use this field to add your own tags, for improving the searchability and discoverability of the graph.

Default: Empty

User Data

You can use this field to add your own additional data. This is useful for custom integrations in third-party software. Substance 3D Painter and Sampler make use of this userdata to set certain specific behaviours.

Default: Empty


Input parameters

All the Input Parameters – which include exposed parameters – are managed, edited and previewed here. Presets can also be created for some or all parameters.

Input parameters

Note:

Read how to expose a parameter.


Inputs

In this part, all the graph's Input nodes are listed.

You can reorder them by using drag and drop on the handle on the far left of each item.

Inputs


Outputs

In this part, all the graph's Output nodes.

You can reorder them by using drag and drop on the handle on the far left of each item.

Outputs

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