How do you use the texture analysis tools in Substance Designer to identify and reduce texture waste?

1 What is texture waste and why does it matter?

Texture waste is the ratio of pixels in your texture that do not contribute to the final appearance of your material. For example, if you have a large texture map with a lot of empty space or repeated patterns, you are wasting memory and bandwidth that could be used for more detail or variation. Texture waste can affect the loading time, memory consumption, and rendering speed of your game or application, especially on mobile or web platforms.

3 How to reduce texture waste using the histogram tool

One of the easiest ways to reduce texture waste is to use the histogram tool to adjust the levels and curves of your texture. This can help you remove any unnecessary or redundant pixel values that do not contribute to the final result. For example, if you have a texture with a lot of black or white pixels that are not visible in your material, you can use the histogram tool to clip them and free up some space for more useful pixels. To do this, you can drag the black and white points of the histogram to the edges of the pixel value range, and then drag the middle point to adjust the contrast. This will also improve the compression of your texture, as it will reduce the number of colors and gradients in your map.

4 How to reduce texture waste using the UV checker tool

Another way to reduce texture waste is to use the UV checker tool to adjust the UV scale and offset of your texture. This can help you fit your texture better to your mesh and avoid any empty or overlapping areas in your UV space. For example, if you have a texture that is too large or too small for your mesh, you can use the UV checker tool to scale it up or down and align it to your UV coordinates. To do this, you can use the sliders or the numeric inputs in the UV checker window to change the scale and offset values of your texture. This will also improve the quality of your texture, as it will reduce any stretching, distortion, or seams in your map.

5 How to reduce texture waste using the pixel processor tool

A third way to reduce texture waste is to use the pixel processor tool to apply filters and effects to your texture. This can help you remove any artifacts, aliasing, or noise that may affect the clarity and fidelity of your texture. For example, if you have a texture that is too sharp or too blurry for your material, you can use the pixel processor tool to apply a sharpen or blur filter to your texture. To do this, you can use the drop-down menu or the search box in the pixel processor window to select a filter from the library, and then adjust its parameters using the sliders or the numeric inputs. This will also improve the compatibility of your texture, as it will ensure that it works well with different renderers and platforms.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?