recreating these simple architectural materials?

[fael097]

hey, I'm fairly new to substance designer, even though I've seen many and many videos and courses online, enough to have a clear understanding on how the software works, I've yet to make a material myself.

I'm trying to recreate 3 materials, but I simply don't know all the nodes and how the different parameters work, so I get overwhelmed every time I try to start making them. maybe someone could help me out?

these are the materials:

asphalt shingles (more regular than what you usually see online)


stone cladding (irregular, something between these two)


herringbone stone walkway


I believe these should be fairly simple, but I'm having quite some trouble getting started.
thanks in advance

[Nicolas Wirrmann]

You should probably take a single one and try to create it. The simplest one seems to be the last reference (herringbone stone).

Usually for geometric patterns, the Tile Generator is the way to go. In this case set the "offset" to 0.5 and enable the "checker mask". It should give you the mask corresponding to the horizontal pieces.
To make the vertical pieces, use a transformation 2D Node to apply a 90° rotation. You'll then have to find the right Offset value on the transformation so that both mask fit together (the value will depend on the amount of patterns).

Getting the mask is the first step. In order to create a realistic material, I'll have to work on the height map to recreate the material relief. From the height you'll create the normal map. And only after that you'll create the remaining base color and roughness.

Don't hesitate to post some images of your tries/work in progress, it's always easier to comment on images.

[Colkaih]

To be honest, my gut instinct is, go on substance source, find something similar and then download the SBS and reverse engineer it so you can see what each bit does. Then change things and see the effect, so you get to understand the parameters of the nodes.