Mio Mäkijärvi at 13:42, 28 July 2023

2023-07-28T13:42:30Z

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			⬑ [[3D Asset Workflow]]</div>

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			{{#lst:3D Asset Workflow}} <!-- Link list transcluded from main 3D Asset Workflow page -->
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	= Summary =		= Summary =
	* A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels		* A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels

Mio Mäkijärvi: Created page with "= Summary = * A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels ** The albedo of the model can then be colored in the Editor..."

2023-07-28T12:43:24Z

Created page with "= Summary = * A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels ** The albedo of the model can then be colored in the Editor..."

New page

= Summary =
* A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels
** The albedo of the model can then be colored in the Editor using these channels
* Tintmasks are very useful for creating multiple differently colored variations of the same model, without having to make [[3D Asset Workflow: Alternative Textures|Alternative Textures]] for all of them
* When using tintmasks, '''it's important to always adjust the default colors to be nice and usable as is'''
** Otherwise the model will be black, and additional adjusting is needed
* Some general Editor tips for tintmasks can be found from [[3D_Asset_Workflow:_General_Tips#Editor|3D Asset Workflow: General Tips#Editor]]

[[File:tintmask_example_ledgegrabs.jpg|500px]]
[[File:Trine 4 wizard box tintmask.png|500px]]

== How Tintmasks Work ==
* Tintmasks are used to '''control an object's surface color using an RGB mask and color pickers in the Editor'''
* The mask has 3 layers - 1 in each color channel, and a base layer in the alpha channel
* The colors are blended together based on the masks' grayscale values, and the chosen layer order
* '''The alpha channel (Base layer) controls the tint's overall blending with the original texture''', meaning that an alpha channel with some amount of white is always needed
* The color channels correspond to certain layers by default, but they can be switched around in the meshmaterial
** The default layers are listed further below
* '''The tinting is applied through linear interpolation''', meaning the the tint is applied more like paint, covering the color on the previous layer, instead of showing anything through
** This makes the layer ordering important, since the result varies depending on the order in which the layers are applied

= Creating Tintmasks =
* Tintmasks can be created in Substance Painter
** '''The color channels must be made separately on custom texture channels'''
* The T4_asset_export configuration merges these automatically into a ready tintmask
* In order to get a correct tintmask out of Substance Painter, you must add the proper User channels
** The texture channels and their corresponding mask channels are listed below:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Texture channel
! Color channel
! Mask layer
! Use
|-
| '''User7'''
| Red
| Deco layer
| Small details, accents
|-
| '''User6'''
| Green
| Simple layer
|
|-
| '''User5'''
| Blue
| Areas layer
| Large areas
|-
| '''User4'''
| Alpha
| Base layer
| Overall blending. Affects every layer
|}

[[File:tintmask_components.jpg|400px]]

* The user channels are found in the same list as other special channels, like emission or scattering
* You can rename the channels in Painter to make them easier to work with, it won't affect the export config
* '''The alpha channel (Base layer) is the only mask that is absolutely required'''
* The Base layer controls the masks' overall blending, so without one, the mask does nothing
* Even when there is the alpha channel in the tintmask, the texture files don't need to have at or ab in their name, unless they really use alpha
* '''The layer names and uses are arbitrary''' when it comes to which layer affects what, but it is a good idea to keep things consistent for the sake of level artists
* User channels generally don't show up on the mesh when texturing in Painter, but you can view them by cycling the single channel views
** Hotkey '''C''' to switch to next texture channel, and '''shift + C''' to switch to the previous
** Hotkey '''M''' returns you to the material view
* '''Anchor points''' help immensely when creating masks based on texture elements
** Anchor points allow you to refer to an earlier layer in the stack, so any changes made there will transfer over the anchor point
*** In this case, by adding a fill effect to a layer, and to that fill assign the anchor point
** Here's a video explaining anchor points:

{{#ev:youtube
|https://youtu.be/w44yuMFtFyM
|
|
|09 - Using Anchors 
Video:[[3D_Asset_Workflow:_Tintmask#Sources|Sources]]
|frame
}}

= Using the Tintmasks in the Editor =
* To tint an object, it needs a tintmask, which needs to be applied in the object's meshmaterial
* Name the tintmask texture as [texturename]_tintmask.tga
# To find the meshmaterial, right click on the object (or its type) and select '''locate type model resource'''
# Right-click the meshmaterial (under MeshMaterialResources) in the model resource's properties, and selecting '''Locate GUID'''
# Click on the three dots at the '''TintColorMaskTexture''' and navigate to the mask texture
# Then save resources or it might not appear
# In the meshmaterial, you can also set which color channels correspond to which tint layers

[[File:tintmask_meshmaterial_settings.PNG]]

* To enable tinting, select '''EnableTintColor''' in the ModelComponent properties
* Then you can adjust the tinting with the rest of the settings
* '''TintLayerOrder determines the order in which the layers are applied'''

[[File:tintmask_settings.PNG]]

== Creating a Tintmask for an Existing Asset ==
* If you add a tintmask for an existing asset that already has textures, you'll need to:
# Make the albedo map grey
# Re-adjust the colors for the default look you want for the asset in the Editor
#* '''The default look should be nice and not require adjusting each time'''

=Sources=


Video 01 : Substance. [accessed June 7, 2018] 09 - Using Anchors Available at: https://youtu.be/w44yuMFtFyM

3D Asset Workflow: Tintmask - Revision history

Mio Mäkijärvi at 13:42, 28 July 2023

Mio Mäkijärvi: Created page with "= Summary = * A tintmask is a texture, in which different areas of the model are masked to separate color channels ** The albedo of the model can then be colored in the Editor..."