The goal was to revisit UE5.6 and gain a better understanding of the substrate shading system, while also establishing a workflow between ZBrush, Houdini, and Substance Painter. A key challenge was capturing the feel of sugar particles sprinkled on some of the assets.
At first, I explored a textural approach, but I quickly realized that nothing beats using proper geometry scattered across the surface for a more realistic effect.
I used Houdini to scatter the sugar particles. I created a reusable hip file for different assets and multiple geometries to distribute. The system was quite effective and easy to handle.
As for the Day of the tentacle project, all the modelling was done in ZBrush and textured in Substance. In this case I was building one geometry instance and duplicating them in UE
TT and light spin
I hope you enjoyed this brief behind-the-scenes, and thank you for taking the time to check it out.
Fabio