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Free Material Tool - Materialize

Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby epsilonion » 02 Dec 2018, 21:19

This newly released, completely free tool, enables you to quickly create several different material maps from a single image, with real time preview, editing and more.
Create Height, Normal, AO, Edge, Metalness and Smoothness maps in just seconds with interactive preview, all from a single source texture. Works very similar to B2M or ShaderMap, but completely free. Sorry Mac and Linux devs, this one is Windows only for now.

This tool was used on the uncharted series meaning its tried and tested but also FREE..

http://www.boundingboxsoftware.com/materialize/index.php

Download http://www.boundingboxsoftware.com/materialize/getkey.php

Although there are tutorials on there webpage but I also like this one.


  • Diffuse -> Height
  • Diffuse -> Metallic
  • Diffuse -> Smoothness
  • Height -> Normal
  • Height + Diffuse -> Normal
  • Normal -> Edge
  • Normal -> Occlusion
  • Normal + Height -> Occlusion
  • Normal -> Height
  • Seamlessly tile your textures.
  • Save and load in a variety of formats.
  • Automate many processes with clipboard commands in xml format.
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby cassius_b » 05 Dec 2018, 00:31

Thanks. Looks good. I could use a good 3d modeling app. Blender drives me mad.
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby epsilonion » 05 Dec 2018, 03:06

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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby monkeyfrogstudio » 10 Dec 2018, 20:43

cassius_b wrote:Thanks. Looks good. I could use a good 3d modeling app. Blender drives me mad.


I've used several 3D modeling packages from 3DS Max to MODO. MODO is the last professional 3D software that I've had a license to. I don't get along with subscription based software (which is what MODO became a year or so ago) and so I've made the switch over to using Blender. Two things -

1 - Blender 2.79 (the current full release) is actually a pretty nice piece of software. I had hated Blender for a long time, but several months ago decided to give it a serious look and start to learn it. I found that it's a pretty powerful piece of software that makes sense (once you start learning how it works). It's also quite able to be customized. So, I had it working the way I wanted, left click to select and all that, relatively quickly and was off and running. After completing a few projects (paid projects for clients, mind you) I felt quite at home in Blender. So, yes, Blender takes some getting used to and some learning to begin to "think" the Blender way, but once you do, it's a very capable and powerful piece of software.

2 - Blender 2.80 is finally in beta! This is significant for many reasons. One is the Blender foundation has come to their senses, so to speak, and are in the process of bringing Blender in line with "industry standards" as far as mouse clicks, shortcut keys, and even the UI. For example, left mouse click to select is now the default (just as is in every other piece of software on the planet). The new EEVEE view port is simply fantastic, especially for game developers. It has a few industry firsts there that you should really check out. And while 2.80 is still in beta (and probably won't be a stable release until June of 2019), it's worth getting and learning. I am quite happy working in Blender and 2.80 is simply amazing.

3 - Yeah, I know I said only two things, but a third came to mind - support for Blender via plugins (free and paid for) is amazing. You won't find a lot for 2.80 as it's in beta, though they are starting to be ported over, but the number of plugins that enhance Blender 2.79 is amazing. You'll find plugins for real-time 3D painting, improving UV mapping, amazing Boolean and decal plugins, and more! Because Blender is free to use, many of the plugins are free, too. And the ones that aren't tend to be very reasonably priced (usually in the $10 - $30 range). Even the high-end professional plugins (plugins that would cost hundreds for other 3D programs) tend to be well under $100 for Blender.

With Blender 2.80 out, it's really the best time to start learning Blender. It's easier than ever because Blender is not as weird as it once was.

Oh! And if you don't want to use a beta version, but still find Blender 2.79 a bit odd for you, then there is always bforartists:

https://www.bforartists.de/

It's a version of Blender that is supposed to be more artist friendly. Perhaps something like that would help.
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby epsilonion » 11 Dec 2018, 09:47

Personally I use Maya, I never got along with blender and found that maya was a good fit for me, if you can afford the subscription that is.. :P
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby monkeyfrogstudio » 11 Dec 2018, 17:07

epsilonion wrote:Personally I use Maya, I never got along with blender and found that maya was a good fit for me, if you can afford the subscription that is.. :P


Maya's a great piece of software. I've used it before, also. And, like you, I never got along with Blender. But the new 2.8 is shaping up to be something else entirely. There is a reason that many in the industry are starting to take notice of it. But, to each there own. The important thing is that we create and can use the tools that we each like. :)
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby planetX » 11 Dec 2018, 20:03

You can make a 3d movie with Blender, it has all the tools. Before 2.8 you could even make a complete game using only Blender. It is by far the best open source software ever made.

I like it very much for modeling and UV mapping, but for character animations and FBX exporting I switch to 3dsMax.

I have a nice workflow for animations, which allows me to work with bipeds inside Mixamo and then make some tweaks back in 3dsMax (I'm not a good animator so I have to find a way somehow)... and the FBX exporter from Blender gives me a lot of headaches, so I find 3dsMax the best way to have everything organized inside Skyline. For those who want to release a commercial game, the 3.500 bucks they have to pay for the license might be a downside, but that's not my case. :lol:

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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby cassius_b » 12 Dec 2018, 00:33

Ok guys, you have coniced me. I will go back to Blender and the aim will be to learn at least one new thing per 1 hour session.
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby monkeyfrogstudio » 12 Dec 2018, 09:56

A few things to keep in mind as you learn Blender -

Blender 2.8 is in beta and probably will be until about June or so of next year. While I find that it currently is very stable, they are making changes to the program. And this means that some things you may learn now may not be applicable in the days, weeks, and months ahead. For example, it wasn't until a week or so ago that LMB became the default. So, if you were working with the alpha or early beta, that was a significant change. Other things will be changing, too. So, when learning on a beta, you have to be a bit flexible.

One thing that's coming down the pike is an "industry standard" key map. It's not implemented yet in Blender 2.8, but it is on its way. It will further change the current Blender keyboard shortcuts. However, this industry standard keymap is not going to be the default. It is intended to be something you can turn on/off via preferences. So, any keyboard shortcuts you learn now will still work in the future. But if you really like the shortcuts you are probably used to using in your current 3D program, you will most likely be able to access them in Blender via a single toggle to turn them on. Of course, you can currently just set everything up as you like since it is all completely customizable, but it's a pain and takes time to do it.

The Blender Foundation had asked plugin/addon developers to hold off updating their plugins/addons until Blender was in Beta. Since it just hit beta not too long ago,this means that many of the plugins/addons are not yet available for Blender 2.8. However, they should be soon. There are a few absolutely amazing Blender plugins/addons, too.

Lastly, due to Blender being in beta, it can be buggy. Because Blender is open source, there are daily updates. So, if you like, you can go to Blender.org and download each new day's updates. But this means that one day Blender 2.8 might be rock solid and a crash fest the next day. It's the chance you take with beta software. ;)

As for me, I am loving the new Blender 2.8. The EEVEE viewport is absolutely amazing, particularly for game developers.
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Re: Free Material Tool - Materialize

Postby monkeyfrogstudio » 12 Dec 2018, 09:58

planetX wrote:You can make a 3d movie with Blender, it has all the tools.


Yep. Next Gen, which is on Netflix, was completely modeled, animated, and rendered in Blender. Almost the entire movie was made in Blender.

https://youtu.be/uf3ALGKgpGU
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