Substance Designer - Intro to FX Maps  

This series is all about FX Map nodes and how they can be used for more than just making procedural noises. 

We start with the basics, learning about the FX Map node and exactly how it works. In the second video we dive right in to making an FX Map-driven animated mask. 

First we'll start with a simple scratches noise that will be part of a custom image we'll animate with a second FX Map. Once we've got our FX Map animation running, we'll take a look at the Gradient Map node as a way of making both grayscale and color masks that can be used for blending materials. Finally, we'll take a brief look at the Material Blend and Multi-Material Blend nodes to see exactly how the mask we've stored in our Substance Library can be reused to make a variety of different animated materials. 

(total length: 1.5 hrs)

You can see a preview here: https://youtu.be/vW3nAMW1g2I

video 1 - Intro: A basic overview of how FX Maps work.

video 2 - Scratches FX Map & Input Image: In this video, we apply the theoretical FX Map basics we learned in Lesson 1 to make a scratches noise. We then add this noise to a basic landmass input image we made using the SVG and Slope Blend nodes.

video 3 - Animated FX Map: Using the input image created in Lesson 2 we go on to make a second FX Map with exposed parameters and animation. 

video 4 - Using Gradient Maps to Create Color ID & Grayscale Masks: In this video we take a look at how to use the Gradient Map node to create both Color ID & Grayscale Masks.  We'll then create customized outputs using these masks.

video 5 - Material Blends & Multi-Material Blends: Finally, we'll take a look at Material Blend & Multi-Material Blend nodes, illustrating how the same customized animated mask can be applied to any combination of materials.