How to Create Realistic Aging Brick Wall Material Using Substance 3D Designer

Introduction 

Hello, 80 Level readers! My name is Eymen Akmaz, and I am a 22-year-old 3D Environment Artist from Turkey. I currently work at an indie studio as a 3D Environment Artist. I started learning 3D modeling two years ago, and I was really drawn to material art on ArtStation. It fascinated me, so I began exploring it and found Substance 3D Designer. At first, it seemed very difficult and complex, so I stopped learning it for a while.

As I continued to develop my 3D skills, I decided to focus on environmental art and realized that understanding material art is essential for environmental artists. That's when I gave Substance 3D Designer another try. It was still challenging, but things changed when I participated in the "Forge of the Gods" challenge in the Beyond Extend community challenge. I became the Material Artist for my team, which pushed me to work harder with Substance 3D Designer. I managed to create the materials we needed, which boosted my confidence. After that challenge, I kept experimenting with material art, and my goal shifted from just learning the software to creating the things I imagined. This process helped me improve in both Substance 3D Designer and Material Art.

Why Substance 3D Designer?

I chose Substance 3D Designer for the Brick Wall Material because it allows for a very parametric workflow. This made it much easier to adjust things using a clear and simple interface. Also, creating material in Substance 3D Designer feels more experimental to me, which makes it more enjoyable.

About the Brick Wall Project

When I started this project, my goal was to create something experimental in Substance 3D Designer. I had been making materials for buildings similar to those in New York for a long time at my studio, and I started wondering if I could create an entire wall, including the windows, as a material in Substance 3D Designer. That's how I began working on the Brick Wall Material.

For reference, I found a building on Pinterest that inspired me, but I didn't want to copy it exactly. I added my own touch to some parts to make the wall look more unique.

Brick

I started with the base shape using the Tile Random node. My goal was to create a base shape of bricks arranged in a random order, as I wanted the bricks to appear naturally scattered.

Next, I used the Slope Blur Grayscale node to add some deformations to the brick shape. This is a great method to make the bricks look more organic and natural.

Then, I used the Flood Fill, Flood Fill Gradient, and Flood Fill Grayscale nodes to randomly adjust the position and rotation of the bricks. This step is essential for achieving a more natural look.

Next, I added deformations to the edges to emphasize the aging effect. I used noise nodes and the Slope Blur Grayscale node for this step:

Here, I created the mortar that holds the bricks together and blended the bricks and mortar using the Height Blend node:

Here, to emphasize the aging effect again, I applied random deformations to the bricks:

Finally, I added cracks to some of the bricks using the Crack node I had previously prepared:

Base Color

For the Brick Base Color, I connected the final grayscale to the Gradient Map node and used the colors I picked from my references as the base color. Then, I used the Flood Fill to Random Color node to give each brick a unique color:

Here, I combined three different colors with my base color, using Grayscale nodes to create more contrast:

Here, I added the colors I created for the mortar:

Here, I applied different colors to the edges and key areas of the bricks (sides, top, and bottom) to create a more organic look. I also used the Curvature node to enhance the edges with a crisper base color:

For the final pass, I added some noise and AO (ambient occlusion) to the base color, which is something I usually apply to most of my materials:

Roughness

For the roughness, I combined the final base color node with the Grayscale Conversion node. Then, I added roughness details using the grunge textures I included in the base color:

Wall Stone Trims

For the Wall Stone Trims, I first quickly created the base shapes and then added small deformations to make them look more organic.

Wall Stone Trims Color

For the Wall Stone Trims Color, I applied almost the same base color and roughness process as I did for the bricks.

Window

For the window, I used a simple shape node along with the Transformation 2D node to combine multiple wooden planks. I added deformations to these planks and then applied a pre-made wood grunge texture to them. Finally, I colored the planks in a simple way.

Wall

Here, I started by creating the base shape of the wall, where the bricks would be placed:

Next, I combined the base shape with the brick node I had prepared:

After that, I combined the trims and the window I had prepared with the wall.

Wall Base Color

Finally, I blended the colors I had prepared using Blend nodes.

While creating this material, I didn't have a specific parameter in mind that I could quickly change. However, things like the brick structure, size, and aging can be adjusted using the parameters of the nodes I used. Since this was an experimental project, I didn't start with the goal of achieving something technical, so it didn't have many parameters. 

Rendering 

I usually render my materials using Marmoset Toolbag 4. Each time I create a new material, I set everything from scratch, including lighting and render settings. I don't use any presets. When rendering, my goal is simply for it to look good to my eyes and be satisfying — I'm not aiming for high realism. Some lighting might not be theoretically correct, but if it looks good to me, I prefer to use it.

What I was trying to achieve here was the reflection of the sunrise on the wall after a lot of experimentation. That's why part of the wall is more intensely affected by the sunlight, while other parts are less affected. Also, while testing an HDRI by chance, the effect of the light on the glass, as if the light was coming from inside, added a nice aesthetic touch.

In this visual, you can see my camera settings. For the material, I didn't make any extra adjustments and used the default settings.

Summary

This project was, once again, both a contribution to my portfolio and a way to spend my free time. Of course, most of my projects boost my confidence and inspire me to work even more. This project rekindled my desire to create better things.

Many artists around me, as well as those I see on social media, struggle with motivation to finish their projects. This is something I deal with as well. However, I believe it's important to push through and work on a project until you're truly satisfied with it — it's essential for both confidence and personal growth.

In this article, I've tried to explain how I made the brick wall material as best as I could. I hope it has been helpful to you. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read it. If you have any questions or would like to reach out, please feel free to contact me on ArtStation, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, and Instagram. 

Eymen Akmaz, 3D Environment Artist

Interview conducted by Amber Rutherford