In this tutorial, I will show you how to get started using InstaMAT for texturing a 3D model for your project.
Downloading
You can go to instamaterial.com to download InstaMAT
There is a pretty decent pricing structure offered by the company
For Individuals, you pay $9.99 per month USD
There is also an option for a Perpetual License at $489.99 USD
However, you can also get it for free if you make less than $100,000 USD
Once you choose your license, download the installer and install the software
Importing
Once you launch InstaMAT you will be greeted with a quick menu where you can create a new project, open a project, go to the documentation, or join the community
There are three main sections within InstaMAT
There is a Materialize section that allows you to convert a photo into a series of texture maps
There is also a Material Layering section that allows you to use nodes to make your own textures
There is a Layering section that allows you to add textures to your models – this is what we will concentrate on in this tutorial
For this tutorial, choose the Layering option
You can name the Project, assign a Category, and determine the Type
The Type determines how the materials will be interpreted
Multi-Material treats each texture set separately
Multi-Material Unified allows you to texture a model with multiple materials on one layer stack
UDIM means you can use a model with a UDIM
For this tutorial, keep it as Multi-Material
I will be using a sci-fi box model that I downloaded from Sketchfab
To import a Mesh, you can simply drag-and-drop the file into the Mesh field or use the pencil icon to open the file
You can import OBJ, FBX, and USD files – this would be your low-poly model if you have both a low-poly and high-poly model
The Bake Mesh Upon Creation option means that the Mesh Baking panel will automatically open when the Project is created
Templates are beyond the scope of this tutorial so you can just choose to not use a template
Baking
If you don’t see the Mesh Baking window, you can open it under the Windows menu
You need to choose a Source Mesh – this can be the same low-poly mesh or a high-poly mesh
You can use your CPU or GPU for the Baking Engine
You can choose a Resolution
You can also choose which texture maps you want to bake
Click on Bake
Navigation
To zoom, you can use the MMB
To pan, you can hold down the MMB
To rotate around the mesh, use ALT + LMB
Textures
In the left panel, you can choose your Channels and change the Color Space
You will also have the option of choosing the Mesh Format – this affects the Normals
You also have a list of your Materials
At the bottom, you can also add some Meta Data
You can access HDRI images which affect the lighting in the Viewport
SHIFT + RMB allows you to rotate the HDRI and change the lighting
You also have access to multiple Viewport Settings and Post-Processing Settings
In the right panel – the Outliner, you can choose your Texture if you are working on a multi-material mesh
At the bottom, you can add Layers – in this case, choose a Multi-Channel Layer
This will give you options to control the Material
You can open the Layer Channels in the lower right-panel
Here you can define a base color for the Material as well as options for the various Channels
To access the Materials, open the Graph Library in the upper-left corner
To use the Materials from the Material Library, search for a Material – in this case, metal
You can either drag-and-drop the Material directly onto the model or into the Outliner
Repeat this process for the rest of the mesh