Welcome to this tutorial on creating an ORM texture map in Affinity Photo! ORM maps are used in physically-based rendering (PBR) workflows to control a material’s ambient occlusion, roughness, and metalness. In this video, I will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating an ORM map from scratch in Affinity Photo. Let’s get started!
Welcome to this tutorial on creating an ORM texture map in Affinity Photo! ORM maps are used in physically-based rendering (PBR) workflows to control a material’s ambient occlusion, roughness, and metalness. In this video, I will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating an ORM map from scratch in Affinity Photo. Let’s get started!
[Step 1: Setting Up the Project]
First, open Affinity Photo and create a new document. The size of your texture map will depend on your needs—typically, something like 2048 x 2048 or 4096 x 4096 pixels works well for most game projects.
Make sure your background is transparent, so we have a clean slate to start working with.
[Step 2: Importing the Base Textures]
Now, let’s import the base textures we’ll use to create our ORM map. You should have three separate textures: an Ambient Occlusion (AO) map, a Roughness map, and a Metalness map. If you don’t have these, you can always generate them from a base texture or use placeholders.
Let’s start by importing the Ambient Occlusion map. AO simulates how much ambient light a surface receives, and it’s usually represented by a grayscale image where white represents the raised surfaces and black represents the shadows.
Next, let’s import the Roughness map. This controls how smooth or rough a surface appears, affecting how light interacts with the material. Roughness is also typically represented as a grayscale map, where white represents a rough surface and black represents a smooth one.
Now, let’s import the Metalness map. This map controls how metallic a surface is. In most PBR workflows, white represents a fully metallic surface, and black represents a non-metallic surface.
[Step 3: Combining the Maps into an ORM Map]
Now, we’re ready to combine all three maps into one ORM texture. The most common format for this is to use the Red, Green, and Blue channels for different properties:
- Red channel: Ambient Occlusion
- Green channel: Roughness
- Blue channel: Metalness
To start, create a new layer and fill it with a solid color, like black, so we can start from a blank canvas.
We’ll copy each map into the corresponding channels. To do this, select the AO map layer, and use CTRL + A to select the AO map layer, then Ctrl + C to copy the AO map.
Now, go to the Channels panel, and paste the AO map into the Red channel by selecting it, and pressing Ctrl + V.” Using CTRL + D deselects the map.
Repeat this process for the Roughness and Metalness maps. Copy the Roughness map into the Green channel, and the Metalness map into the Blue channel.
[Step 4: Exporting the ORM Texture Map]
Once your ORM map is ready, it’s time to save it! Go to File > Export, and choose PNG or TGA as your file format. Make sure to select ‘RGB’ for color channels when saving.
Give your texture map a meaningful name, like ORM_Map, and save it in the desired location for use in your game engine.
[Step 5: Using the ORM Map in a Game Engine]
Now, you can import your ORM Texture Map into your game engine! In Unreal Engine, import your Texture Maps. Open the ORM Texture Map and deactivate the ‘sRGB parameter’.
Make a new Material and drag in your Texture Maps. Connect the Base Color and Normal maps to their respective inputs. Connect the Red Channel to the AO Shader Node input. Connect the Green Channel to the Roughness Shader Node input. Connect the Blue Channel to the Metallic Shader Node input.
By using this ORM texture map, you can create more realistic materials that respond correctly to lighting and the environment in your game.
And that’s it! You’ve successfully created an ORM texture map in Affinity Photo. Now, you can use it to enhance your materials and bring them to life in your 3D projects.