80 Level Ratings: Great YouTube Channels about Substance 3D Designer

Hello everyone! Blocktober has unfortunately ended but it doesn't mean that we have nothing to celebrate anymore. Welcome to 80 Level's first Rating dedicated to Nodevember, a month when we celebrate all the artists who use procedural techniques in their projects. Whether you are a professional node-guru with a huge portfolio behind your back, or a rookie, working on the first procedural material in Substance 3D Designer, this is your month, and your works definitely deserve to be celebrated!

Speaking of Substance 3D Designer, to kick Nodevember off, we collected 7 great YouTube channels for those who want to master this tool or those who make their first steps as a 3D Artist. Plus, some of the channels we picked have not only Substance 3D Designer tutorials, but many others, so that other artists could also enjoy them. So, without further ado, let's get started.

Adobe Substance 3D

We'll start our list with an obvious one – the official channel of Substance software, an absolute Klondike of knowledge if you want to become better at Substance 3D Painter, Designer, or Alchemist. The channel has various tutorials on using the software in question, and the best part is that those tutorials are made by different authors, giving you the opportunity to experience different workflows and learn various techniques. And for beginners, the Substance Academy series is without a doubt the best way to get started with Substance 3D Designer.

Kalyson

The next channel belongs to a Material Artist at Aquiris Game Studio Alysson Soares. And as you may have already guessed from the listed profession, Soares shares great tutorials on creating various materials using Substance 3D Designer. From house walls to lava, from crystals to tree bark – all of these materials and more are shown on the Kalyson YouTube channel. The best part is that some of the materials Soares makes involve other software like 3ds Max and ZBrush, so other artists might also find this channel interesting.

3dEx

The next channel we picked is called 3DExtrude Tutorials, or 3dEx for short. On this YouTube channel, you will find weekly tutorials that cover a variety of different projects made using Maya, ZBrush, Unreal Engine, and most importantly Substance 3D Designer. Plus, the author creates modeling, texturing, and rendering videos in speed modeling format, so if that's your thing, you will definitely enjoy the content 3dEx provides.

Nathan Mackenzie

This channel belongs to Nathan MacKenzie, an Associate Lead Environment Artist at Playground Games. Despite not having as many tutorials in terms of quantity as our other picks, Nathan easily makes up for it by the sheer quality of the results. The main thing that you would learn from this channel is how to set up fantastic roads using Substance 3D Designer, mainly the mountain path and a worn tarmac. Plus, there is an excellent 1-hour tutorial on creating a realistic birch tree bark material. 

The DiNusty Empire

Our next pick is not simply a channel but rather a community of artists striving to get better at what they do as well as helping fellow artists improve along the way. Led by Jeremy Estrellado, the channel has a lot of the disciplines covered in art like concept art, environment art, prop art, Substance art, weapons art, hard-surface art, vehicle art, FX art, and so on. Because of that, the tutorials DiNusty provides, cover a ton of different topics and will be useful for all sorts of artists.

And, since this channel is on this list, there are heaps of Substance 3D Designer tutorials that you will find here. And much like with the first channel on our list, the tutorials are made by different artists, so the Substance 3D Designer workflow can be viewed from different angles, whichever you see fit.

Art of Josh Lynch

Our next channel belongs to Joshua Lynch, a Principal Material Artist and Founder of The Mentor Coalition, and was suggested by one of our recent interviewees. Joshua has over 11 years of experience in material art and has shared a lot of great tutorials that show how to work with Substance 3D Designer like a professional. So if you are a beginner and want to use SD in your workflow, this channel will become a treasury of new knowledge. You can also check out Josh's ArtStation page for even more tutorials.

Daniel Thiger

And finally, we have the channel without which this list would not have been completed. Meet Daniel Thiger, an absolute guru of Substance 3D Designer and the man that has inspired hundreds if not thousands of artists to start their Substance journey. On this channel, you will find everything you need to learn as an aspiring 3D artist. How to work with Substance 3D Designer, what this tool is capable of, its fundamentals, etc. And also don't forget to check out Daniel Thiger's ArtStation page to see the beautiful materials this artist creates.

These were our picks for this Substance 3D Designer-themed list. Do you agree with our list? What artists should we have added here? Who were the trainers that inspired you to learn Substance 3D Designer? Leave your thoughts down in the comments below or on our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, on Instagram or Twitter.

Preview art by Kai "Kizzle" Mergener