Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Material Maker VS Substance Alchemist

Compare Material Maker VS Substance Alchemist and see what are their differences

Material Maker logo Material Maker

Cross-platform, procedural texture generation tool.

Substance Alchemist logo Substance Alchemist

The material enthusiast's toolbox
  • Material Maker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-28
  • Substance Alchemist Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-01

Material Maker features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    Material Maker is available for free and is open source, allowing users to modify and contribute to the software, making it accessible to a wide range of users without financial barriers.
  • Node-Based Workflow
    The software provides a node-based workflow which allows for ease of use and powerful procedural texturing, making it simple for users to create complex materials efficiently.
  • Integration with Godot Engine
    Material Maker integrates well with the Godot Engine, facilitating smooth workflows for game developers who use this popular open-source game engine.
  • Community Support
    A growing community of users contributes to the sharing of tips, resources, and materials, providing a supportive environment for learning and expanding skills.
  • Cross-Platform
    Material Maker is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, MacOS, and Linux, offering flexibility for users across different operating systems.

Possible disadvantages of Material Maker

  • Steep Learning Curve
    While powerful, the node-based system can be complex for beginners, requiring a significant investment of time to become proficient.
  • Limited Documentation
    The available documentation can be sparse, potentially leading to challenges in understanding all features and tools available in the software.
  • Performance Issues on Large Projects
    Some users have reported performance slowdowns when working on larger or more complex projects, which can hinder workflow efficiency.
  • Less Polished Interface
    Compared to commercial alternatives, Material Maker may have a less polished UI, which might impact the user experience.
  • Limited Features Compared to Paid Tools
    Material Maker may lack some advanced features offered by commercial texturing software, which could be a limitation for professional users seeking specific capabilities.

Substance Alchemist features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Substance Alchemist offers a straightforward and intuitive interface, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced users to create and modify materials easily.
  • Material Creation and Management
    The software excels in allowing users to create, manage, and explore a wide range of materials efficiently, which is particularly beneficial for 3D artists and designers.
  • AI-powered Features
    With its AI-powered tools, Substance Alchemist can automatically generate seamless textures and reproductions from photos, significantly speeding up the creative process.
  • Integration with Adobe Ecosystem
    Being part of the Adobe Substance suite, it integrates well with other Adobe products, providing a seamless workflow for users already invested in the Adobe ecosystem.
  • Rich Material Library
    Users have access to a vast library of pre-made materials and textures, which can be used as a starting point or inspiration for new designs.

Possible disadvantages of Substance Alchemist

  • Subscription Model
    Substance Alchemist is available through a subscription, which might be costly for some users compared to one-time purchase software.
  • System Resource Requirements
    The software can be resource-intensive, requiring a powerful computer setup, which may not be ideal for users with limited hardware capabilities.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic features are easy to grasp, mastering the advanced functionalities may take time and effort, especially for those new to 3D texturing.
  • Limited Non-Adobe Integration
    Substance Alchemist does not integrate as smoothly with non-Adobe products, which could be a limitation for users relying on other software suites.
  • Internet Dependency
    Some features, like accessing the material library, require an internet connection, which could be inconvenient for users with unreliable internet access.

Analysis of Material Maker

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Material Maker is considered a good tool, especially for those looking for a cost-effective solution to create procedural textures. Its features and user-friendly design make it a solid choice for both beginners and experienced users in the field.

Why this product is good

  • Material Maker is a popular tool among 3D artists and game developers for creating procedural textures and materials. It is praised for being open-source and free, making it accessible to a wide audience. Users appreciate its node-based interface, which is similar to other industry-standard software, allowing for a smooth learning curve. The software is also valued for its capability to produce high-quality textures that can be used in various 3D modeling and game development projects. Regular updates and a supportive community contribute to its positive reception.

Recommended for

    Material Maker is recommended for 3D artists, game developers, and hobbyists who are interested in creating procedural materials and textures without incurring high software costs. It is also suitable for educators and students who require an accessible and powerful tool for learning and teaching purposes in digital art and design.

Material Maker videos

Material Maker 0.8 Released -- Now with more better!

More videos:

  • Review - Material Maker -- Godot Powered Procedural Texture Creator (Free & Open Source!)
  • Review - Material Maker & Pixelorama -- Godot Powered Open Source GameDev Goodness!

Substance Alchemist videos

SUBSTANCE ALCHEMIST - AWESOME MATERIAL CREATOR

More videos:

  • Review - First Look at Substance Alchemist
  • Review - Project Substance Alchemist

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Material Maker and Substance Alchemist)
3D
69 69%
31% 31
Architecture
67 67%
33% 33
Design Tools
80 80%
20% 20
Photos & Graphics
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Material Maker seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Material Maker mentions (8)

  • Underw[A]ter [OC]
    In a software called material maker, this is the setup(slightly different but this basically just offsets the textures). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Godot showing off a texture I made in material maker
    Did you find it? Here it is if you didn't. It's made in Godot. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How would you go about modeling this?
    “Name your own price” alternative based on the Godot engine https://rodzilla.itch.io/material-maker. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Helmet Hud Test Godot 4 FPS
    Helmet overlay was made using material maker. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Has anyone been able to run Substance Designer on the steam deck?
    No idea about that one but Material Maker works great! Source: about 3 years ago
View more

Substance Alchemist mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Substance Alchemist yet. Tracking of Substance Alchemist recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Material Maker and Substance Alchemist, you can also consider the following products

Substance Designer - Substance Designer is a node-based non-destructive application for material authoring.

TextureLab - Free, Cross-Platform, GPU-Accelerated Procedural Texture Generator.

PixaFlux - PixaFlux is a node based image processing application.

PixPlant - A complete solution for repeating textures and 3D maps. Save a lot of texturing time with PixPlant!

Filter Forge - On the surface, Filter Forge is just a Photoshop plugin, a pack of filters that generate textures...

TextureWorks - AI-based, seamless texture generation and re-scaling tool for the desktop.