I rarely need to edit my maps in Photoshop. I try to get everything right during the bake.
I generally bake Normal Map, AO Map, ID map, and Height Map (for tesselation) in Marmoset, and I bake the rest of the maps in Substance 3D Painter while texturing.
Texturing
Texturing is an exciting stage where we can bring creativity, observation skills, and technical knowledge together. It’s important to study the material – how it looks and feels, how it appears when new, and how it changes with age, use, and damage. Understanding the type of wear and tear it naturally gets, along with the art style required by the game or concept, are important points to follow.
To start, I create base materials with proper PBR values and the right surface feel, then gradually add more detail.
From the beginning, I aimed to keep these assets balanced and realistic, and I followed the same approach during texturing. I first built base materials with accurate values and height information, then added more detail using various alphas, techniques, anchor points, and Height Maps.
For masks, I generally create the base using generators with various Grunge Maps, and then use alphas along with manual painting, which I enjoy.
Here are the layers for stickers:
