DocumentationSubstance 3DSubstance 3D Painter

Dirt

Last update: August 11, 2026

In: mask, generator
Description
The Dirt generator adds realistic buildup of dirt and grunge in crevices, edges, and flat surfaces based on curvature, ambient occlusion. You can also optionally use Micro Height and Micro Normal maps to add more detail.

The Dirt generator outputs a monochrome (black and white) texture. As a result, it’s useful for generating masks to add dirt or grunge details to your model.

Baked position, curvature, ambient occlusion and world space normal maps are required as image inputs. Learn more about baking here.
NOTE
The Dirt generator is a powerful tool for quickly adding dirt to your mesh. For the best results, we recommend using additional masks to control how the dirt is applied, always considering the environment and history of your asset.

Inputs

Input name
Description
Curvature Grayscale
Use the baked Curvature map.
Ambient Occlusion Grayscale
Use the baked Ambient Occlusion map.
World Space Normal Color
Use the baked World Space Normals map.
Position Color
Use the baked Position map.
Custom grunge Grayscale
Use a custom texture or an anchor point.
Micro Normal Color
Use a custom normal texture or an anchor point.
Micro Height Color
Use a custom texture or an anchor point.

Parameters

Parameter name
Description
Seed

Set the seed value used to generate the dirt texture.

  • Click Random to switch to another random seed.
  • Click the pencil to see the current seed value, and enter a specific value if desired.
Invert
Invert the dirt mask.
Dirt Level
Adjust the strength of the dirt effect.
Dirt Contrast
Adjust the contrast of the dirt effect.
Use Triplanar

When Triplanar is enabled, the texture is projected from three directions (X, Y, Z axes) instead of relying only on UVs.

  • Without triplanar enabled, the texture follows the UV layout.
  • With triplanar enabled, the texture is projected from multiple angles and blended.
Triplanar Blending Contrast
Adjust how smoothly a texture blends when it is projected using triplanar mapping. It adjusts the softness of the blending between the projections from each direction.
Grunge Amount
Adjust the intensity of the grunge details.
Grunge Scale
Adjust the size of the grunge details.
Use Custom Grunge
Toggle usage of a custom grunge map on or off.
Edges Masking
Adjust the masking of the edges based on the curvature map.

Micro Details

Parameter name
Description
Micro Height
Toggle usage of a custom Micro Height map on or off.
Micro Normal
Toggle usage of a custom Micro Normal map on or off.
Curvature Type

Set the Curvature type.

  • Standard: Produces a usually quite sharp result, but can lack wider details.
  • Sobel: Produces similar results compared to standard, but slightly blurrier because it evaluates the normal map using a Sobel filter.
  • Smooth: Produces different levels of blur (like mipmaps) to accumulate information. This usually provides smoother curves, but details can get lost.
Curvature Intensity
Adjust the strength of the Curvature in Standard and Sobel Curvature mode.
Height Details Intensity
Adjust the amount of the Micro Height details.
AO Radius
Adjust the radius (range) of the Ambient Occlusion in micro details.
AO Depth
Adjust the depth (intensity) of the Ambient Occlusion in micro details.
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