Mesh Maps
Maps baked from the model that drive generators
Also known as: Baked mesh maps · Bake Mesh Maps · Substance Painter mesh maps · Utility maps
Definition
Mesh maps are textures baked from a 3D model in Substance Painter, such as normal, world space normal, ambient occlusion, curvature, position, thickness and ID. They are not exported as final textures. They are the data that generators, smart masks and smart materials read to find edges, crevices and upward-facing surfaces. Without baked mesh maps those tools have nothing to work from and produce flat or empty results.
In production
Bake them per texture set from the Texture Set Settings panel, using the high-poly model if you have one, then inspect each map in the viewport. Noisy curvature or artifacts in AO show up as noisy wear, so fix the mesh or the bake settings and rebake rather than hiding problems with filters. Rebake after any geometry or UV change.
Learn Mesh Maps in
Tools that use Mesh Maps
See also
Baking
High-poly detail → low-poly texture
Bake Cage
Envelope mesh that controls ray distance
Curvature Map
Edge highlight + cavity shadow data
Ambient Occlusion
Soft contact shadows
ID Map
Material region mask
Smart Mask
Mask presets driven by baked mesh maps
Tangent Space
Local coordinate system for normal maps
World Space Normal Map
Normals baked in world coordinates
Position Map
Baked map of where each point sits on the model
Bake Artifacts in Substance Painter
Spots, streaks and skewed detail after baking