Thickness Map
How thick the object is at every point
Also known as: Thickness bake · Subsurface thickness · Translucency map
Definition
A thickness map is a baked texture that records how thick an object is at each point, measured through its volume. It is used for subsurface scattering and translucency effects, where thin parts such as ears, leaves and candle wax let more light through, and for masks in Substance Painter that react to thin or thick areas. It is baked from the mesh, so it works best on a clean, closed model.
In production
Bake it with the other mesh maps in Substance Painter and check it against the model before using it. In Unreal Engine it can feed subsurface or foliage shading to control how much light passes through a surface. Because it depends on the mesh, rebake it after geometry changes, and for stylized work you can paint a thickness mask by hand instead.
