3D modeling has a lot of labor-saving tricks and techniques. One of the most important is the use of texture to differentiate between surfaces. Hair, skin, clothing, and even objects need to reflect light in certain ways to look “right”. Metal that absorbs light like cardboard or skin would look strangely dull and could ruin an otherwise excellent piece of art.
That’s where Substance Painter by Adobe comes in. Substance Painter takes an object rendered in another program such as Maya or Blender and applies texture to it. More complex textures that feature multiple aspects (such as “dark green moss” vs. “moss”) are called materials, and can really enhance a model or animation.
Textures and materials can be created in other programs or purchased in dedicated online marketplaces such as Gumroad, FlippedNormals, or ArtStation. For this article, we’ve scoured the internet for websites that offer materials for free so that you can build your own personal library of assets. To appear on this list, a website must have a considerable amount of free assets and allow browsing of only the free items by a search filter or in a discrete section.
With that in mind, let’s see what’s on offer!
AmbientCG
AmbientCG is a Patreon-backed, public domain repository with more than 2,500 unique items. These include textures, substances, models, HDRIs, and terrains. Everything is created and maintained by a single artist, Lennart Demes, and is available for free.
All AmbientCG assets are provided under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License. This doesn’t bind the user to give credit to the author nor prohibits commercial use. Although, if you wish to give credit where credit is due, there are instructions on how to do so.
The assets are subdivided into well-defined categories, either by subject, pattern, color, or represented material. Browsing such categories is a bit easier compared to other entries in this article, as it displays previews too. The internal search function is responsive and yields good results too.
- Suitable for: Beginners looking for free yet high-quality assets
- Key features: Free access to a wide variety of assets with very flexible licensing
- How to access: No account is required to download the items
- Example textures: Scratched gold, rocky surface, computer chip
Adobe Substance 3D Community Assets
Substance 3D Community Assets has one of the biggest collection of free materials on this list.
Everything on the site, including brushes, shaders, filters, and even smart masks, is free to help those new to the Substance suite of programs build up their own personal library of assets. Each one is uploaded by its designer, so the site is also a great way to find artists whose work you want to support through their personal website or Patreon page.
The site is easy to navigate, with assets in intuitive categories on the left so you can quickly find the section you need. The search feature is robust, allowing you to categorize by release date, recently updated, community rating, and more. You don’t need to have purchased any Substance programs to access the content on the website, though you will need to sign up for a free account.
- Suitable for: Beginners looking to build their libraries
- Key features: Huge collection of over 2,000 free materials and other assets
- How to access: You’ll need to sign up with a free account (you can use Google, Apple, or Facebook sign-in)
- Example textures: Mossy stone, burning coals, water
Adobe Substance 3D Assets
Substance 3D Assets is the second official materials library run by Adobe, with a couple of key differences from Substance 3D Community. Everything is created by Adobe rather than independent artists, and only a small section of its ~23,000 materials is free.
How you pay for the rest will depend on your needs. The latest version of Substance 3D is available only as a subscription, not as a purchasable download, and includes access to all the Adobe apps. There are individual (~$60/month) and team (~$120/month per license) subscriptions available. If you’re in education, though, you might qualify for the free license.
Collections range from generic (“Forests”) to specific (“Food packaging”), ensuring it’s easy to find whatever you’re looking for. You can also narrow down selections via the Categories, which include options like “Fabric”, “Paint”, and “Translucent”.
One unique factor of 3D Assets is that you can organize materials by the technique used to create them, something no other website we found offers. “Procedural” gives you completely computer-generated materials, while “Captured” are real-world textures that have been digitized, touched up, and uploaded for your use.
- Suitable for: Users looking for quality materials and specific textures
- Key features: You’ll need to create or sign up with a free account (you can use Google, Apple, or Facebook sign-in) to download the free assets, or you can subscribe to access the purchasable options
- How to access: You’ll need to sign up with a free account (Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Line, Kakao) or with a Substance Painter or Adobe account
- Example textures: Icing with sprinkles, hex mesh fabric, sci-fi metal panel
GameTextures
GameTextures has one of the largest libraries for materials online, with thousands of incredibly detailed and high-quality assets across dozens of categories.
The organization of materials is the standout feature of this website. Not only do you have the usual categories such as dirt, marble, rubber, and so on, but there are also groupings based on usage, style, and environment. A few examples include “Ocean”, “Asylum”, and “Casino”, which can really help nail down the aesthetic you’re looking for, something that no other website does as well.
There’s a small sampling of “Freebie” materials that gets changed up every so often. The rest are paywalled behind a credit system, with a monthly subscription of various tiers that gives you a certain number of credits to download the materials. Each material costs one credit, so you can tailor your subscription package to suit your needs. Keep in mind that the lowest tier doesn’t give you the right to use the assets commercially.
One major difference compared to other libraries is that you “own” the material downloaded from GameTextures, while generally you are only granted a license to “use” a download. This may be important if you ever stop your subscription.
- Suitable for: Freelancers with a large need for materials
- Key features: One of the most diverse offerings of materials
- How to access: You can sign up for a free account just to access the freebies, or you can subscribe and access the paid content
- Example textures: Fresh snow, brick wall, walnut wood
Textures
Textures is a website with, well, textures. Previously known as CGTextures, it now offers over 2,500 PBR materials and 3D scans, with labels for each product anticipating what it is.
In addition to a tab that lets you browse free assets specifically, you can also look at a PBR Substance organization. When checking out the main categories, you can find different objects, from scans to photos and material files.
To access the free files, you’ll have to create an account; to download the paid objects, you’ll have to subscribe to one of three plans either as a freelancer or indie creator or as a studio. Each asset is worth a determined number of credits, and each of the subscription options include a specific amount of credits, which increase monthly. Keep in mind that if you’re after the SBS source files, only the Pro plan will provide them.
- Suitable for: Freelancers who are looking for a range of materials and possibly SBS source files
- Key features: Wide variety of file types and assets
- How to access: You have to register for a free account to access the freebies, or you can subscribe and access the paid content
- Example textures: Laced knit, coal, cardboard top layer
Honorable Mentions
Of course, these aren’t the only websites offering free materials, just the ones with the most available. These four websites below didn’t meet the criteria for inclusion but they still represent a good resource, whether for beginners, hobbyists, or professionals.
CGTrader
CGTrader hosts a huge amount of models and assets that are free to download. These items are the usual 3D models – already textured and ready for import. There’s an even wider selection of paid materials if you’re willing to shell out a few bucks.
Julio Sillet 3D Art
This resource is a Gumroad store by artist Julio Sillet, where themed material packs are sold for a whopping $0. It contains hundreds of completely free, high-quality textures. Most are prepared for Blender, but other formats are available. You can also purchase larger material packs for 100-350+ different textures for a fair price. You can consider supporting Julio Sillet, as well as other artists, on Patreon.
Cubebrush
Cubebrush offers a small free “section” that features one or two materials and is rotated each week. There’s also a large marketplace where you can purchase each material or pack separately with no subscription required. Hundreds of materials can be obtained for under $10.
License: The text of "5 Top Sites for Free Substance Painter Materials" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.