Interview Questions for Experience with Substance Painter

PBR, or Physically Based Rendering, workflows in Substance Painter are crucial for creating realistic textures. It’s all about simulating how light interacts with real-world materials. My experience involves meticulously crafting textures based on the principles of PBR, ensuring accurate representation of surface properties like roughness, metallicness, and subsurface scattering. This means carefully creating maps for each of these properties, rather than relying on older techniques like simple diffuse and specular maps. For example, when texturing a rusty metal pipe, I’d use a metallic map to define the metallic areas, a roughness map for the varying smoothness across the surface (shiny highlights vs. rough patches), and a normal map to add surface detail like scratches and pitting. The key is the interplay between these maps; each informs the renderer about the material’s physical characteristics, ultimately contributing to the final realistic look.

Creating realistic materials involves a multi-step process. It starts with reference gathering – I’ll often take photos or find high-quality reference images of the material I’m trying to recreate. This helps establish the base color, roughness variation, and other essential details. Next, I strategically use Substance Painter’s tools, like generators (e.g., the ‘Leather’ or ‘Metal’ generators) for a solid base, building upon that with procedural layers for added realism. For example, I might use a ‘Noise’ layer to simulate pores in leather or scratches on metal, and layer on a ‘Dirt’ or ‘Stain’ generator to achieve realistic wear and tear. Manually painting details, often using masks to control their application, is often critical for adding unique characteristics and fine-tuning the appearance. Finally, I adjust the material’s properties (roughness, metallic, etc.) and compare my rendered image against the reference images, iterating to achieve the desired look. I often use the Iray renderer for its speed and accurate representation of PBR materials.

Optimizing Substance Painter projects for performance is essential for efficient workflow. My strategies include using lower resolutions during the initial painting stages. For example, I start with a 2K texture and only upgrade to 4K or 8K once the detailing is finalized. I also avoid overusing high-resolution filters and effects, preferring procedural methods where possible as they are more efficient. Regularly saving my project and utilizing project backups safeguards against loss of work and reduces strain on the software. Furthermore, limiting the number of layers and using layer groups effectively help manage project complexity and improve rendering times. And finally, using smart masks which only affect the necessary areas rather than painting on full layers is critical. Consider deleting unused layers and filters to keep the project clean and concise.

Substance Painter offers several layer types, each with its purpose:

• Fill Layer: This is your base layer, typically used for the overall color or base texture of a material.
• Paint Layer: Used for freehand painting, perfect for adding details like scratches, wear, and decals.
• Generator Layer: Generates procedural textures, offering quick ways to create complex patterns like wood grain, brick, or noise.
• Filter Layer: Applies various image processing filters, like blurring, sharpening, or color corrections.
• Mask Layer: Controls the visibility or opacity of other layers using a black and white image.
• Height Layer: Defines surface elevation, influencing how normal maps and other displacement effects are created.

UV unwrapping issues can significantly impact texture painting. My process begins with careful inspection of the UV layout in my 3D modeling software. I look for stretching, overlapping, or other distortions. If issues exist, I address them within the 3D software, as correcting them in Substance Painter is generally less efficient. Within Substance Painter, I can use the ‘UV Editor’ to further fine-tune the UV layout if minor adjustments are needed. For particularly problematic UVs, I’ll create separate UV sets for different parts of the model, which allows better control over individual areas. Working with clean, well-organized UVs ensures that textures appear correctly on the 3D model, avoiding stretching and other artifacts.

Understanding map types is fundamental to PBR texturing. Each map provides information to the renderer about different aspects of the material’s appearance:

• Diffuse (Albedo): The base color of the material.
• Normal: Defines surface details and bumps, affecting how light reflects off the surface.
• Roughness: Controls how rough or smooth the surface is, impacting how light scatters.
• Metallic: Indicates how much the material behaves like a metal (reflective).
• Ambient Occlusion (AO): Simulates shadows in crevices and details, adding realism.
• Height: Provides elevation information, often used for displacement mapping.

Managing and organizing Substance Painter projects is crucial for maintainability and efficiency. I use a consistent folder structure for my projects, separating textures by resolution (e.g., 2K, 4K) and type (e.g., diffuse, normal). Within Substance Painter, I employ layer groups and naming conventions to keep my layers organized logically. Clear and descriptive layer names, such as “Base Color,” “Scratches,” or “Rust,” aid in project navigation. This systematic approach makes it easier to locate and edit specific textures and materials even after long periods of time. The efficient organization improves the overall workflow, streamlining collaboration and future updates.

Creating realistic metal in Substance Painter involves a layered approach, focusing on the interplay of roughness, metallicness, and normal maps. I typically start with a base metallic color, perhaps a slightly desaturated silver or steel grey. Then, I add subtle variations using layer masks and noise generators to simulate imperfections like scratches, wear, and pitting. This is crucial for realism; perfect metal looks artificial.

Next, I carefully adjust the roughness map. Highly polished metal will have very low roughness values, resulting in sharp reflections. Areas showing wear or oxidation will have higher roughness, leading to more diffuse reflection. I often use different layers for these, carefully masking them to control their influence.

Normal maps add surface detail without impacting the underlying color or roughness. I might use a subtle normal map for fine scratches or a more aggressive one for heavier wear. The key is subtle blending and layering for believable results. For example, I might create a separate layer for rust, using a red-brown color with high roughness and a normal map suggesting a textured surface.

Finally, I refine the material using ambient occlusion and curvature maps to add depth and realism. Ambient occlusion darkens crevices, enhancing the sense of three-dimensionality, while curvature maps highlight sharp edges and curves. I always iterate and tweak these maps until the material looks convincingly real under different lighting conditions.

Substance Painter’s baking features are essential for transferring high-poly details to low-poly meshes, saving valuable rendering time and resources. My workflow typically involves exporting high-poly models from a program like ZBrush or Blender. Then, in Substance Painter, I use the ‘Bake’ feature, specifying the high-poly and low-poly meshes and selecting the desired outputs such as ambient occlusion, curvature, normal, and cavity maps. I carefully adjust settings like the baking resolution and offset to fine-tune the result. The ‘Atlas’ option is incredibly useful when baking multiple objects in a scene as it helps maintain efficiency and organization.

I often experiment with different baking methods. For instance, I might use a combination of screen-space and ray-traced baking for achieving different levels of detail and precision in various parts of the model. It’s important to understand the limitations of each method. Screen-space baking is faster but can be less accurate for intricate details. Ray-traced baking is more accurate but considerably slower.

Once the baking is complete, I carefully review the baked maps for any artifacts or imperfections, adjusting settings as needed. Then I seamlessly integrate these baked maps into my material creation process.

Smart masks and filters are invaluable for non-destructive editing in Substance Painter, allowing for precise control over material properties. Smart masks automatically detect edges and variations in a base layer, greatly accelerating the masking process. This is especially useful when creating wear and tear effects. For instance, I’ll use a curvature smart mask to apply scratches only to the high-curvature areas of a metallic surface, creating realistic wear patterns.

Filters are used for various effects such as blurring, sharpening, noise addition, and more. I often use blur filters to soften transitions between different material properties, making them look more natural. For example, I might blur a rust texture around the edges to create a more organic and less harsh transition into the underlying metal. Similarly, a noise filter can add subtle variations to a base color, creating a more realistic and less uniform appearance.

I frequently combine smart masks and filters. For example, I might use a smart mask to isolate a specific area and then apply a filter like a gradient to create a smooth transition between two different materials or colors. This layered approach allows for a great deal of control and creativity.

Creating custom brushes is a key part of my workflow in Substance Painter, allowing me to tailor the application of textures and effects to specific needs. The process begins with designing the brush tip in Photoshop or a similar program. I often create high-resolution images with various levels of detail, ensuring that my brushes perform well at multiple scales. The choice of resolution depends on the application – smaller brushes for finer details, larger ones for broad strokes.

Once the tip is ready, I import it into Substance Painter and define its properties, including color, intensity, and opacity. I pay close attention to the settings, especially the ‘Spacing’ and ‘Jitter’ parameters that impact the brush’s appearance and behavior. Experimenting with these settings allows for unique and dynamic brush strokes.

I often save my custom brushes and categorize them for easy access in future projects. This helps to maintain consistency and streamline my workflow. I might have separate folders for brushes designed for specific materials, like metal, wood, or fabric.

For instance, I once created a custom brush for simulating chipping paint, using a combination of a high-resolution tip image and a specific set of parameters, which I then used extensively in a historical architectural project.

Substance Painter’s generator features are incredibly powerful, offering a quick and efficient way to create complex and realistic textures. These generators, such as the noise generators, height generators, and procedural textures are especially useful for creating base textures, or adding fine details like scratches or surface variations. I frequently use the ‘Noise’ generator to add subtle variations in color or roughness, creating more realistic and less uniform material appearances.

The ‘Height’ generator is crucial for creating realistic bump maps. By adjusting parameters like scale and frequency, I can create a wide range of textures, from subtle surface imperfections to large-scale variations. I often combine multiple generators to create layered effects. For example, I might use a height generator to create the base texture and then add another noise generator to simulate scratches or wear.

I also utilize generators for creating various procedural textures, such as wood, stone, or fabric. These generators offer customizable parameters allowing me to tailor the output to my specific project needs. However, I’m mindful of the balance between detail and performance; overly complex generator setups can slow down performance.

Troubleshooting Substance Painter issues typically involves a methodical approach. Crashes often stem from insufficient system resources (RAM, VRAM). My first step is always to check my system’s specifications and ensure I meet the minimum requirements, upgrading if necessary. Sometimes, closing unnecessary background applications can free up resources. For large projects, increasing the Substance Painter’s RAM allocation can make a significant difference.

Errors often point to problems with the project file itself. If the project file becomes corrupt, I’ll attempt to recover the project by opening it in a fresh instance of Substance Painter or by saving a copy of the project as a new file. Corrupt textures or other assets can also cause issues; ensuring the source files are undamaged is key.

For more persistent issues, I refer to the Substance Painter documentation and online community forums. Often, searching for specific error messages will yield helpful solutions. If the problem persists, I’ll contact the Allegorithmic support team, providing detailed information about the error and the steps I’ve taken to resolve it.

Regularly saving my project is a crucial preventative measure, mitigating the risk of data loss due to crashes or unexpected errors. I make frequent incremental saves, especially during intensive operations like baking or rendering.

My Substance Painter settings vary depending on the project type, primarily focusing on optimization and visual quality. For real-time projects (like games), I prioritize performance. This involves using lower resolutions for baking and textures, reducing the number of layers and effects, and avoiding computationally intensive features. I also compress textures to reduce file sizes.

In contrast, high-fidelity projects (like film or architectural visualizations) allow for more flexibility. I use higher resolutions for baking and textures, incorporating more complex materials and effects. I can focus less on performance optimization and more on achieving realistic detail. In such projects, the use of physically based rendering (PBR) workflows becomes paramount. I often utilize high-resolution scans, leveraging Substance Painter’s capabilities for creating stunning results.

Regardless of the project, I always maintain a clean and well-organized project structure. This helps to maintain consistency and ease of use, regardless of the project scale or complexity. Using layers effectively allows for greater control and non-destructive editing, enabling ease of modification and iteration.

Substance Painter offers several projection methods for painting textures onto 3D models, each with its strengths and weaknesses. The choice depends heavily on the model’s geometry and the desired result.

• Planar Projection: This projects the texture onto a flat plane. It’s simple and fast, ideal for flat surfaces or areas where distortion isn’t a major concern. Think of painting a wall – it’s straightforward.
• Box Projection: This projects the texture onto six planes forming a box around the model. It’s great for objects with relatively simple, boxy shapes, minimizing distortion. Imagine painting a cardboard box – each side gets its own texture.
• Cylindrical Projection: This projects the texture onto a cylinder. It’s suitable for objects with cylindrical shapes, like pipes or bottles. Think of wrapping a label around a can.
• Spherical Projection: This projects the texture onto a sphere. Best for spherical or nearly spherical objects, minimizing distortion on the surface. Consider painting a beach ball.
• UV Projection: This utilizes the model’s existing UV map. It’s the most versatile and generally preferred method for complex models as it allows for precise control and avoids significant distortion. However, it requires a properly unwrapped UV map.

In practice, I often start with Box or Planar projection for quick initial painting, especially on complex models to assess where potential issues are before refining with UV projection for high fidelity results.

Creating material variations in Substance Painter is crucial for achieving realism and visual variety. My approach centers around leveraging Substance Painter’s non-destructive workflow and its powerful features.

• Using Layer Stacks: I build materials using layers. This allows for easy modification and experimentation. For example, I might have separate layers for base color, roughness, normal, and ambient occlusion. Changing a single layer’s settings instantly updates the material.
• Masks and Filters: Masks allow me to selectively apply effects to specific areas of the model. This is vital for creating realistic wear and tear, scratches, or intricate details. Filters like gradients, noise, and curves provide further control over the appearance.
• Substance Designer Integration: For complex or procedural effects, I integrate Substance Designer to create custom generators and patterns. These can then be easily imported into Substance Painter.
• Fill Layers: Experimenting with different fill layers for base colors and patterns provides quick ways to explore different looks, often leading to unexpected results.
• Parameter Adjustment: I heavily utilize the parameters of Substance Painter’s built-in graphs and filters to generate a wide variety of results from the same base settings. A simple change in scale or roughness can drastically change the appearance.

For example, when creating variations of a rusty metal material, I’d start with a base metal layer, then add layers for rust color, rust texture, and wear. Using masks, I’d define the areas where the rust is most concentrated. Adjusting the parameters of each layer allows me to control the level of rust, its distribution, and overall appearance, creating many distinct variations.

The Substance Source library is an invaluable asset. It’s a vast collection of high-quality, royalty-free materials, textures, and generators created by artists and developers. It accelerates the texturing process significantly by providing ready-to-use assets or serving as inspiration and building blocks.

• Time Savings: Instead of creating everything from scratch, I use Source assets as starting points, saving me countless hours. This is especially beneficial for projects with tight deadlines.
• Quality Assurance: The assets are generally high-quality, ensuring a consistent level of detail and realism in my work. This avoids spending time correcting low-quality textures.
• Inspiration and Exploration: Source provides inspiration for new material ideas. It’s a great way to study the intricacies of textures, and understand the relationship between materials and their appearance.
• Customization: Even when using Source assets, I usually modify them to better suit my specific needs. The non-destructive workflow allows for this modification without losing the original asset.

I frequently browse the library to find materials relevant to the project, then customize them with my own techniques or layer settings, to blend them seamlessly with custom-made textures. It’s a powerful combination of pre-made and bespoke elements.

Integrating Substance Painter into a larger pipeline is a critical part of my workflow. It usually involves close collaboration with modelers, riggers, and other artists.

• Model Preparation: I ensure the 3D models are properly UV unwrapped and have clean topology to prevent texturing issues. This collaboration with the modeler is critical upfront.
• Texture Export: I export textures in the appropriate formats and resolutions, usually as .TGA or .exr files, based on the requirements of the rendering engine being used (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity, Arnold).
• Naming Conventions: Consistent naming conventions are crucial for organization and to avoid confusion in the pipeline. A clear naming system makes it easy for other team members to access and utilize textures.
• Feedback and Iteration: I constantly collaborate with the team. This includes getting feedback on the textures and incorporating it into my workflow. This iterative approach ensures the materials match the overall vision and aesthetic of the project.
• Version Control: Using version control systems like Perforce or Git helps manage the changes and variations of textures, enabling easy rollback and revision tracking.

In a recent project, we used Substance Painter textures within a real-time rendering engine. I worked closely with the programmer to ensure the textures were optimized for performance without sacrificing visual quality. This involved understanding memory constraints and optimizing texture sizes and formats.

Substance Painter’s non-destructive workflow is its core strength. It allows for iterative changes and experimentation without permanently altering the original data. This is achieved primarily through the use of layers.

• Layer Management: Every adjustment is applied within a layer. This means you can easily turn layers on or off, adjust their opacity, mask them, or even delete them without affecting the underlying layers. Think of it like painting with transparent layers on paper.
• History and Undo: While the non-destructive layer system is the main element, the undo feature is still invaluable, allowing quick reversals of specific actions.
• Export Flexibility: The non-destructive nature allows for different variations or versions of the same texture to be generated from the same source without having to create multiple versions of the base texture file.
• Sharing and Collaboration: The non-destructive workflow greatly aids in team collaboration, as changes and iterations are tracked, allowing for easy merging of updates and maintaining project integrity.

For example, if I paint a scratch on a metal surface, it’s applied as a layer. I can easily adjust its size, opacity, or even remove it entirely without affecting the base metal texture. This makes experimentation and refinement far easier and safer.

Exporting textures effectively is paramount. The wrong settings can lead to compatibility issues or loss of quality.

• Format Selection: I typically export textures as either .TGA (Targa) or .exr (OpenEXR). .TGA offers a good balance between quality and compatibility, while .exr provides higher dynamic range and is preferred for high-end rendering.
• Resolution and Size: The resolution should match the needs of the target platform and engine. Higher resolutions provide more detail but increase file size and memory usage. It’s a balancing act.
• Color Space: Using a consistent color space throughout the pipeline (e.g., sRGB or linear) is crucial to avoid unexpected color shifts.
• Compression: For real-time applications, consider using compression formats like DXT (for DirectX) or BC (for general use), to reduce file size while maintaining adequate quality.
• Naming Convention: Consistent naming conventions are essential to streamline the process and prevent confusion within the pipeline.

Before exporting, I always review my settings to ensure they are correct for the target application. A small mistake in resolution or format can cause significant problems downstream.

Reference images and inspiration are fundamental to my texturing process. They guide my decisions and help me achieve realism and visual fidelity.

• Gathering References: I use various sources, including photography, online databases, and even physical samples. The more references I have, the better I can understand the nuances of the materials I’m replicating.
• Analyzing Textures: I carefully study the references to understand the color variations, surface roughness, and patterns. This informs my choices of brushes, filters, and other tools within Substance Painter.
• Mood Boards: Creating mood boards to visually organize my references helps me maintain a cohesive aesthetic throughout the project. It ensures a unified vision.
• Blending References: Often, I’ll combine elements from multiple references to create something new and unique. The goal is to create something believable and visually interesting.
• Style Guides: For projects with specific artistic styles, I utilize style guides provided by clients or art directors to maintain consistency and adhere to project guidelines.

For example, when creating a realistic wood texture, I might collect numerous photos of different wood types, focusing on the grain, knots, and overall color variations. This detailed observation informs my choices of brushes, color palettes, and masking techniques, allowing me to recreate these details within Substance Painter.

Tiling textures are seamless textures designed to be repeated infinitely without noticeable seams. Imagine a brick wall; the same brick pattern repeats across its entire surface. In Substance Painter, creating tiling textures is crucial for efficient memory usage and realistic results, particularly in games and real-time applications where performance is paramount. Poorly created tiling textures can lead to visible repeating patterns or jarring seams.

The key to successful tiling is careful planning of the texture’s design. You need to consider how the edges will meet. For example, a simple pattern like wood grain needs to smoothly transition at the edges. More complex patterns might require more careful planning and techniques such as using a mask or carefully matching color and value at the edges to ensure a seamless loop.

Substance Painter provides tools like the ‘Tile Generator’ to aid in this process. This tool helps to create seamlessly repeating patterns from a smaller source image. Additionally, understanding how to utilize Normal Maps, Height maps, and other map types is crucial for the illusion of seamless repetition in complex geometries.

While I’m proficient in Substance Painter’s built-in rendering capabilities and various export settings optimized for different rendering engines, I haven’t personally used the Iray render engine extensively within Substance Painter. My primary focus has been on PBR workflows and exporting textures for use in game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity, which usually employ different rendering pipelines. However, the fundamental principles of creating high-quality textures remain consistent across different rendering engines. The process of generating and optimizing textures, such as ensuring proper UV unwrapping and using appropriate resolution, remains crucial irrespective of the engine. I’m confident in my ability to quickly adapt and integrate Iray into my workflow given sufficient documentation and resources.

Optimizing textures for the target platform is critical. Game engines, for instance, have strict memory limitations, unlike film rendering. My approach involves a multi-faceted strategy:

• Resolution: I start by choosing appropriate texture resolutions. For games, this often means using lower resolutions (e.g., 2048×2048 or even lower) to reduce memory footprint without significant visual loss. Film projects, on the other hand, may benefit from significantly higher resolutions (e.g., 8192×8192 or higher).
• Compression: I carefully select the appropriate compression format. For games, formats like DXT5 (BC5) are often preferred for their balance of compression and quality. Film projects might utilize uncompressed formats or higher quality formats like EXR for maximum fidelity.
• Format: I ensure textures are saved in the correct format for the engine or renderer. This often involves using appropriate color spaces like sRGB for display and linear space for calculations within the engine.
• Texture Channels: I assess the need for each texture channel (Base Color, Normal, Roughness, Metalness, etc.). Unnecessary channels increase file size, impacting performance. I will only include channels that are actually used by the renderer or engine.
• Mip Maps: I always generate mip maps. Mip maps are smaller versions of the texture used at varying distances, drastically improving performance by avoiding the need to sample from full-resolution textures when objects are far away.

Through careful consideration of these factors and using Substance Painter’s built-in export options, I tailor texture creation and optimization to meet the specific demands of each project. This ensures the best possible visual quality while maintaining performance.

Creating stylized textures requires a different approach than photorealistic texturing. My workflow emphasizes artistic expression and often involves breaking away from physically accurate material representation. I generally follow these steps:

• Concept and Style Guide: I start by clearly defining the desired artistic style (e.g., cel-shaded, cartoon, painterly). Reference images and mood boards are essential.
• Base Textures: I might create or import a simple base color texture. This could be a flat color or a simple gradient, depending on the desired style.
• Filters and Generators: Substance Painter’s filters and generators (like the noise generators, procedural patterns, and custom brushes) are extensively used to build the texture detail. I’ll layer these effects to create the desired look and feel.
• Manual Painting and Adjustments: This phase is often critical. I manually paint over the base texture using the various painting tools available in Substance Painter. I will use these brushes and filters to add highlights, shadows, and details appropriate to the style.
• Layer Management: Effective layer management is crucial in stylized work. I utilize masks and blending modes to control how different textures and effects interact, helping me create depth and visual complexity.
• Export and Testing: Finally, I export the textures in the required format and test them in the target engine to ensure that the stylized look translates correctly.

An example would be creating a stylized cartoon-style wooden chest. I might begin with a simple, flat brown color as a base and use a procedural noise generator to add subtle wood grain. Then, I would manually paint highlights and shadows in a more exaggerated fashion than in a photorealistic approach, creating a clear and visually appealing style.

I’m very familiar with Substance Designer and its integration with Substance Painter. They complement each other perfectly. Substance Designer excels at creating procedural textures, while Substance Painter is ideal for painting and manipulating those textures on 3D models. My workflow often involves creating base textures in Designer and then importing them into Painter for refinements and detailing. This allows me to leverage the strengths of both applications. For example, I might create a complex tileable brick texture in Designer and then bring it into Painter to add dirt, wear, and other details using Painter’s powerful painting and masking tools.

The seamless integration, facilitated by the shared .sbsar file format, means I can effortlessly transfer textures back and forth between the applications and iterate on designs seamlessly. The ability to use Substance Designer’s nodes as smart masks in Painter also allows for very dynamic and controllable workflows.

While Substance Painter is a powerful tool, it does have some limitations. One is its relative lack of advanced modeling capabilities compared to dedicated 3D modeling software. If complex model edits are required, I would typically use a tool like Maya, Blender, or 3ds Max. This collaborative workflow is common in production environments.

Another limitation can be memory usage, especially when dealing with high-resolution textures and complex models. To mitigate this, I always try to optimize texture sizes and utilize Substance Painter’s baking features to efficiently generate normal and other maps from high-poly models, rather than directly painting onto high-poly meshes.

Finally, Substance Painter’s rendering capabilities, while useful for previews, are not typically used for final renders. For final production, I export textures to a dedicated 3D render engine (like Arnold or V-Ray) for high-quality rendering.

One particularly challenging project involved texturing a highly detailed, intricate dragon model for a cinematic short film. The dragon’s scales were individually modeled, resulting in tens of thousands of polygons, making direct texturing extremely slow and memory intensive.

To overcome this, I implemented a multi-stage approach. First, I created master textures in Substance Designer for the scales themselves, ensuring that they were tileable, but with enough variation to prevent repetitive patterns across the dragon’s body. Then, I exported these textures as base materials in Substance Painter. I then baked normal, ambient occlusion and curvature maps from a high-poly version of the dragon’s scales. This provided the illusion of detailed scale geometry without needing to paint on every single scale.

Next, I leveraged smart masks to selectively apply textures, dirt, wear, and damage, focusing on areas like the dragon’s claws, underbelly, and flight membrane to add realism. Finally, by combining this layered approach with careful attention to overall color harmony and light interaction I managed to produce realistic results efficiently, without sacrificing detail or performance.