Substance 3D Class Project: Smoke Detectors

In Fall 2024, the students in my ID 201 Studio and my ID 310 Digital Tech class used the Adobe Substance 3D suite to develop digital models and materials for household smoke detectors. The students were required to utilize basic compositional principles such as Concentric/Eccentric, Hierarchy, Mediation, Transition, Balance, Overlap, Rhythm, etc., as both the generators for–and primary design language of–their designs.

The students created basic form models in Substance Modeler, and then added materials, textures, and details in Substance Painter. Painter was useful for adding details such as seams, parting lines, lights, text, etc. Vents were especially easy to simulate by painting the lowest part of them a non-reflective black. The models were then rendered in Substance Stager.

Instructor demo

 

Student: Kai Kuwata

 

Student: Charles Hamilton

 

Student: Nicholas Adames