SMITE model materials nodes

Question

I downloaded a SMITE model from a certain site. It has all the necessary textures and some more which are all called "mask". I plugged the dif texture into the main color of the principled BSDF of course, the SPC into the specular, and the normal with the normal map into the normal. But i can't seem to understand where should i plug these masks into.

I tried different approaches to integrate these masks into the full material but i just can't understand where would they fit, and which kind of node/shader i should use.

This is the link to the model: https://www.models-resource.com/download/29245/

This is how the guy looks like in game: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/smite_gamepedia/images/7/75/SkinShot_Thanatos_GrimReaper.png/revision/latest?cb=20200920212733

Answer 1

TL;DR: You need to puzzle a bit and it's possible to get a good result. But I have no idea if this is correct (well, probably not but it looks ok).

The different maps probably can't be used in Blender one to one, because Blender works with the newer Metallic/Roughness workflow and it could be that the maps are for the older Specular/Glossy workflow. Could be because the "_SPC" map is not a plain Specular map. It looks like a channel-packed map where the RGB channels contain different maps. I am not sure which workflow is really used. And of course, Blender is not a game engine. For further details about this topic read

• The poorly understood Specular slider of the Principled Shader and
• How to plug specular map into Principled Shader?.

The next thing is the Normal map that is in DirectX format. Blender uses the OpenGL format. Because of this, you need to invert the Y/G value (RGB=XYZ). Details here: DirectX vs. OpenGL normal maps

So let's get an overview. Maps that have V2_Skin7 in the name:

• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _DIF.png - that's the Diffuse map and goes into the Base Color
• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _NRM.png - the Normal map, needs conversion because of the DirectX format
• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _SPC.png - no idea, it's kinda a channel-packed map? I've used the slightly inverted R-channel for Roughness, the G channel for Bump node, and the B channel to adjust the metallic color and add some variation to match the reference image.
• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _MSK.png - Unused, looks like a grey-value ID map that assigns every part a unique grey value.
• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _MSKb.png - that's an Alpha map for transparency of the feathers and cloth, plugged into the Alpha slot.
• T_GOD_Thanatos_V2_Skin7 _MSKc.png - this masks out all metallic parts. I've plugged it into the Metallic slot and used it for the Fac slot to adjust the color of the metal parts. You can use a Math node with a Greater Than > 0 setting to get a true black and white metallic mask.

Maps that have Skin7 in the name:

• T_GOD_Thanatos_Skin7 _MSK2.png - that's an Emission map to make his eyes glow. Just plug it into the Emission slot
• T_GOD_Thanatos_Skin7 _MSK2b.png - this masks all cloth and "dyes" them in different grey values. I've used the multiplied value (0.2) for the Sheen slot of the Principled BSDF because it is the only slot that has to do with a cloth that came to my mind.
• T_GOD_Thanatos_Skin7 _MSK2c.png - masks out the wings and looks like an AO or cavity map. I've used the Overlay Mix node with pure white to enhance the highlights of the black feathers.

Rendering the model without any adjustments reveals that the base color compared to the linked reference image is too dark for the armor and the cloth:

Here is the final result with slight color adjustments (a color ramp mixed to the basic color for the armor, and an overlayed color for the cloth):

It surprised me that you need a really low Specular value to have it look good. I have no idea if the B-channel is the right one for this slot but it looks ok. There is a visible difference between the RGB channels but in the feathers mostly.

The HDRI for the lighting is Snowy Hillside.