The fastest way to change a material's color

Open your material in Substance Painter, then go to the Texture Set Settings panel on the right side. Find the Base Color channel — this is what controls the main color you see. Click the color swatch next to it (a small square showing the current color), and a color picker will open. Choose your new color and click outside the picker to apply it.

That method works if you want to change the color across the entire material at once. If you want to paint different colors onto different parts of the same object, or adjust how the color interacts with light and shadow, you'll need to use Substance Painter's painting tools instead. Both approaches are covered below.

Key Takeaways

  • The Base Color channel in Texture Set Settings controls the main color of your material, and you can change it instantly using the color picker.
  • Painting colors onto your model uses the Paint tool with a brush, letting you add multiple colors to different areas of the same object.
  • The Metallic and Roughness channels affect how your color looks under light — shiny surfaces show color differently than matte ones.
  • You can undo any color change by pressing Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac), even after you've painted multiple strokes.

Changing color using the Base Color channel

The Base Color channel is the simplest way to recolor an entire material. In the right panel, locate Texture Set Settings at the top. Below that, you'll see a list of channels — Base Color is usually first. Next to "Base Color" is a small colored square; click it to open the color picker.

The color picker shows a large gradient square on the left (where you choose hue and brightness) and a vertical bar on the right (where you choose saturation). Click anywhere in the gradient to pick a color. You can also type exact values if you know them — RGB numbers appear at the bottom of the picker. Once you've chosen your color, click outside the picker or press Enter to close it and apply the change to your material.

This method changes the color uniformly across the entire object. If your model has multiple materials assigned to different parts (like a car with separate materials for the body, wheels, and windows), you'll need to repeat this step for each material.

Painting multiple colors onto your model

To paint colors directly onto your model instead of changing the whole material at once, use the Paint tool. Find it in the left toolbar — it looks like a paintbrush icon. Once selected, the tool options appear in the left panel below the toolbar.

Before you paint, set your brush color by clicking the large color swatch in the left panel (it shows your current brush color). The color picker opens the same way as the Base Color picker. Choose your color, then close the picker. Now click and drag on your model to paint. The brush will apply that color to wherever you stroke it.

You can paint as many colors as you want on the same object. Each stroke adds to what's already there — if you paint red over blue, you'll see a blended result depending on your brush opacity. Lower the Opacity slider in the left panel if you want colors to blend more smoothly, or raise it to 100 for solid, opaque strokes.

How Metallic and Roughness affect how color appears

The color you choose is only part of how your material looks. Two other channels — Metallic and Roughness — change how light bounces off the surface and how your color is displayed.

The Metallic channel makes a surface behave like metal. A metallic value of 1.0 (or 255 in 8-bit) makes the surface reflective and mirror-like; the color becomes more of a tint over the reflection. A metallic value of 0 makes it non-metal, so the color appears as a solid, diffuse surface. Most materials fall somewhere in between.

The Roughness channel controls how smooth or bumpy the surface appears. A low roughness value (close to 0) creates a shiny, polished look where light reflects sharply. A high roughness value (close to 1.0) creates a matte, dull look where light scatters. A red plastic ball looks very different from red sandpaper, even though the base color is identical — the difference is roughness.

You can adjust both channels the same way you adjust Base Color: click the color swatch next to Metallic or Roughness in Texture Set Settings, then choose a value. For these channels, you're usually picking a shade of gray rather than a bright color — darker gray means lower values, lighter gray means higher values.

Undoing color changes and starting over

If you paint a color you don't like or change the Base Color and want to revert, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on Mac. This undoes your last action. You can undo multiple times to go back several steps. Press Ctrl+Y (or Cmd+Y on Mac) to redo if you undo too far.

If you want to clear all the paint you've applied to a layer and start fresh, right-click the layer in the Layers panel on the right side and select Clear Layer. This removes all painted strokes but keeps the layer itself. The Base Color channel will return to its original state.

Saving your color changes

Color changes in Substance Painter are stored in your project file, not automatically saved to disk. To keep your work, go to File > Save or press Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on Mac). This saves your Substance Painter project (.spp file) with all your color changes.

When you're ready to use your material in another program (like a game engine or 3D rendering software), you need to export the textures. Go to File > Export Textures. Choose a folder and a preset that matches your target software — Substance Painter includes presets for Unreal Engine, Unity, and other common engines. The export creates image files (usually PNG or TGA) that contain your colors and other material data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the color of just one part of my model?

Yes, use the Paint tool instead of the Base Color channel. Select the Paint tool, set your brush color, adjust the brush size with the Size slider, and paint only on the areas you want to change. You can paint as precisely as you need — zoom in for detail work.

Why does my color look different in Substance Painter than in my game engine?

Substance Painter and game engines use different lighting setups and rendering methods. The viewport in Substance Painter shows a preview, not the final result. Export your textures and view them in your target engine to see the true appearance. Adjusting Metallic and Roughness values often fixes color appearance issues.

How do I make a color more transparent or see-through?

Transparency is controlled by the Opacity channel, not the Base Color. In Texture Set Settings, find the Opacity channel and adjust its value — lower values make the material more transparent. You can also paint on the Opacity channel using the Paint tool to make only certain areas see-through.

What if I want to use a photo or image as my color instead of picking a solid color?

You can import an image as a texture. In Texture Set Settings, click the folder icon next to the Base Color channel, then select an image file from your computer. Substance Painter will apply that image as the color across your material. You can still paint over it afterward if you want to blend or modify it.

Can I change the color of multiple materials at once?

No, each material's channels are separate. You must change the Base Color for each material individually. If you have many materials that need the same color change, consider using a Smart Material or Substance — these are preset packages that apply multiple channel changes at once, though they still apply to one material at a time.