Adobe Substance 3D: Building creative skills in higher education

The days of creativity being reserved for artists and poets are over, with the array of new technologies, jobs and ways of working, organisations are realising the critical part creativity has to play across all domains. As the educators of the next generation, the pressure to provide the future workforce with valuable creative skills falls largely on the shoulders of higher education. But the challenge of building creative thinking into curriculums that are based largely on theoretical learning can be challenging, even for typically ‘creative’ subjects.

The good news is that there are now budget-friendly tools available that can be easily integrated into subjects to ensure that students get the opportunity for creative expression in addition to the theoretical learning model. One tool that you may have come across is Adobe Substance 3D – a range of smart creative apps and high-end content that gives your students everything they need to make inspiring creations.

What is Adobe Substance 3D?

From beginner-level, right up to expert, Substance 3D is the perfect way to teach your students in subjects like architecture, design, gaming, app development and video editing how to give shape to their ideas. Plus, for higher education institutions, Substance 3D falls under the Adobe Creative Cloud licence, making it a cost-effective way to provide students with access to a wide range of apps that help them discover their creative potential. Some of its key features include:

• Tools that allow students to create photorealistic content such as product visualisations and photoshoots.
• Content can be made entirely 3D with an intuitive ecosystem of modelling, texturing and rendering apps.
• High-end material collections and parametric texturing allow for the creation of cutting-edge 3D entertainment.
• Access to thousands of ready to use materials such as woods, marbles, concretes and tiles.
• Create customised materials from your own pictures using Substance 3D Sampler or create them from scratch using Substance 3D Designer.
• Students can create augmented reality experiences using assets they’ve designed.
• Works as part of a connected ecosystem with other Adobe Creative Cloud tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
• Substance 3D is recognised as an important technology behind many award-winning films and AAA game creation.

What this means for your university….

With 69% of educators agreeing that there is not enough emphasis on creative problem-solving in today’s curricula  and research highlighting that 3 in 4 resumes don’t include creative skills, it’s clear that there is a skills gap that needs to be closed. This lends a huge opportunity for universities to lead by example and take their place as one of the few establishments that focus on providing students with creative skills.

In addition to this, investing in a product like Substance 3D can be a game-changer when it comes to attracting the best talent. 85% of students believe being creative will be essential to their success and 76% wish there was more of a focus on creativity in the classroom. The research is clear. Gen-Z values creativity, and universities that honour this will be the ones that stand out to prospective students.

What this means for your students…

Giving students access to high-quality tools like Substance 3D enhances their employability and career prospects. Creativity is now seen as a critical skill that employers look for since it fosters other beneficial skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, cognitive flexibility and collaboration. Research by Bloomberg found that creativity is less common and more in demand, giving a unicorn effect to students who possess this skill. While other research found that creativity was listed as a critical skill for the future of work.

It’s clear that the skills students learn from technologies like Substance 3D allow them to express their inner creativity and improve their technical creative skills - but it doesn’t end here. Used by the likes of global brands like Coca-Cola, familiarisation with Substance 3D while still in education will give students first-hand experience of a technology that they could find themselves using in their future careers in fields like architecture, design, gaming, app creation, video and photo editing and more.

After nearly 30 years as an Adobe Service Partner, holding an Adobe Platinum Reseller accreditation, we’re uniquely placed to help you get started with Adobe in your university. To learn more about how Adobe Substance 3D can set your students up for success, speak to us on LiveChat, call us on 03332 400 888 or get in touch with our Adobe team on adobe@Jigsaw24.com. For the latest news, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.