There are various tutorials and resources that explore and explain the PBR process far better than I ever could. Instead of trying to explain things myself, I thought it would be better for everyone if I just pointed to some excellent Physically-Based Rendering resources and let you have a go at it that way. 🙂
PBR Theory by Marmoset
This article covers some of the theory behind the PBR process.
https://marmoset.co/posts/basic-theory-of-physically-based-rendering/
Unreal Engine and PBR
The folks at Epic talk about a basic PBR workflow with Unreal Engine.
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/Materials/PhysicallyBased/
Unity PBS Breakdown
Unity uses what they call PBS or Physically-Based Shading, and this is a good read on their approach.
https://blogs.unity3d.com/2015/02/18/working-with-physically-based-shading-a-practical-approach/
PBR Maya Workflow Video
This is a good breakdown showing the PBR workflow in Maya using Arnold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGvUpIvLxOk
PBR in Blender
Here is a look at using PBR maps in Blender
https://www.cgbookcase.com/textures/how-to-use-pbr-textures-in-blender
Maya PBR in Arnold
This breakdown of what is what in PBR is a good read by Autodesk.
https://area.autodesk.com/tutorials/pbr-arnold/
PBR in 3ds Max
This even shows the textures on this site and how to use them. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82hhg8Q1nus&t=49s
I’ll be added resources and tutorials here in the future as well as things evolve. Do you have a resource that you think might be good for PBR users? We would love to hear from you.