Working in the Materials Lab

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This section describes how to use the Materials Lab to create and store materials.

Building Materials

A material is a combination of values, colors and textures applied through fourteen different channels. You build materials by selecting components (colors, values, or textures) and combining them on the Materials Grid.

To create a new surface material:

1 Select an object.

2 Display the Materials Lab.

3 Set the material channels to define the properties of your material.

Remember, channels can be set using values, colors or texture components. You may want to experiment with different setting to see the results of your changes.

4 If you're using texture components, you can:

• Edit the scale, position or rotation of the texture using the texture transformation controls.
• Edit the makeup of the texture using the Deep Texture Editor.
• Set a mapping mode for the texture.

5 Choose a shading mode for the material by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the Materials Lab and choosing a mode from the menu.

6 Click the OK icon. The new material is applied to the selected object.

To create a new volume material:

1 Select an object.

2 Display the Materials Lab.

3 Click the toggle button to switch to Volume.

4 Set the material channels to define the properties of your material.

Remember, channel values are applied to the object's volume not its surface, so adjust the material's channels accordingly.

5 If you're using texture components, you can:

• Edit the scale, position or rotation of the texture using the texture transformation controls.
• Edit the makeup of the texture using the Deep Texture Editor.
• Set a mapping mode for the texture.

You should always use a texture component in the Base Density channel.

6 Choose a shading mode for the material by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the Materials Lab and choosing a mode from the menu.

The shading modes for volume materials are different from those for surface materials.

7 Click the OK icon. The new material is applied to the selected object.

To activate a component in the Materials Grid:

• Click an empty channel column. A component window appears.

To use a component in a channel:

• In a material channel, click the column that corresponds to the component you want to use.

To switch between components:

• Click in a new column.

To combine a component with a value:

1 In a material channel, click an empty column.

2 Drag over the value control for the channel.

Copying and Pasting Materials

The Materials Lab has its own dedicated clipboard that lets you store materials. You can have an object in your clipboard, then enter the Materials Lab and copy a material without disturbing the contents of your clipboard.

To copy a material to the Materials clipboard:

• Click the Copy button below the Material Preview window.

To paste a material to the Materials clipboard:

• Click the Paste button below the Material Preview window.

Using the Material Preview Area

There are several different ways you can see the effects of your material on an object.

To switch preview modes:

• Click the triangle at the bottom of the material preview and choose an option from the menu:

Normal displays your object as it looks in your scene. This is the default view of your selected object.

Up Close displays a zoomed-in view of your object.

Render With Neutral Sky displays your object against a plain sky. When this option is disabled, your preview contains the current sky settings. This option makes it easier to see the material without being distracted by patterns in the sky.

Render With Neutral Ground displays your object with a plain ground. When disabled, the ground in your preview has the same texture as the object.

Current Selection displays the selected object exactly as it appears in the your scene.

Box displays the material applied to a cube.

Sphere displays the material applied to a sphere.

Cone displays the material applied to a cone.

Cylinder displays the material applied to a cylinder.

Terrain displays the material applied to a randomly generated terrain object.

Ground displays the material applied to an infinite plane.

Torus displays the material applied to a torus object. Torus objects are good for displaying material properties like altitude changes, slope and height changes, and metallicity.

To change the view angle of the preview area:

• Drag the Preview area in the direction you want to view it from.

The preview switches to wireframe as you move it. The angle of the preview does not affect the angle of the object in your scene.

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