Material Components

Iray for 3ds Max provides a number of methods for creating and using materials. Material Libraries are provided as a convenient means by which to access and add real-world materials to your designs.

Another approach utilises material components, supported via the Iray+ Material. This offers a more generalised starting point based on practical High-Level material archetypes such as Metal, Plastic, and Glass. You can work these High-Level components into your own complex materials based on our Material Structure layer concept. When you construct a material, start with one or more High-Level components, then adjust their parameters to suit your needs.

All High-Level components are based on Low-Level components, which in turn underpin every material in Iray. A Low-Level component describes the fundamental physical properties of a material and the effects of light upon it.

Low-Level components are designed for flexibility. A single Low-Level component may be used to create various different High-Level components. In effect, each High-Level component is an instance of a Low-Level component with a particular set of parameter values.

This section describes Iray+ material structure in terms of High-Level components. It lists the various types of High-Level component available in Iray for 3ds Max and provides links to more details on their underlying Low-Level components.

Structure

At its simplest, an Iray+ Material must contain a Geometry layer and a Base layer. Optionally, you can add Decal, Surface, and Coating layers on top of these, in any order, to build up complexity.

Geometry

Geometry refers to the underlying structure of every material. At this level, some fundamental characteristics of your material can be defined:

Geometry:

Opacity: sets an overall opacity value for the material or adds a map to define opaque and transparent regions.
Displacement: sets the displacement amount or adds a map to define the affected regions:
- Displacement amount may have a positive or negative value. When rendered, a positive value offsets geometry in the direction of the smoothed surface normal; a negative value offsets geometry in the opposite direction.
- When adding a map, grayscale values modulate the displacement amount. Regions mapped with white are offset by the full displacement amount; black regions have no offset. Some maps can return negative values which reverse the displacement direction.

✱ Note: a material's displacement amount is clamped by the Max Displacement. For more detail, see Object Properties.

Bump:

Corner Radius: softens the edges of corners without having to alter geometry. Few real-world objects have perfectly sharp corners. You can specify either a Normal map or a Corner Radius on a Geometry layer. However, you can also combine Normal maps on other layer types with Corner Radius enabled on the Geometry layer.
Normal: sets a bump map to simulate surface detail and to control the intensity and orientation of the effect.

Emission:

On: toggles Emission on or off without losing chosen settings.
Use Profile: add a photometric/IES file to define characteristics of the emission. You will not be able to use an IES profile in conjunction with a textured emission map.
X Rotation/Y Rotation/Z Rotation: transforms the orientation of the photometric light distribution.
Template: choose from a dropdown list of common lighting types with fixed, accurate values.
Custom: control temperature and intensity parameters manually:
- Temperature:
  - Color Temperature: specifies color temperature in Kelvin.
  - Tint: adds an optional color value or textured emission map which acts as a 'gel' or projection in front of the light.
- Intensity: controls the intensity of the light, measured in Lumens or Lux, depending on which of the following parameters is selected:
  - Lumens: the total amount of light emitted is independent of the size of the light source geometry. Increasing the surface area will mean each that part of the surface becomes dimmer, so that overall emission remains constant.
  - Lux: the total amount of light emitted is proportional to the surface area of the light source geometry. (This is based on Power per Unit Area.) Increasing the surface area will mean that more light enters the scene.

Base

The Base layer is the core component from which to create a realistic material as you define its essential form (wood, metal, plastic, etc.).

The material examples available in the Base layer presets dropdown in the 3ds Max Material Editor provide starting points for most materials.

High-Level Component	Low-Level Component used	Link to Component
CarbonFibre	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
CeramicTiles	Dielectric	Details ▶
CeramicWhiteware	TwoLobeDielectric	Details ▶
Clay	TwoLobeDielectric	Details ▶
Cloth	Diffuse	Details ▶
CloudyGem	SubsurfaceScattering	Details ▶
ConcretePolished	Dielectric	Details ▶
ConcreteRough	Dielectric	Details ▶
Diamond	PhysicalTransparent	Details ▶
Gel	PearlescentSSS	Details ▶
Glass	PhysicalTransparent	Details ▶
GlassDispersion	PhysicalTransparent	Details ▶
GlassFrosted	PhysicalTranslucent	Details ▶
GlassThin	ThinwallTransparent	Details ▶
Glossy	Dielectric	Details ▶
Lampshade	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
Leather	TwoLobeDielectric	Details ▶
Masonry	Dielectric	Details ▶
Matte	Diffuse	Details ▶
Metal	Conductor	Details ▶
MetalBrushed	AnisotropicConductor	Details ▶
MetalPolished	AnisotropicConductor	Details ▶
MetalSatin	AnisotropicConductor	Details ▶
Mirror	SpecularReflection	Details ▶
Paper	Diffuse	Details ▶
PaperTranslucent	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
Plaster	Diffuse	Details ▶
PlasticOpaque	TwoLobeDielectric	Details ▶
PlasticTranslucent(FastSSS)	DiffuseSSS	Details ▶
PlasticTranslucent(SSS)	SubsurfaceScattering	Details ▶
PlasticTransparent	PhysicalTranslucent	Details ▶
Rubber	Dielectric	Details ▶
Satin	WovenAnisotropic	Details ▶
Skin	MultiLayeredSSS	Details ▶
Stone	Diffuse	Details ▶
StonePolished	Dielectric	Details ▶
Suede	Backscattering	Details ▶
Velvet	Backscattering	Details ▶
Water	PhysicalTransparent	Details ▶
Wax(SSS)	SubsurfaceScattering	Details ▶
Wood	Dielectric	Details ▶
WoodGrain	FibreAnisotropic	Details ▶
WoodVarnished	Dielectric	Details ▶

Decal

A Decal is a sticker or an image that can be applied at any level within the material hierarchy.

High-Level Component	Low-Level Component used	Link to Component
BrushedMetalFoil	AnisotropicConductor	Details ▶
BrushedPlastic	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
Matte	Diffuse	Details ▶
MetalFoil	Conductor	Details ▶
Mirror	SpecularReflection	Details ▶
Satin	Gloss	Details ▶

Coating

An Iray+ Material may have any number of Coating layers, representing finishes such as glaze, paint, or varnish.

High-Level Component	Low-Level Component used	Link to Component
Anodized	Conductor	Details ▶
CeramicGlaze	Dielectric	Details ▶
ClearCoat	Dielectric	Details ▶
Flakes	GlossFlakes	Details ▶
FlipFlopPaint	FlipFlop	Details ▶
Galvanised	GlossFlakes	Details ▶
GlossFinish	Gloss	Details ▶
GlossVarnish	Dielectric	Details ▶
HammerPaint	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
MatteFinish	Diffuse	Details ▶
MatteVarnish	Dielectric	Details ▶
MetalPlating	Conductor	Details ▶
PaintEggshell	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
PaintGloss	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
PaintMatte	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
PaintPearl	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
PlasticCoating	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
PowderCoating	AnisotropicDielectric	Details ▶
ThinFilm	InterferencePattern	Details ▶

Surface

A Surface layer can be used to represent dirt, rust, scratches, and other imperfections found in the real world.

High-Level Component	Low-Level Component used	Link to Component
DeepScratches	Diffuse	Details ▶
Dirt1	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
Dirt2	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
Dirt3	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
DustStreaks	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
DustUniform	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
DustVariable	DiffuseTransmission	Details ▶
HeatStainedSteel	InterferencePattern	Details ▶
LinearScratches1	Gloss	Details ▶
LinearScratches2	Diffuse	Details ▶
LinearScratches3	Gloss	Details ▶
LinearScratches4	Gloss	Details ▶
RadialScratches	Gloss	Details ▶
RustPatches	Diffuse	Details ▶
RustUniform	Diffuse	Details ▶
Verdigris	Diffuse	Details ▶

▲