Material and Finishing

Creating realistic materials is the foundation of achieving great visual effects!

In Realishot, to align with real-world production workflows, we categorize materials into two components: Base Material and Surface Finishing.

• Base Material represents the raw substrate used in manufacturing.
• Surface Finishing refers to post-processing techniques (e.g., sandblasting, plating, coating) applied to the substrate.
  Base Material defines core physical properties, while Surface Finishing enhances aesthetics, durability, and functionality. Together, they form Realishot's unified material system.
  After completing your design in Realishot, you can view 3D renderings and export production assets like BOMs or print-ready diagrams. Learn more in Share and Publish.

Base Material

The physical substance constituting a product’s functional foundation. Realishot integrates material specifications to streamline design-to-production workflows.

Adding Materials

Click the "+" icon next to the material slot to open the Material Library. Select or drag materials onto parts.
Alternatively, access materials via Assets Panel > Materials.

Multi-Material Switching

Multiple materials can be assigned to a single part. Click the material name to toggle between saved materials.

Material Color Variables

Click the color slot below a material to open the Color Library. Use the "+" icon to add colors from the library or via Assets Panel > Colors.

Surface Finishing

Simulates real-world post-processing (e.g., matte, metallic plating) for rapid virtual prototyping, accelerating design-to-production validation.
Adding/editing workflows mirror Base Material operations.

Material Properties Panel

The core tool for fine-tuning visual attributes. Adjust physical/optical properties for comprehensive material customization.

Material Type

The foundational classification. Five preset templates auto-load optimized parameter sets:

• Standard Physical: Opaque materials (e.g., metal, plastic, stone).
• Clear Coat: Layered finishes (e.g., automotive paint, piano lacquer).
• Glass: Transparent/semi-transparent surfaces (e.g., glass, acrylic).
• Emissive: Light-emitting objects (e.g., LEDs, neon signs).
• Matte: Shadows/special effects.

Color

Click the color box to open the Color Picker. Adjust via:

• Color wheel selection
• RGB/HEX input
• Eyedropper tool
• Pantone color matching

Texture Import

Upload custom textures locally. Hover over the texture slot and click Upload.

Adjustments: Color inversion, Y-flip.
UV Mapping: Tiling, offset, rotation, UV channel selection.

Roughness

Controls surface micro-detail scattering:

• 0 = Perfectly smooth
• 100 = Fully rough
  Interacts dynamically with Metallic property.

Metallic

Defines metal reflectance:

• 0 = Non-metal/plastic (insulator)
• 100 = Pure metal
  Combine 100% Metallic + 0% Roughness for mirror finishes.

Normal Map

Simulates surface detail (e.g., bumps, grooves) without adding geometry. Requires a dedicated normal map.
Auto-conversion: Grayscale textures generate normal maps.

Opacity

Controls transparency:

• 0 = Fully transparent
• 100 = Fully opaque
  Modes:
• Mask: Binary transparency (performance-optimized).
• Blend: Gradient transparency.
• Invert: Color reversal.
• Alpha from Color: For grayscale textures without alpha channels.

Texture Transform

Adjust per-texture tiling/offset/rotation. Enable the lock icon to synchronize X/Y tiling.

Ambient Occlusion (AO)

Precomputed shadow mapping based on surface geometry. Three generation methods:

1. Post-processing > AO (global scene effect).
2. Realishot’s path-traced AO baking.
3. Import externally baked AO maps.

AO Baking

Converts computed shadows into textures using path tracing.
Shared Materials: Linked materials bake together.
Parameters:

• Resolution: Texture clarity (higher = sharper).
• Quality: Sampling rate (higher = less noise):
  • Low: 16 samples
  • Medium: 256 samples
  • High: 1024 samples

Benefits:

• Performance: Replaces real-time AO calculations.
• Realism: Path-traced photo-accurate shadows.
  Note: Automatically generates UV1 if UV0 is unsuitable (e.g., overlaps).

Thin-Film

Iridescence/pearlescence (e.g., soap bubbles, metallic flakes). Color shifts with view angle.
Editing: Drag color stops on gradient bar (top = perpendicular view; bottom = grazing angle).

Double-Sided Material

Displays material on both mesh faces (default: front-face only).

Render Priority

Controls draw order during rasterization to resolve transparent-object collisions.

Emissive

Available in Emissive material type only.

Simulates light sources. Adjust color/intensity.
Visibility: Enhanced in darker scenes.

Clear Coat

Available in Clear Coat material type only.

Adds a transparent lacquer layer (e.g., car paint, varnish).
Key: Independent roughness creates nuanced reflections.

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Glass

Available in Glass material type only.

Simulates light transmission (e.g., glass, acrylic, water).

• Color: Base glass tint.
• IOR: Index of Refraction (light bending intensity).
• Absorption: Color saturation distance (lower = stronger).
• Thickness: Light distortion scale.
• Specular Intensity: Surface highlight control.

Ray Tracing Materials

Prioritizes PBR accuracy (reflection/refraction physics) over real-time performance. Parameters differ from raster materials due to advanced light-transport calculations.

Learn more in chapter Ray Tracing Rendering.