Material properties in 3D rendering are characteristics and attributes given to surfaces or objects in a 3D scene. These properties determine how light interacts with materials, affecting their appearance by influencing their reflection, refraction, absorption, and transmission of light. The various properties contribute to the visual realism of the rendered scenes.

What material’s properties can we edit?

There are several properties that can be adjusted in the material properties panel. Some of these require texture mapping, a technique that applies detailed images, patterns, or data to the surfaces of 3D models. These images, known as textures, enhance the visual realism of rendered scenes by adding extra detail and variation to the appearance of objects.

1. Opacity: Opacity refers to the difficulty of seeing through an object. Lower opacity correlates with higher transparency, and higher opacity correlates with lower transparency.
2. Map: The "map" texture map uses the red channel of the uploaded texture as the ambient occlusion map.
3. Alpha Map: The "alpha map" is a grayscale texture that controls the opacity across the surface (black: fully transparent; white: fully opaque).
4. Sides: The "side" function determines how the object is textured:
   • The "front" option shows the object from the front with all sides present, but the inside has no texture.
   • The "double" option displays the object as in the "front" option, but with texture on both the inside and outside.
   • The "back" option displays the object without the top and front sides, effectively opened, with texture on both the inside and outside.
5. Material Type:
   • The "standard" material type refers to a more detailed material type with more polygons and hence more editing options.
   • The "basic" material type is less detailed, with fewer polygons and fewer editing options.
   • "Standard" is the default option. Switching to "basic" changes the additional properties that can be edited.
6. Displacement Map: The "displacement map" alters the position of the mesh's vertices. Unlike other maps, it can cast shadows, block other objects, and act as real geometry. The displacement texture is an image where each pixel's value (with white being the highest) maps against and repositions the mesh's vertices.
7. Emission: An emissive colour is a solid color unaffected by other lighting. The emissive map texture is modulated by the emissive color and the emissive intensity.
8. Roughness: Roughness defines how rough the material appears. A value of 0 reflects a smooth mirror, while 100 indicates full diffusion. The green channel of the chosen texture alters the material's roughness.
9. Metalness: Metalness determines how metallic the material is. Non-metallic materials like wood or stone use 0, while metallic materials use 100. The blue channel of the chosen texture alters the material's metalness.
10. Normal Map: The RGB values of the normal map affect the surface normal for each pixel fragment and change the way the colour is lit. Normal maps alter only the lighting, not the actual shape of the surface.
11. Specular Map: Specular maps define the shininess or highlight on a surface. They are typically black and white images that map out the shininess value on an object.
12. Reflectivity: Reflectivity is the texture's reflection of the light source, creating a shiny appearance. The intensity is determined by a slider.

When the material type is set to "standard" (the default option), you can edit the displacement, emission, emission map + colour, roughness, metalness, and normal map functions. When the material type is switched to "basic", you can only edit the specular map and reflectivity functions.

How do you edit a material's properties in the 3D scene?

1. Click on the 'Add elements' button in the top left corner.