Definition
A digital material, like a physical material, is the source of a surface's visual aspect. The materials in your database reproduce the visual properties of the physical materials that they represent.
Each surface is assigned a material. In some cases, a surface can be dressed with multiple materials. This is the case when you apply stickers or when you make use of aspect layers.
Patchwork 3D allows you to change the aspect of your product in real-time by assigning new materials to a surface. No calculation is carried out, but the product is updated instantly while you continue navigating around it in the 3D world.
Seven types of material exist. A type is defined by the function of the surface to which the material is assigned:
Material type | Use |
|---|---|
Standard | The default material can duplicate most types of physical materials using two layers, a diffuse layer and a reflective layer. |
Environment | This material represents the environment of a scenario. It is used to dress a skydome, which is a hemisphere surrounding a product. |
Matte | This material only shows the shadow of a product. When assigned to a plane on which your product is placed, it increases the realism of the scene when your scenario consists of a simple 2D background. |
Mirror | This material is used to dress surfaces in which the reflection of other surfaces in the scene are visible. |
Multilayer | This material is designed for the advanced user. Its precision is useful for creating complex and detailed materials. |
Seam | This material is used to represent the particularities of a sewn seam. |
Sticker | All standard materials can be assigned as stickers, but this type of material is designed specifically for that use. It can therefore be employed with another material on a single surface, or even assigned several times to the same surface. This can be useful in the case of certain patterns such as stickers, printed marks, engravings, stamps, or other marks that aren't part of the aspect of the physical material itself. |
The Patchwork 3D materials are managed from the Matter sidebar's material library.
Their settings, including their colors, can be modified via Materials (Editor).
The Positioning and Orienting Materials describes the two manipulation modes used to interactively position and orient materials.