As of NUBIGON v7, advanced mesh rendering is supported with physically based rendering (PBR), offering realistic and customizable material properties.
Customizable material properties
Automatically Generated Materials
When importing mesh files such as OBJ with associated MTL, GLTF, or DWG, materials are automatically generated based on the file’s material definitions.
Creating a New Material
To create a new material, select the mesh in the Object List. In the Material Attributes, press the + button to create a new material.
Assigning a Material to Multiple Meshes
Sometimes, you may want to create and assign a single material to multiple meshes. To do this:
- Open the Material Editor from Windows > Editors > Material Editor.
- Click Create Material > Mesh Material to add a new material. Optionally, double-click the material to rename it.
- Select a parent group object (it doesn't need to be the direct parent) containing your meshes in the Object List.
- Right-click on the group to open the context menu.
- Choose the new material from the Assign Material option.
- Return to the Material Editor to configure the material's attributes as needed.
What is PBR?
Physically Based Rendering (PBR) is a rendering technique that simulates how light interacts with surfaces in the real world. PBR materials aim for photorealism by using physical properties like reflectivity, roughness, and metalness.
PBR Options
Shading model
Determines the shading model to be used. The options are as follows:
- Metallic-roughness: This model is based on metalness and roughness values, which we will describe next. It’s the default shading model.
- Specular-glossiness: This is an extension of the glTF format and is automatically populated when importing a glTF file that uses this extension.
Base color
Defines the main color or texture of the material. This property determines the visible color of the surface.
Metallic
Specifies whether the material is metal or non-metal. A metallic texture can map metallic properties across the surface. For example, it can make parts of an object, like the blade of a knife, appear metallic while keeping the handle non-metallic.
Metallic factor
When a metallic texture is used, this factor acts as a multiplier. Otherwise, metalness is typically treated as a binary value: 0 for non-metals (e.g., plastic or wood) and 1 for metals (e.g., steel or aluminum).
Roughness
Controls the surface roughness, affecting the sharpness of reflections. A roughness texture can vary roughness across the material.
Roughness factor
Adjusts the roughness of the material uniformly. Lower values result in a smoother surface with sharper reflections. When a roughness texture is used, this factor acts as a multiplier to the texture's effect.
Roughness values range from 0 to 1 (left to right), with non-metals on the top row and metals on the bottom row.
IOR
Determines how much light bends when entering the material. It's recommended to use the default value for most materials.
Normal
Adds surface details like bumps and grooves using a normal map texture.
Normal scale
Controls the intensity of the surface details by the normal map. Higher values make the bumps and grooves more pronounced.
Occlusion
Simulates soft shadows in crevices or cavities using an ambient occlusion map.
Occlusion strength
Controls the visibility of occlusion effects. Higher values make shadowed areas more pronounced.
Emissive
Defines areas of the material that emit light, creating glowing effects. When a texture is used, the color box acts as a multiplier for the texture.
Alpha mode
Determines how transparency is handled:
- Opaque: The material is fully opaque, with no transparency.
- Mask: Binary transparency based on the Alpha cutoff. For example, flowers may initially render as squares. To correctly display the flower, an alpha value is applied so that pixels with alpha values below the Alpha cutoff are not rendered.
- Blend: Creates gradual transparency, useful for materials like windows.
Alpha cutoff
Defines the threshold for alpha masking. Pixels with alpha values below this threshold are not rendered.
Alpha
A texture map that defines which parts of the material are opaque or translucent.
Alpha factor
Adjusts the transparency of the material when using the Blend Alpha mode. When an alpha map is used, this factor acts as a multiplier for the map.
Other Options
Smooth shading
Toggles smooth shading. When enabled, the surface normals are smoothed, giving the mesh a more rounded appearance; otherwise, the mesh has a faceted appearance.
Show wireframe
Toggles the display of the mesh’s wireframe.
Wireframe thickness
Controls the thickness of the wireframe lines when the wireframe display is enabled. Higher values result in thicker wireframe lines.
Wireframe color
Sets the color of the wireframe lines when the wireframe display is enabled.