This page introduces the different material types in V-Ray for SketchUp.
Overview
There are a number of different materials for use with V-Ray for SketchUp. These materials are quite versatile and each can be used in a number of ways to achieve different looks as needed from simulating simple surface properties like plastics and metals to complex uses such as translucent objects, subsurface materials such as skin and even light emitting objects.
For more details on each material, please see the dedicated pages.
.vismat files are no longer supported. For more information visit Migrating from Previous Versions page.
With V-Ray Next, Update 1 experimental support to the SketchUp texture colorization functionality is added. It allows the SketchUp material colorization to affect the rendered image.
Materials List:
UI Paths
||V-Ray Asset Editor|| > Create Asset > Materials
||V-Ray Asset Editor|| > Materials
Creation of materials is available from two places in the Asset Editor: the Create Asset button and the Materials category icon (top). If the Materials category is empty, left-or right-clicking the icon prompts you to create a new asset. Otherwise, it selects the category in which case right-click opens the creation menu.
The Asset creation dropdown lists remain active when the Ctrl (Cmd on Mac OS) key is held, allowing the creation of multiple assets in quick succession. The Asset creation dropdown lists can be activated via the Create Asset button or the Asset Category icons.
Options
There are some context options that V-Ray materials have.
The Search Scene field will search the assets by name from all the categories that are selected.
Right-click on any material in the Material's list for a context menu to appear. You can apply the material to the currently selected object or to a layer. Use the Apply To Layer and select any layer to apply the material.
The Select Objects in Scene option allows selection of groups or components in the viewport that the material will be applied to.
Select a material to Use as Replacement for any other material in the scene. Then, use the Replace In Scene option over the chosen material or the Replace All References to replace this material in all places that is used. For example, a Generic material is used as part of Two Sided and Multi Material. Replace All References will overwrite the Generic material in both Two Sided and Multi Material.
The Asset lists have some additional multi-selection functionalities:
- Ctrl (Cmd on Mac OS) on deselected item - Adds to the selection;
- Ctrl (Cmd) on selected item - Removes it from the selection;
- Ctrl + A (Cmd + A) - Selects all items in the list/category;
- Shift + Left-click - expands the range of the current selection;
- Click + Drag - Leaves only the clicked item selected;
- Right-Click on deselected item - Shows the context menu for the item, selects the item and deselects all other items;
- Right-Click on selected item - Shows the context menu for the item and doesn't change the selection.
Material's parameters and options are organized in Basic and Advanced modes. You can switch the mode from the toggle bar under the Preview Swatch or globally from the Configuration rollout of the Settings tab.
An Add Attribute button is provided for some V-Ray materials. You can select additional attributes that can add up to the appearance of the material.
Holding down Ctrl (or Cmd on macOS) while having the Add Attribute menu open, allows selecting multiple entries without closing the dropdown.
The context options of the Color Slot allow to Copy and Paste a color from one color slot to another, as well as to Reset the color selection to a default value.
MultiMtl, Blend, Bump, Toon, Override and TwoSided materials allow drag-and-dropping to their input slots. The input slot (
) of these materials also has a context menu available when you right-click on it.
You can Copy, Cut, Clear the selected material or Paste as Instance another material into the slot.
You can reset the Input Number Slider's value to its default value by right-clicking on the slider and selecting the Reset context menu option.
Most numeric V-Ray parameters come with a slider to make fine-tuning easier. Each slider is set to a default range of recommended or commonly used values.
If a value above that range is used the slider adapts by increasing its range accordingly (2x the input value) to maintain usability.
If a value below the current slider range is used, the slider again adjusts its range by shrinking it to twice the amount of the input value.
Note that that the slider range does not indicate the parameter's total minimum and maximum input values.
The absolute minimum and maximum values of each parameter can be found by hovering over its spinbox.
Layers
The ability to add additional layers allows creation of composite materials. Each layer is an additional coat, where the topmost layer is the outermost one. Opacity texture maps can be used to control the appearance of each additional layer. The workflow is generally used for the creation of reflective materials with an extra coat of glossy finish, uneven glaze, extra flakes, or emissive elements.
V-Ray Material, part of which are the Generic and Emissive presets, have the option of stacking additional layers of settings on top of the default ones. The Add Layer button under the Preview Swatch opens a list of available layers that you can add on top of the existing preset. The top and added layers can be moved in the stack. They have a context menu, which allows duplication, renaming or deletion of the selected layer.
Since V-Ray 5, the Refraction and the Diffuse coat layers are legacy layers that can no longer be created. However, the layers used in old scenes can be converted to VRayMtl through the Migrate Now button, located in the Asset Editor.
The Diffuse coat layer can also be deleted and replaced by the parameters of the Coat and Sheen base layers.
Holding down Ctrl (or Cmd on macOS) while having the Add Layer menu open, allows selecting multiple entries without closing the dropdown.
V-Ray and SketchUp Materials
It is always recommended to use V-Ray native materials.
V-Ray supports SketchUp materials by internally copying their attributes and "translating" them to a V-Ray material in order to read them. That is why, although SketchUp materials by default do not have that many options, when shown in the Asset Editor - they have additional V-Ray options.
Note that this additional V-Ray data stored for each material can only be read in V-Ray, not in SketchUp itself.
Material Binding
In SketchUp a texture is required to manage the texture mapping of the material in the viewport. Some of the V-Ray materials (generic materials) provide material binding settings allowing them to sync the viewport presentation with SketchUp's material editor. Complex materials and materials that have procedural textures linked to their diffuse color slot are displayed with a default V-Ray placeholder texture or the so called, texture helper.
Multi-materials do not have any binding options available. The V-Ray texture helper map is always used in the viewport, but you can switch the texture from the SketchUp material editor.
If a Generic, Emissive or Metallic material contains multiple layers, only the top-most one is regarded in Auto binding mode.
Colorize Textures (WIP)
Experimental support to the SketchUp texture colorization functionality is added. It allows the SketchUp material colorization to affect the rendered image.
This feature is mainly a benefit for workflows that include SketchUp material editing only.
For advanced workflows, we recommend V-Ray Utility textures instead.
The option is available in Extensions > V-Ray > Tools > Texture Colorization (Experimental Feature).
When first initializing V-Ray for SketchUp, this function is disabled by default. Once enabled, it consistently remains enabled between SketchUp sessions.
Limitations
This feature is currently under development. Use with caution!
Texture colorization does not affect the material preview in the Asset Editor.
Bitmap textures Filter Blur does not work with Colorize Textures.
Colorize Texture is done per material. The feature does not work, if a texture is globalized or instanced (Paste as Instance).
