This page introduces the different material types in V-Ray for Maya.

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Overview

There are a number of different materials for use with V-Ray for Maya. 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 simulating complex uses such as translucent objects, subsurface materials such as skin, and even light emitting objects. Keep in mind that materials look different under different lighting*.

The materials can be found in all places in the Maya user interface where standard Maya materials are located. A few of these places are listed below.

While V-Ray will render perfectly using Maya's own standard materials, these V-Ray specific materials offer a higher level of illumination and surface accuracy, as well as several features not found in standard Maya materials.


Image courtesy of Tuna Unalan



||Right-click on the geometry|| > Assign New Material... > VRay section > Click on the chosen material


||V-Ray Shelf|| > Right-click to Create V-Ray Materials button > Click on the chosen material





||Hypershade|| > Window tab > Create... > VRay section > Click on the chosen material




V-Ray Materials


Common Materials

The most widely used V-Ray materials.








 


 



 



 




Utility Materials

This section contains V-Ray materials useful for a number of realistic and creative effects.





 


 



 


 









File Based Materials

This section contains file-based V-ray materials.





 











Legacy Materials

This section contains legacy V-Ray materials which have newer versions and/or are no longer relevant

















Materials Tools and Utilities

These are a number of tools and utilities that allow various material related tasks to be accomplished. For more information, see the Internal Tools page.



Working with Materials

Follow this tutorial to learn what are the essential steps when applying materials to your scene. We show you how you can easily create and modify materials in V-Ray for Maya. Plus, demonstrate how you can use Chaos Cosmos, our extensive library of ready-to-render materials, to shade your scene in just a few clicks. 


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Notes

  • In Maya 2024, the Default lighting has an increased intensity. This leads to V-Ray materials appearing brighter when lit with the Default lighting. You can reduce the intensity of the lighting manually or use V-Ray Lights to achieve a more natural look.