This page provides information about the V-Ray Node materials available in V-Ray for Cinema 4D, find out how to create, assign, and use them.


Overview


V-Ray Node Space offers a number of nodes arranged in the following categories: Color, Distribution, Generator, Material, Math, Surface and Utility.

V-Ray offers two output (Colored Node) nodes - Material and Two Sided Material. Each Node system holds only one output (Colored) node.

V-Ray Node space is available in Cinema 4D versions 21.1 and later!

V-Ray Material Nodes are not interchangeable or compatible with the V-Ray (Classic) Materials.




Node Editor with V-Ray nodes in Cinema 4D S24.


How to Create V-Ray Nodes



For Cinema 4D version R26 or newer

Make sure V-Ray is your Renderer. This is done through Render Settings > Renderer.

Go to the Material Manager and from V-Ray > V-Ray Node Materials, select a node material from the list.

If the Separate menu for V-Ray materials option in the Preferences is disabled, go to Create > V-Ray > V-Ray Node Materials.





For Cinema 4D version R25

Make sure V-Ray is your Renderer. This is done through Render Settings > Renderer.

Go to the Material Manager and from Create > Materials, select New Node Material.

Alternatively, go to V-Ray > V-Ray Node Materials and select a V-Ray surface material from the list. If the Separate menu for V-Ray materials option in the Preferences is disabled, go to Create > V-Ray > V-Ray Node Materials.

The Node editor opens and you can now work with all available V-Ray nodes.





Alternatively, there is a V-Ray Node Materials option available. If a scene is saved with the default Cinema 4D node materials, you can use this menu to create and open the V-Ray Nodes.





For Cinema 4D up to version S24

First, make sure you work in the V-Ray Node Space. You can select it from the drop-down menu of the Node Space option.





Then, go to the Create menu > Materials and select the New Node Material option.

A new Material node is created. When you double-click on the node, the Node Editor is opened. Now you can work within the Node Editor by creating and adjusting V-Ray nodes.


Alternatively, you can open the Node Editor by going to Window > Node Editor... and switching the Mode to Material.





V-Ray Nodes can also be created directly from the Node Editor. Go to the Add Nodes... menu and from the Materials folder choose either Material or Two Sided Material, as these are V-Ray's Color nodes.

To connect a surface node open the Surface folder and select from the list. Drag-n-drop onto the editor or directly into the desired port of the Material (or Two Sided Material).





Alternatively, there is a V-Ray Node Materials option available. If a scene is saved with the default Cinema 4D node materials, you can use this menu to create and open the V-Ray Nodes.


How to Assign a Node to an Object



From the Attributes tab select the Material node (or the Two Sided Material node) and drag-n-drop it over the geometry object.


 


How to Use Cinema 4D's Native Solo Node Mode



The Solo Node, represented by the button on each node, is a native Cinema 4D feature. It singles out the selected node, making it the "main" node of the shader. Disabling the Solo Node mode returns the shader's behavior to normal. This is useful for look development and testing.




Double-click to Create Materials Workflow


V-Ray supports the Cinema 4D option to quickly create materials by double-clicking in the Material Manager. See the Materials page for an overview of the workflow.