# Material Editor

The **Material Editor** allows us to create a **Material** that gives a **Mesh** a specific visual appearance when it comes into contact with **Light** in a **Scene**. The **Material** files have `.incmat` as their filename extension.

To open the **Material Editor**, double-click on a **Material** file in the **Asset Manager** or right-click on the Menu bar and click on **Material Editor** from the drop-down list. The latter option can be seen in the illustration below:

![](/files/hi5uRv05FhmLUo9HjiLR)

The sections defined in the **Material Editor** are discussed below. They will not be displayed in the **Material Editor** if a **Material** file has already been opened.

The `Used Materials` section has **Materials** that have been previously applied to a **Mesh** in a **Scene**. These **Materials** can be edited by clicking on them.

`New Material`, as its name suggests, allows us to create new **Materials**. The illustration below depicts its behavior when clicked.

![](/files/gD8agKO6zITffyct8yX2)

`Open Material` opens a window that allows us to select an existing **Material** file. An example of the window is shown below:

![](/files/CMNe7HpGrJ2IQOvhUWbw)

Once a **Material** has been opened, the **Material** **Editor** allows the user to edit the **Material's** **Attributes**.

![Shading Models Menu](/files/EK3LfxTqbFduW4agZLif)

There are several **Shading** **Models** available to choose from when creating a new **Material**. The following sections give a brief description of each and list their available **Attributes**:

* [**Car Paint Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/car-paint-model.md)
* [**Custom Shading Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/customshadingmodel.md)
* [**Phong Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/phong-model.md)
* [**Glass Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/glass-model.md)
* [**Extended PBR Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/extended-pbr-model.md)
* [**PBR Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/pbr-model.md)
* [**Shadeless Model**](/incari-studio/2023.1/modules/material-editor/shadeless-model.md)

## See Also

* [**Mesh**](https://github.com/cgi-studio-gmbh/incari-doc/blob/2023.1/modules/objects-and-types/scene-objects/mesh.md)

## External Links

* More on [*Normal Mapping*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping) on Wikipedia.
* More on [*Environment Mapping*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_mapping) on Wikipedia.
* More on [*Specular Reflection*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_reflection) on Wikipedia.
* More on [*Diffuse Reflection*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection) on Wikipedia.
* More on [*Fresnel Shading*](http://kylehalladay.com/blog/tutorial/2014/02/18/Fresnel-Shaders-From-The-Ground-Up.html) on Kyle Halladay's blog.
* More on [*Albedo Shading*](https://www.scratchapixel.com/lessons/3d-basic-rendering/introduction-to-shading/diffuse-lambertian-shading#:~:text=albedo%20%3D%20reflect%20light%20incident%20light.%20In%20computer,often%20denoted%20with%20the%20Greek%20letter%20%CF%81%20%28rho%29.) on Scratchapixel.


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