PBR Model

This model represents a material that provides a more realistic quality to objects, using physically based rendering. It allows for selecting and editing:

• Environment Mapping

• Normal Mapping

• Albedo Texture, Color, and Blending

• Specular Color

• as well as adjusting Metalicness, Shadow Senstivity, and Roughness.

All these Attributes are described in greater detail below.

Attributes

Material

Material

This Attribute provides the Name of the Material as well as the Shading model type. It also sets the Alpha value if it is toggled on.

The Alpha channel is additional to the RGB channels and adds a kind of transparency to the object by mixing the background and foreground colors. For example, if the Alpha value is set to 0.5, then this would result in a 50% mix of the object and its background, providing a somewhat see-through quality.

Environment Map

Environment Map

This enables the user to set a Texture which reflects the environment around an Object, meaning that the Object reflects the surface surrounding it (whether that be the background, another Object, or both combined.).

Initially, there is only the Attribute Overwrite Env. which is toggled off by default. If it is toggled on, all of the other Attributes are revealed.

Environment Map is the desired Texture to be used (a equirectangular or cubemap Texture of type PNG, JPG, EXR, or HDR).

Tint provides the color of the tint. The Texture’s RGB channels (not alpha) are then multiplied by the chosen tint.

Exposure determines how bright the Texture should be with a value from 0 to infinity.

Rotation sets the beginning of the image of the provided Texture to be "delayed" in the x or direction, moving it from left to right. The resulting "cut off" piece wraps around to the start of the image. Its range is from 0 degrees to 360 degrees.

Tilt sets the beginning of the image of the provided Texture to be "delayed" in the y or direction, moving it from bottom to top. The resulting "cut off" piece wraps around to the start of the image. Its range is from -90 degrees to 90 degrees.

Projection Height is where the ‘point of visualization’ starts. If set to 50%, this would be halfway from the bottom of the image and it would display upwards from there. To see a visual example of this, please refer to the video linked here.

Normals

Normals

A normal is a line perpendicular to the surface of some object. Normal mapping distorts these normals and simulates a surface with light and shadow, even if the object surface itself is flat. This is only possible with a light source. The Normal Map sets this surface and Use Normal Map toggles it on and off.

Albedo

Albedo

Color of Albedo sets the base diffuse color of the model.

Albedo Map takes any image to add any desired visual information.

Using Blending, the Texture and Color are combined. If Blending is set to 1 then 100% of the Texture is displayed on the Object. If 0.5, then it displays a 50/50 ratio of Texture and Color.

Specular

Specular

Specular is the point of reflection of the light source. Color sets the color of it.

Tweak

Tweak

Metallic determines how much the surface simulates a metal-like quality, appearing shinier and harder or rougher and duller.

Roughness determines how rough an object is, limiting or strengthening reflectivity.

Shadow Sensitivity determines the percentage of influence by the shadow. For example, a 1 would set an Object's surface to completely black. 0.5 would mean that even if the Object is in shadow, it would still have 50% of its color.

Property Names

It is possible to hover over each Attribute and access their property names to be used in code or Nodes. A complete list of these names is as follows:

• Use Alpha: use_alpha

• Alpha: alpha

• Overwrite Env.: env_overwrite

• Environment Map: environment_map

• Tint: env_tint

• Exposure: env_exposure

• Rotation: env_rotate

• Tilt: env_tilt

• Projection Height: env_projection_height

• Use Normal Map: use_normal_map

• Normal Map: normal_map

• Albedo Map: albedo_map

• Color (Albedo): albedo_color

• Blending: albedo_map_blending

• Color (Specular): specular_color

• Metallic: metallic

• Roughness: roughness

• Shadow Sensitivity: shadow_sensitivity