3ds Max Material Library

• Overview
  • Important
• Installation
• Copying a Material
  • Importing Sample Materials Multi-Sub
  • Create a New Multisub Material
  • Converting Existing Material

Overview

• Material libraries give a default setup for the shaders in 3ds Max. 
• They make it easier to put the right textures in the right place by giving the slots names (rather than having to refer to the tables on the various IBL shader pages).
• They are also populated by default maps so you don't need to remember to fill any slots you are not using.
• The file can be found in the Material Library at T:\3dsMax_Material_Library\S397_Material_Library.mat or via BitBucket
• Use the instructions below for installation if you are not familiar with the process.

Note: depending on your setup, your browser might list this file as a Microsoft Access Table Shortcut - it isn't!!!

Important

You must rename the material appropriately when importing from the library.  Do not leave it as the default!
Additionally when you assign textures make sure that you map to the appropriate network drive, i.e. R:\ and the TGA file in MapsSource!

Installation

Open the Material/Map Browser and click on the downward arrow in the top left hand corner.

Select Open Material Library... and choose T:\3dsMax_Material_Library\S397_Material_Library.mat file and press Open.

The library is now available for use.

Copying a Material

Importing Sample Materials Multi-Sub

In a default material slot, select the top level which will give you a Multi/Sub Object material populated by all the available types.
Use this for reference only! Do not modify this multi-sub. You should copy these materials into your own multi-sub. See the next section.

Create a New Multisub Material

Converting Existing Material

If you have already set up a Multi/Sub Object material, you can populate the individual slots by selecting the specific shader you need.