Render Studio Examples and Resources
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This topic includes additional examples and resources to get the most out of the Render Studio application.

The categories here provide terms to enter in the Appearances library filter field, and example images. Use these terms to locate suitable part appearances. This is not a complete list of all appearances found in the Appearances library.

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of metal appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every metal type has every option. For example, Gold may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, Metallic plastic or Effect pigment paint, which is a metallic paint appearance. This is a list of terms associated to metallic appearances.
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Metal types - Aluminum, Bismuth, Brass, Bronze, Carbon steel, Chrome, Chromium, Copper, Effect pigment paint, Gold, Grill, Gun metal, Iron, Mercury, Mesh, Metal, Metallic, Metallic plastic, Nickel, Paint, Pearl, Pitted steel, Platinum, Silver, Stainless steel, Steel, Titanium, Tungsten, Zinc.
You can also use color to change the metal type. See Change Appearance material type with color.
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Metal patterns - Beams, Circles, Circular mesh, Diamond, Diamond plate, Disc mosaic, Hammered, Herringbone bricks, Hexagon, Holes, Knurling, Modern offset panels, Modern stacked panels, Patina hammered, Patina hammered bricks, Plates, Plates - hexagon, Prisma tiles, Quilted backsplash, Single diamond plate, Stripe, Textured, Variation, Vein, Weave 01, Weave 02, Weave 03
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Metal colors - Aqua racer, Argent, Black 0, Black 25, Black 50, Black 75, Blue, Borealis, Brown, Candytron, Dark, Darkened, Deep purple, Desert fire, Goblin fire, Golden, Golden green, Golden lavender, Gray, Gray 0, Gray 25, Gray 50, Gray 75, Green, Ivory, Lemon, Lime, Magenta, Orange, Pale, Pearl, Pink slip, Purple, Purple blue, Red, Russet, Salmon, Sand, Satin, Scarabeus, Sky blue, Tan, Teal, Two-toned, White, Yellow
You can also use color to change the metal type. See Change Appearance material type with color.
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Additional metal-related terms - Aged, Anodized, Antique, Bare, Base, Bright and bumped, Brushed, Brushing, Cast, Coat, Corroded, Crusted, Dapple, Decayed, Dirty, Faint, Fine, Fingerprints, Foil, Gel, Gloss, Glossy, Glossy streaks, Heavy, Imperfections, Light, Matte, Medium, Minimal, Natural, New clean, Old, Oxidized, Patina, Polished, Pure, Rough, Rust, Scratched, Scuffed, Scuffs and grime, Sheet, Shiny, Slight, Slightly wrinkled, Smudgy, Soft splotches, Splotchy, Spots, Streaks, Strong, Very strong, Vintage, Warm, Water stains, Weathered, Worn, Wrinkled
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Specialized metal Appearance options:
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Apply flake coating - Apply a layer of metallic flakes to an existing material. See Apply a layer of metallic flake coating to an existing material.
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Apply thin metal coating - Apply a thin metal coat to an existing material. See Apply thin metal coating as a base for powder coated metal.
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Metallic roughness - Apply a PBR metallic roughness material to a part.
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PBR Metallic Roughness - Apply a glTF 2.0 PBR metallic roughness material to a part. This is similar to the Metallic roughness Appearance, but with additional parameters that can be adjusted.
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The following are a few examples that show different metal appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of wood appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every wood type has every option. For example, Bamboo may not come in a particular pattern or color. This is a list of terms associated to Wood Appearances.
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Wood types - Ash, Bamboo, Beech, Birch, Bubinga, Burlwood, Cherry, Cork, Cork board, Mahogany, Maple, Pine, Poplar, Red cedar, Oak, Teak, Walnut, and White oak
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Wood patterns - Brick, Brick bond, Chantilly, Chevron, Cubes, Diagonal, Double herringbone, Fan parquet, Floorboards, Herringbone, Hexagon, Inlaid, Isometric, Mosaic, Parquet, Planks, Stack, Stack bond, Tessellated, Tiles, Versailles, and Wood strip
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Wood colors - Ash, Cherry, Chocolate, Ebony, Golden, Gray, Hazelnut, Honey, Ivory, Mahogany, Mocha, Mountain, Natural, Nutmeg, Red, and White
You can also use color to change the wood type. See Change Appearance material type with color.
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Additional wood-related terms - Aged, Bleached, Carbon/Carbonized, Caulk, Clear, Coated, Contrast, Cool, Cork board, Dark, Dirty, Fineline, Gloss, Laminate, Light, Matte/Matted, New, Oiled, Painted, Pickled, Polished, Rich, Rough, Rustic, Timber, Scrubbed, Shades, Smudges, Variation, and Warm
The following are a few examples that show different wood appearances applied to a model of a table top. For reference, the table is modeled at 600 m width x 600 m length x 50 m height. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of stone and ceramic appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every stone or ceramic type has every option. For example, a ceramic may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, Metal - age quilted backsplash - moonstone copper is returned if you filter the search for Stone or filter the search for Metal. This is a list of terms associated to Stone and Ceramic Appearances:
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Stone or ceramic types -Ashlar, Ceramic, Chalk, Clay, Concrete, Emerald, Granite, Kynite, Marble, Obsidian, Porcelain, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Slate, Soapstone, Terracotta, Terrazzo, Travertine
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Stone or ceramic patterns - Basket weave, Checker, Cobblestone, Confetti, Cracked, Diagonal, Diagonal 3x3, Diagonal 5x5, Diamond, Floral, Grid, Herringbone, Hexagon, Interlocking, Ledge, Metal variation, Opus, Paving, Pebbles, Pinwheel, Quilted, Rosette, Stack, Stacked 3x3, Stacked 4x4, Stripe, Textured, Tile, Veined, Weave, Windmill
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Stone or ceramic colors - Amber, Aqua, Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Charcoal, Copper, Cremello, Ebony, Emerald, Glacier, Gold, Golden, Gray, Green, Honey, Ivory, Jade, Light blue, Maroon, Moonstone, Navy, Navy blue, Neutral gray, Olive, Peach, Red, Rose, Rust, Sand, Sea, Silver, Tan, Truffle, Turquoise, Verde, White, Yellow
You can also use color to change the stone type. See Change Appearance material type with color.
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Additional stone- and ceramic-related terms - Aged, Arctic, Backsplash, Baltic, Butterfly, Caledonia, Castor, China, Coat, Compound 1, Crystal coat, Custom, Dapple, Desert, Dirt, Dried, European, Eyes, Fired, Formwork, Galaxy, Giallo fiorito, Glaced, Ice, Icy, Loose, Matte, Mediterranean, Metallic, Morning, Mustang, Natural, New, Pearl, Polished, Raw, Small, Stormy, Sunset, Tiger skin, Timber, Tones.
The following are a few examples that show different stone and ceramic appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of plastic appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every plastic type has every option. For example, a plastic may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for Metal brings up Metallic plastic appearances. This is a list of terms associated to plastic appearances:
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Plastic types -PCB, Plastic, Polycarbonate, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polystyrene, Styrofoam
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Plastic patterns - Diamond watermark, Mesh, Textured
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Plastic colors - Black, Blue, Blue, Brown, Gray, Green, Ivory, Lemon, Lime, Magenta, Olive, Orange, Purple, Red, Salmon, Tan, Teal, White, Yellow
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Additional plastic-related terms - Base, Clear, Cloudy, Dark, Diffuse, Fresnel, Hard, Light, Metallic, Rough, Sky, Smudges, Soft, Spectral, SSS, Thick, Transparent
The following are a few examples that show different plastic appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of paint appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every paint type has every option. For example, a paint may not come in a particular color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for paint brings up Metallic paint appearances, which could also come up in a search for metal. This is a list of terms associated to paint appearances:
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Paint types -Brick clinker, Carpaint, Chalk paint, Chalk paint pebbles, Effect pigment paint, Eggshell, Flaky paint, Flipflop paint, Gloss paint, Gun Metal, Measured carpaint, Metallic, Paint
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Paint colors - Aqua, Aqua racer, Ash, Bark, Black, Black 0/25/50/75, Black bean, Blue, Borealis, Brown, Burnt red, Camel, Candytron, Cashmere, Charcoal blue, Contemplation, Copper, Deep emerald, Deep purple, Denim, Desert fire, Distance, Earth, Ebony, Elation, Extra white, Felted wool, Forest, Goblin fire, Golden green, Golden lavender, Gray, Gray 0/25/50/75, Green, Ivory, Jade, Leaf, Lime, Maroon, Misty, Moonlight, Moonstone, Morning dew, Night watch, Nude, Olive, Orange, Origami, Painted terracotta, Painted white, Painted yellow, Pale rose, Peach, Pearl, Pink slip, Plum, Purple, Purple blue, Red, Rose ash, Roses, Salmon, Sand, Scarabeus, Slate, Stone, Summernight, Sunny, Tan, Taupe, Teal, Truffle, Vanilla, White, Wine, Yellow
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Additional paint-related terms - 2 layers, 3 layers, Dark, Flat, Gel-coat, Gloss, Light, Planks, Satin, Semi-gloss, Slightly painted, Sloppy paint job, Straight, Textured
The following are a few examples that show different paint appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of glass appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every glass type has every option. For example, a glass may not come in a particular color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for smudges also brings up the Wood laminate oak - smudges appearance. This is a list of terms associated to glass appearances:
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Glass types -Colored flint glass, Frosted, Glass, Glass clear, Glass fiber, Glass glazing, Glazing, Mirror
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Glass colors - Blue, Blue sky, Blueish, Bronze, Evergreen, Green, Greenish, Gray, Orange, Petrol, Purple, Red, Sea blue, Smoked sky, Teal, White, Yellow
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Additional glass-related terms - Automotive, Barium, Boron, Bright, Clear, Cool, Crown, Dark, Dense, Dirt, Drop, Dust, Dusty, Etched, Extra, Flint, Float, Flourine, Frit, GF2A003, GF2A004, GF3A003, GF3A004, Heavy, Lanthanum, Large, Light, Medium, Mixed, Phosphate, Privacy, Saturated, Small, Smoked, Smudges, Spandrel, Stains, Tempered, Thick, Thin, Tinted, Variation, Warm, Deep, Soft
The following are a few examples that show different glass appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of fabric appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every fabric type has every option. For example, a fabric may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for Mesh brings up plastic, metal and fabric mesh appearances. This is a list of terms associated to fabric appearances:
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Fabric types -Bird netting, Burlap, Chiffon, Cotton, Denim, Docks, Felt, Flanel, FW, Lace, Linen, Long floor carpet, Mesh, Messenger, Mona, Netting, Organza, Polyester, Rayon, Satin, Sheer lace, Silk, TrioCut, Tweed, Velvet
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Fabric patterns - Dots, Fine woven, Floral, Leaves, Pattern, Patterned, Pique weave, Roughly woven, Stripes, Swirl, Triangles, Vein
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Fabric colors - Academy blue, Amethyst, Beige, Black, Black, Blue, Bordeaux, Brick, Brown, Burgundy, Burnt coral, Buttercream, Carulean, Champagne, Charcoal, Cherry Red, Dark, Dark ash, Dark red, Desert , ist, Eggplant, Electric blue, Emerald, English green, Euro blue, French blue, Gold, Golden, Grape, Gray, Green, Green ash, Indigo, Inkwell, Kelly green, Khaki, Lavender, Marigold, Mint, Mustard, Navy blue, Orange, Orange, Petrol, Pink, Plum, Purple, Raspberry, Red, Rose, Rust, Salmon, Sapphire, Seafoam, Silver, Sky blue, Steel gray, Taupe, Tournament green, Turquoise, Ultimate gray, Vanilla, White, Yellow
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Additional fabric-related terms - Dark, Iridescent, Light, Matte, Medium, Natural, Saturated, Thick
The following are a few examples that show different fabric appearances applied to a surface. For reference, the surface dimensions are roughly .075 m length x .075 m width. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of leather appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every leather type has every option. For example, a leather may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for Pigment brings up both paint and leather appearances. This is a list of terms associated to leather appearances:
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Leather types -Leather, Suede
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Leather patterns - Holes, Linear, Pattern, Pebbled, Snake, Spotted, Textured
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Leather colors - Ash, Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Chocolate, Cognac, Eggshell, Gray, Green, Grey, Lemon, Mint, Orange, Peach, Purple, Red, Red oak, Salmon, Tan, Turquoise, Violet, Yellow
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Additional Leather-related terms - 1, 2, Aniline, Car, Dark, Grunge, Light, Medium, Pigmented, PU, Pull up, Semi, Shiny, Smooth, Soft, Split, Upholstery
The following are a few examples that show different leather appearances applied to a surface. For reference, the surface dimensions are roughly .075 m length x .075 m width. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of paper and wallpaper appearances. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. Bear in mind that not every paper type has every option. For example, a paper may not come in a particular pattern or color. Also, there may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for Fan brings up wood appearances, in addition to paper appearances. This is a list of terms associated to paper and wallpaper appearances:
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Paper types -Basic stencil, Cardboard, Chevron stencil, Construction, Double fan stencil, Double Morroccan stencil, Fan stencil, Isometric stencil, Moroccan stencil, Paper, Wallpaper, Watercolor
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Paper patterns - Abstract, Fill, Floral lace, Floral vintage, Grid, Lines, Lotus, Pattern, Pisces, Ruled, Textured, Vintage floral damask
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Paper colors - Arctic, Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Carbon, Gold, Gray, Green, Olive, Orange, Pearl, Pink, Plum, Red, Red-gold, Rose, Russet, Savannah, Silver, Teal, Violet, White, Yellow
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Additional paper-related terms - Baby, Coldpress, Craft, Custom, Faded, Gloss, Light, Mint, New, Newsprint, Photo, Sepia, Shades, Spring, Tissue, Values, Velum, Vibrant, Worn
The following are a few examples that show different paper appearances applied to a surface. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:

Render Studio comes with a wide selection of additional appearances that don't fit into any main category. They can be roughly categorized and filtered using the following terms. There may be overlap with other materials. For example, a search for Stone may bring up facade appearances. This is a list of terms associated to these miscellaneous appearances:
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Ground terms -Ash, Asphalt, Asphalt varied, Ballast, Beige, Beige mix, Black, Blue, Brown, Charred moss, Cool mix, Dark gray, Dark green, Dirt, Exquisit paving, Faded, Blue, Forest green, Glacier, Gravel track, Gray, Green, Ground aggregate exposed, Ground hard court, Ground leaves oak, Heavy moss, Leaves, Light green, Light mix, Matte, Moss patches, Mossy, Obsidian, Ochre, Olive green, Orange, Pea gravel, Pebbled soil, Red, Red desaturated, Rock, Rough gravel, Russet, Sand, Shiny, Slightly mossy, Tar, Warm gray, White, Yellow
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Facade terms - Ash, Brick Clinker, Bright, Brown, Cracked, Dark, Dirt, Facade brick grey, Facade granular noise, Glaced, Granular, Matte, New, Paint, Plaster rough, Plaster wall, Red, Sand, Shiny, Slightly, Sloppy job, Wall, Weathered
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Stucco terms - Adobe fresco, Aqua, Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Burnt red, Cerulean, Chalk, Clay, Coarse white, Cream, Dark gray, Dashed, Exterior, Fine, Gray, Jade, Light gray, Light Yellow, Mauve, Mud, Obsidian, Olive, Plaster venetian rough, Plaster venetian smooth, Slate, Slate, Smooth, Stucco, Taupe, Textured, Troweled, White
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Rubber terms - Bisected, Black, Blue, Brown, Checker, Classic, Dark, Disc, Flooring, Glossy, Gray, Green, Light, Matte, Navy, Olive, Orange, Purple, Red, Rubber, Salmon, Smooth, Square, Squares, Studded, Tan, Textured, Vinyl, Yellow
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Tape terms - Beige, Black, Blue, Clear, Duct tape, Electrical, Glossy, Green, Grid tape, Masking, Matte, Off-white, Orange, Red, Retroreflective tape, Silver, Tape, White, Yellow
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Liquid terms - Broth, Caribbean, Clear, Clear lake, Dense, Dirty, Green, Heavy, Indoor pool, Light, Low, Oil, Pond, Reef, Reflecting pool, Rusty, Sea, Swamp, Swimming pool, Tropical blue, Water murky, Water ocean, Water pool
See Render liquid in a glass for an example of how to use the Liquid appearances.
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Gems terms - Alexandrite, Amethyst, Ametrine, Aquamarine, Citrine, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Iolite, Jade, Morganite, Onyx, Pearl, Peridot, Ruby, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Topaz, Tourmaline, Turquoise, Zircon
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Jelly terms - Apple, Dark, Green, Jelly, Jelly clear, Lemon, Orange, Pineapple, Raspberry, Red, Strawberry, White, Yellow
The following are a few examples that show these various appearances applied to a model of a box and a sphere. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The sphere diameter is .3 m. If adjustments are made to the default appearance settings, they are noted in the image caption below the image:


To add a spot light and reflective surface in an Assembly:
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Create a part used as a light source in the Assembly. The first image below shows a disk part used as a bulb inside a lamp head. Next, point the lamp head at an object, The second image below shows the lamp pointed at an artist model. Create a surface beneath both objects; a yellow surface table in the example below:
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Create a Render Studio tab and create a scene from the Assembly.
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Optionally, click the
View tools menu in the graphics area and select Background. In the dialog, select a neutral color:
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Select the bulb part in the Scene graph. Filter the Appearance tab for spot light. Right-click on the spot light thumbnail, and select Assign from the context menu:
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Click the link in the Selection panel's Appearance submenu (first image below). In the Global submenu, change the Spot light intensity to roughly 30000.000. The intensity value may require a higher value, depending on the scene. The light appears on the artist model (third image below):
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Select the table surface in the Scene graph and assign the Clearcoat appearance from the Appearance library (first image below). The lamp, light, and artist model are reflected in the clear surface (second image below):
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To alter the color of the bulb, alter the Spot light color of the bulb in its appearance settings (first image below), or assign an appearance with a color attribute to the lamp head (second image below). A combination of both is shown in the third image below:
Using this method, the light emanates from all directions of the bulb part (the disk). To emit light from only the front of the disk, zoom into the disk part's front face, then click and drag the spot light appearance and drop it on the disk. When the context menu opens, select Assign to face.

A simple way to change from one metal Appearance material to another is via the color attribute. This example creates a polished metal and alters the metal's appearance material (steel, brass, copper, and more) by altering its color.
Use this technique on any appearance that has an associated color parameter; metal, or otherwise; for example, wood, stone, ceramic, glass, and cloth, among others.
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Create the model in Onshape. Then create a scene from the Part Studio or Assembly.
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Select the part(s) In the Scene graph or graphics area.
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Search for Steel in the Appearance library. Right-click on the Steel appearance's thumbnail, and click Assign from the context menu (shown in the first image below). The result is a polished steel appearance (shown in the second image below):
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If multiple parts were selected in the Scene graph or graphics area, deselect all but one. In the Appearance submenu in the Appearance panel, click the Color swatch (shown below):
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Use the following table as a general guideline to map various metal types to their RGB colors, keeping in mind that every type of metal has a range of colors depending on the age, composition, and other factors of the metal:
Display Name R/G/B colors Aluminum 230/230/230 Bismuth 208/203/182 Brass 237/216/134 Bronze 165/128/103 Carbon steel 73/73/71 Chrome 253/253/254 Copper 221/151/120 Gold 249/217/153 Cast Iron 195/192/192 Nickel 198/193/180 Pearl 249/248/246 Silver 244/243/240 Stainless steel 198/198/197 Steel 221/221/220 Titanium 191/188/182 Following are some examples that show how color affects the metal type:
Brass (R: 237; G: 216; B: 134).
Bronze (R: 165; G: 128; B: 103).
Copper (R: 221; G: 151; B: 120).
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Non-traditional colors can also be used. For example, use the following R: 149; G: 191; B: 121 color combination to create a metallic emerald:
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(Additional Option) Use the Reflection roughness setting to alter the highlights and blur. Lower values result in brighter highlights and clearer reflections. Higher values result in duller highlights and more blurred reflections. By default, the Reflection Roughness is set to 0.100 (shown in all the previous examples).
Reflection roughness: 0.000.
Reflection roughness: 0.250.
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(Additional Option) Add a texture to the Bump option. See Add a bump texture for more information. In the example below, search for bump in the filter. Drag and drop the worley_noise_bump_texture on the Bump parameter in the Appearances subfolder:
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Click the worley_noise_bump_texture link to open its parameters and apply the changes to create the texture. In the examples below, the Color of the steel was changed to R: 128; G: 128; B: 128 to create a Carbon steel appearance. Additional texture settings are outlined below each example. For reference, the model square is .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height. The diameter of the sphere is .3 m.
Size: 0.025; Apply_marble: check; Noise_bands: 0.500.
Size: 0.040; Apply_dent: check; Noise_bands: 0.600; Noise_threshold_high: 0.300.
Size: 0.007; Apply_marble: check; Factor: 3.000; Noise_bands: 10.000; Noise_threshold_high: 0.100; Noise_threshold_low: 1.000; Edge: 0.400.

This technique applies a metallic flake coating to an existing material.
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Create the model. Then create a scene from the Part Studio or Assembly. The model here uses two parts: a square .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height; and a sphere with a .3 m diameter:
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In the Scene graph or graphics area, select both parts.
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In the Appearance library search for clear, Right-click on the appearance's thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu. The result is a metallic coating applied to both parts:
Selecting Add Clearcoat and assigning it to a part.
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Deselect all but one of the parts in the Scene graph or graphics area. At this point, any changes made to the selected part's appearance in the Appearance panel is also made to the other parts in tandem.
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Search for Apply flake in the Appearance library. Drag and drop the appearance's thumbnail on the Base parameters > Base material attribute in the Appearance panel:
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Double-click the link to the right of the Base material label (shown in the first image below), and adjust the parameters for the flake coating in the Global submenu (shown in the second image below):
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Flake amount - Amount of visible metallic flakes.
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Base material - Material on which the flake layer is applied.
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Flake orientation randomness - Larger numbers increase sparkle radius around highlights. Lower numbers decrease or dull the sparkle radius.
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Color - Flake color.
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Flake opacity - Metallic flake visibility.
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Roughness - Metallic flake roughness.
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Flake size - Metallic flake size, in mm.
Below are some examples. The first example shows the default. The second example shows some alterations to the flake to give the metal a foil appearance. The third example creates a marble appearance, turning metal into stone. Parameter adjustments are noted in the captions below the images:
![]() Default settings when applied to a Clearcoat. |
![]() Flake amount: 1.000; Flake orientation randomness: 1.000; Color: R: 223 / G: 222 / B: 220; Flake opacity: 1.000; Roughness: 0.000; Flake size: 2.000. |
![]() Flake orientation randomness: 0..000; Color: R: 202 / G: 226 / B: 247; Flake opacity: 1.000; Roughness: 0.500; Flake size: 10.000. |
Tips:
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Add the Apply flake coating to any material's Base appearance. For example, instead of applying it to the Clearcoat appearance, apply it to the Add sheen appearance.
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Many appearances already have the flake coating parameters built into them; for example, the Paint - metallic appearances.

This technique shows how to use the Apply thin metal coating as the start for a powder coated metal appearance.
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Create the model in Onshape. Then create a scene from the Part Studio or Assembly. The model here uses two parts: a square .5 m length x .5 m width x .1 m height; and a sphere with a .3 m diameter:
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Select both parts in the Scene graph or graphics area.
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Search for metal coating In the Appearance library. Right-click on the appearance's thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu. The result is a metallic coating applied to both parts:
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Deselect all but one of the parts in the Scene graph. At this point, any changes made to the Appearance for the selected part in the Appearance panel is also made to the other parts in tandem.
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In the Application panel > Global submenu, set the Reflection roughness to 0.300 and Reflection weight to 0.200:
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Base material - Material on which the metal coat is applied.
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Reflection color - Metal coat color.
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Bumps - Normal or bump map applied to the metal coat.
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Reflection roughness - Metal coat roughness.
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Reflection weight - Metal coat opacity.
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Search for Perlin noise in the Appearance library. Drag and drop the Perlin noise texture -- bump mapping appearance's thumbnail on the Global > Bumps parameter in the Appearance panel:
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The texture is applied and automatically opens in the Appearances panel. This is verified by viewing the hierarchical breadcrumb trail at the top of the Appearance panel:
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In the Placement submenu, set the Tiling to 500.000 x by 500.000 y by 500.000 z. In the Noise parameters submenu, set the Bump strength to 3.000. The final result is shown in the second image below:
Tips:
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As an alternative to the Perlin noise texture, use the Flow noise texture -- bump mapping, or import a custom texture as a file. See Add a custom bump texture.
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Alter the color of the metal appearance using the Reflection color parameter in the Appearance's Global submenu. See Change Appearance material type with color.

The following outlines how to render liquid inside a glass.
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Create a model of the glass and the liquid.
The following shows a cross section of the two parts: The outer glass and the liquid inside. To create a more realistic render, ensure there is an overlap between the glass and liquid inside the glass. This results in more accurate light transmission and refraction between the two adjacent clear appearances, glass and water:
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Render the scene. In the Scene graph, select the glass. In the Appearance library search for Clear glass. Right-click on the appearance's thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu.
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In the scene graph, deselect the glass, then select the liquid. In the Appearance library search for Water pool. Right-click on the Water Pool - Clear Blue appearance's thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu.
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At this point, your liquid will have a blue tint applied (shown in the second image below). With the liquid still selected in the Scene graph, click the Appearance panel title bar. Under the Appearance submenu, set Water tint and Water absorption to 0. This produces a glass of colorless water (shown in the third image below).
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To remove all waves from the water, in the Procedural wave submenu, set the Wave strength to 0 (also shown in the third image below):
The first image shows the back wall and marble table surface. When the glass and liquid are put in place, the effect of light transmission, reflection, and refraction of the glass and water against those surfaces are seen in the second and third images.
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The above examples all work with clear liquids, but you can also create a more opaque liquid, such as milk. To do this, select the liquid in the Scene graph. Search for Colored wax in the Appearance library. Right click, and select Assign from the context menu. In the Appearance Panel > Global submenu, set the Distance to somewhere between 0.001 to 0.010, and set the Color to white:
If modeling an object that is fully enclosed within another object; for example, an ice cube part fully submerged in the water part, both parts do not require an overlap. Model them both flush, without an overlap or gap between them.
There are two Clear glass appearances: Glass - Clear (with a hyphen) has a limited set of parameters to adjust the glass, while Glass Clear (without a hyphen) has a more expanded range of parameters. For this example, either can be used.
See Chapter 15 - Physically plausible scene setup in the NVIDIA Iray - Programmer's Manual for more information.

This technique can be used to create a custom metal grill using the Grill appearance.
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Create the model in Onshape. Then create a scene from the Part Studio or Assembly. The example used here is a simple box that is .5 m length x .5 m width x .5m height.
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Select the part in the Scene graph or graphics area.
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Search for Grill In the Appearance library. Right-click on the Grill - circles appearance's thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu (shown in the first image below). The result is a metal box with circle cutouts (shown in the second image below):
The example in the second image shows the grill with the Green point park Environment applied as a background.
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In a photo editor (Adobe Photoshop or GIMP is recommended), create two files: a Cutout texture and a Bump map. In this example, a spade cutout was created at 300 x 300 pixels. The Cutout texture is a mask file, which is black and white, with no other colors. The black areas of the image represent the transparent grill pattern. This image is then duplicated, blurred, and a bump map filter is applied. This results in the third image below, used for the Bump file:
The first image (left) is used for the Cutout file. This image is then duplicated and blurred (middle), and then run through a Bump map filter (right). It is this third image above which is used for the Bump file.
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With the part selected, in the Appearance submenu in the Appearance panel, click on Actions > Load a file to the right of the Cutout Texture label, and select the black and white Cutout texture image:
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Click Actions > Load a file to the right of the Bump label, and select the Bump map image:
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In the Transform submenu, set the Scale to 0.100 x by 0.100 y, and Translate to 0.500 x by 0.000 y. In the Appearance submenu, set the Bump strength to 0.200, and the Reflection weight to 0.700 (shown in the first image below). The result is a metal box with the custom spade cutouts (shown in the second image below):
Tips:
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Adjust the Transform parameters to make the cutouts larger or smaller, move them along the box edges, or even Rotate them from -360 degrees to +360 degrees.
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To apply the cutouts to only one side of the box, see Add an Appearance to a part face.
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For alternate appearance cutout options, filter the Appearance library for Mesh or apply the Add cut-out appearance. Many of these appearances use the same techniques outlined here. In the case of some appearances, the colors in the custom pattern file used for the mask may need to be inverted before loaded.

Apply a mesh appearance with a custom mesh pattern to create a fence.
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Model two parts that are parallel to each other: a circular tube and a rectangular box. The circular tube is used for the fence railing, and a face on the box is used for the fence:
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Create a scene with the two parts. In the Scene graph, select the railing part. Filter the Appearance library for the Oxidized metal - steel - rusted appearance. Right-click on the thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu:
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In the Appearance panel, alter the settings to required specifications. Here, the following settings were altered from their defaults: Scale: 10.000 x by 10.000 y; Rust bump strength: 0.300; Rust amount: 0.200; Reflection roughness: 0.500; Scuffing: 0.500. These settings create a worn metal appearance:
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In the Scene graph, click the arrow to the left of the box part to reveal all box part faces (Part 1 in the image below):
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Select all sides except the one that is parallel and touching the railing. Filter the Appearance library for Add cut-outs, right-click on the thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu (shown in the first image below). This makes all sides have a gray appearance, except the side attached to the railing (shown in the second image below):
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Deselect all but one of the cut-out faces, and set the Cutout parameter in the Appearance panel to 0.000 (shown in the first image below). The opacity of the sides are 0, which effectively removes them from the scene (shown in the second image below):
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In the Scene graph, deselect all sides and select only the side that is touching the railing. Filter the Appearance library for the Mesh - base plastic - black appearance. Right-click on the thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu:
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In a photo editor (Adobe Photoshop or GIMP is recommended), create and save a fence pattern file. The pattern should be a high contrast black and white image that is a seamless pattern (it wraps around seamlessly in all directions). White represents the mesh, and black represents the transparency, similar to the image here:
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In the Appearance panel > Appearance submenu > Mesh pattern parameter, click Actions > Load a file. Locate and open the previously saved fence pattern:
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Adjust the color and scaling to required specifications, noting that the scaling is dependent on the part dimensions. Higher values create larger fencing (thicker mesh). Smaller values create smaller fencing (thinner mesh). In the image here, the Scale is set to 7.000 x by 7.000 y. The color is adjusted to R: 114; G: 114; B: 114, so it is less black and more silver:
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Apply an appropriate environment for the fence background (Autumn park in this example):
Alternatively, the fence could be modeled as a surface instead of a rectangle. This avoids the process of using the transparency to hide the other rectangle sides. However; depending on how the surface is modeled, Render Studio may see this surface as a 6 sided rectangle, and the pattern may not appear correct.

This example applies heat treated metal to the model.
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Create a model to which you want the heat treated metal applied. The following is a model of a valve assembly:
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Create a scene.
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Select the part to which you want the steel appearance applied in the Scene graph or graphics area. Here, the Valve Body part is selected. Search for Pitted in the Appearance library. Right-click on the Pitted steel - light thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu:
The following shows the default Pitted steel - light appearance:
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To remove the pits in the metal, with the part still selected, in the Adjustments submenu in the Appearance panel, set the Scale to 0.050 x by 0.050 y, and Rotate to 20.000:
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Next, the heat treatment options are applied. In the Appearance submenu, set the Rust pit brightness to 1.000, the Heat treatment to 2.000, and the Steel bump strength to 1.000:
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In the Appearance submenu, decrease or increase the Steel roughness setting to adjust the amount of metallic shine to specifications:
Adjustments may not always yield the same results shown in the sample images here, especially with Transform options, which will depend largely on model size. The size of the Valve Body part here is approximately 350 mm length by 125 mm width by 250 mm height.
Two different Steel roughness settings; -0.500 on the left, and 0.750 on the right.

This example applies a FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) appearance to your Part Studio or Assembly. This appearance can simulate the look of a 3D thermoplastic print.
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Create a model to which you want the appearance applied. The following is a simple model of a boat:
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Create a scene.
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Select the part to which you want the FFF 3D print thermoplastic Appearance applied in the Scene graph or graphics area. Here, the boat is selected. Search for FFF in the Appearance library. Right-click on the FFF 3D print thermoplastic thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu:
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Make any parameter adjustments in the Appearance panel, as required:
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Color
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Color - Thermoplastic color
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Crevace darkness - Sets the crevice darkness between layer lines. A higher value equals darker crevices.
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Geometry
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Layer height - Printed layer height (mm).
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Infill - Creates a rectilinear infill pattern on flat horizontal surfaces.
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Extrusion width - Top and bottom layer printed extrusion width (mm).
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Infill angle - Top and bottom layer infill extrusion line angle (in degrees).
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Flip orientation - Switch layer line direction from the Z to Y axis.
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Base normal - Base normal for the bump map.
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Reflectivity
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Amount - Surface reflectivity. A higher value equals more reflectivity.
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Roughness - Surface roughness. A higher value equals broader highlights and blurrier reflections.
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IOR - Index of refraction (IOR). Controls the reflection's fresnel factor.
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Subsurface scattering
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Amount - Amount of subsurface scattering seen through the surface. A higher value equals more scattering.
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Distance - Subsurface scattering distance at which thicker parts appear darker and thinner parts lighter.
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Brightness - Subsurface scattering brightness. A higher value equals a lighter subsurface scattering.
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Volume IOR - Thermoplastic volume index of refraction (IOR).
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The following shows 2 different angles with different lighting intensities, when zooming into the boat detail:
Adjustments may not always yield the same results shown in the sample images here, especially with Transform options, which will depend largely on model size. The size of the boat part here is approximately 12.5 in length by 6 in width by 9 in height.
FFF 3D print functions
Two functions are also available:
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FFF 3D print bump map - Apply the FFF 3D print bump map function to any the Normal parameter of any appearance that accepts bump maps. For example, it can be applied to the Flexible material model appearance's Normal parameter.
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FFF 3D print texture - Apply the the FFF 3D print texture function to any color parameter of an appearance. This creates patterns of alternating light and dark based on the inputs to simulate layer lines.
Tips
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The AI denoiser can smear the layer line effect introduced by the appearance/functions early in the rendering process. Disabling AI denoising is recommended. If it is not disabled, rendering times may be longer.
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Since the bump map used in the FFF 3D print thermoplastic appearance can produce normals which are dramatically different from the underlying geometry, shading artifacts may be introduced on some geometries. In those cases, select Rootgroup in the Scene graph, then expand the Iray photoreal group, click the Create button next to Shadow terminator offset mode, and set this parameter to On:

Further information and resources can be found here:
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NVIDIA Iray - Programmer's Manual - https://doc.realityserver.com/doc/resources/general/iray/manual/index.html#preface#.
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NVIDIA Ray Tracing Documentation - https://raytracing-docs.nvidia.com/.
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Material Definition Language (MDL) handbook - http://mdlhandbook.com/.
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Additional free environments - https://polyhaven.com/hdris.
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Additional free textures - https://polyhaven.com/textures.
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Additional free IES light profiles - https://ieslibrary.com/en/home.