PBR Shaders

PBR Material Setup

For the following example, we will be using this material to utilise a chosen Tileable/Seamless map set downloaded from 3dassets.one.

Recommendation: If you wish to use these textures to their full effect, you’ll need to use it with a PBR material. Use the OpenPBR material (recommended) or Maya’s StandardSurface.
  1. Open the Hypershade: Use the icon at the top of the interface or navigate to Windows > Rendering Editors > Hypershade.
    [UPLOAD IMAGE: Hypershade Icon/Interface Location]
  2. Create Material: Create a new PBR material and name it appropriately.
    Create > Materials > OpenPBR Surface
  3. Graph the Network: Right-click and hold the material thumbnail, then select Graph Network.
    [UPLOAD IMAGE: Graph Network Selection]
  4. Connect Base Colour: Click the large node in the editor representing the material. Click the Checker button next to Base Colour and select File.
    [UPLOAD IMAGE: Base Colour Connection Workflow]

    This creates 2 nodes and automatically plugs them into the Colour attribute. Use the folder icon in the File node to navigate to your texture map.

  5. Specular Roughness: Repeat the actions for the Specular Roughness attribute.
    Pro Tip: Add an aiRange node between the file and the input for more control over map intensity.
  6. Metallic: Repeat for the Metallic map if applicable to your material.
  7. Normal Map Setup (Critical): Normal maps require specific handling. A Normal (OpenGL) map must go into the Normal Camera / Bump Mapping input.
    Attribute Editor View: In the Hypershade menu, ensure you have toggled to the Attribute Editor view. Look for the Geometry section to find the Bump Mapping value.
    [UPLOAD IMAGE: Look Dev and Attribute Toggle.jpg]
  8. Color Space: Change the Normal Map file node’s Color Space to RAW.
  9. Bump2d Node: If using a Bump2d node, change the “Use As” setting from Bump to Tangent Space Normals.
  10. DirectX Correction: If using a DirectX normal type, use the Flip Y or Green channel options in the Bump2d or aiNormalMap nodes to fix inverted lighting issues.
  11. Optimization: Delete all but one of your place2dTexture nodes. Plug the single output into each of your file nodes. This allows you to scale the entire material using just one node.
    [UPLOAD IMAGE: Optimized place2dTexture Graph]

More Resources

  • Video Tutorial: PBR Setup Guide
  • PBR Values Reference: physicallybased.info (Excellent for finding real-world values for metallic and roughness)
  • Advanced Methods: Explore Image-based textures using Adobe Substance Painter.

ANI30003 Animation Preproduction | PBR Material Workflow