Multi-Materials

Any material can be turned into a Multi-Material to facilitate non-destructive material swapping, variations or color studies. The Multi-Material allows you to cycle through a variety of materials within a single “container” material.

Converting to Multi-Materials

When editing a material select the three-arrow Multi-Material icon  above the Material Type drop-down to convert a single material to a Multi-Material. You can also convert a material to a Multi-Material by Shift+drag and drop from the library.

Adding Multi-Materials

There are several ways to add a new material to the Multi-Material list:

• Drag-and-drop onto Multi-Material list
  Simply drag-and-drop a material preset from the Materials library into the Multi-Material list.
  
• Shift+Drag-and-drop onto part in the Real-time View
  Holding Shift while dropping a material from the library onto a part in the Real-time View will add the material as a sub-material. If the material of the part is a single material it will be converted to a Multi-Material.
• New Plastic
  Select the New Plastic icon  on the left of Multi-Material list. This will add a standard Plastic material.
  
• Duplicate Material
  Select the Duplicate Material icon  on the left of the Multi-Material list. This will duplicate the material selected along with any texture and/or label, but keep the textures and labels unlinked.
• Duplicate Material and Link Textures
  Select the Duplicate Material and Link Textures icon  on the left of the Multi-Material list. This will duplicate the material selected along with any texture and/or label, but keep the textures and labels linked.

Viewing Multi-Materials

To view or edit the different materials in your list, simply select a material to make it active in the Real-time View. You may also use the arrow keys to cycle up or down through the list.

The thumbnail of in the In-Project Library will show the active material combined with a label signifying that the material is a Multi-Material.

Saving Multi-Materials

Like regular materials you create, you can also save Multi-Materials. To save a Multi-Material, select the save icon  and select the folder you would like to save it in. 

Removing Multi-Materials

To remove a material from the Multi-Material list, select the trashcan icon  or hit Delete. Additionally, you may overwrite all materials added to the list by dragging and dropping another material onto the part or cancel Multi-Material setup by selecting the three-arrow Multi-Material icon  to close the Multi-Material list.