29 June 2018

Tip of the month! June: Object material variations



Welcome to the TOTM for June! This month we'll go over the function for giving objects multiple material variations. Very useful if you are looking to highlight a specific object for a client, or for changing the look of the scene on the fly.

To begin, select an object that you would like to add material variations to.


Once you have done this you need to select the Edit object function. This can be done from the ribbon as you can see above, or you can also right click the object and select the function from the options that pop up.
The object editor will now open.


Now simply select the Edit variants option from the ribbon and we are ready to go.


On the left you will see a list of materials that are currently associated with your object. To begin adding variants you simply need to choose which of those materials, if not all, you would like to add a variant to.
Select a material, and then click the Add button as highlighted above. Repeat this until you have all of the materials you want to add a variant to.


Now that you have all of your original materials in, you need to add variants. Click New as highlighted above for as many variants as you would like to add.
Once you have these, you can start adding new materials. Click on the preview images as highlighted to open the Material catalogues, then select your new materials. Be careful not to select materials with an "*" at the end of their name.


When you have finished, click the yellow Accept button and select OK. You can now close the editor. Select Yes when it asks you if you would like to update the object in your project.


With the object selected, you can now switch between variations on the fly. Click the Select variation option from the Extras tab.


Simply choose the variant that you would like to see from the window that pops up, select OK and the object will switch to the selected variation in the scene.



Easy! Have a go and offer up some interesting options for your clients!

Greetings from Stuttgart
Your Palette CAD Blog Team

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