Create Realistic Materials with Cycles

You are here: Home > Videos > Create Realistic Materials with Cycles

Discover how to create rusted metal, shoe prints, dirty glass and more in this advanced tutorial for texturing enthusiasts.

Length:
53 minutes
Software:
Blender 2.63
Difficulty:
Advanced
Rate:
VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 4.6/5 (187 votes cast)

In this tutorial you will discover how to create:

  • A rusted material
  • Worn wood with foot prints
  • Dirty glass
  • Alpha masked trees
  • Lens flare

(scroll down for the material node setups)

Cycles has been around for a while now, and while shiny perfect floors are fun, it’s important to challenge yourself with more ‘interesting’ materials from time to time.

You won’t find any modelling or lighting in this tutorial, just materials. So you can either start with your own scene, or download the starter scene below.

Final Result

Discover how to create these materials

Discover how to create these materials

 

Download the Starter File

Node Setups

To save time, here’s the complete material node setup screenshots…

Rusted Material

Complete node setup for Rusted Metal in Cycles

Node setup for the rusted metal material

Wooden Floor Material

Node setup for a wooden floor material

Node setup for a wooden floor material

Dirty Glass

Node setup for a dirty glass material

Node setup for a dirty glass material

 Alpha Masked Trees

Node setup for alpha masked material in Cycles

Node setup for alpha masked material in Cycles

 Wooden Post

The most difficult material I've ever made

The most difficult material I've ever made

Compositing Setup

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Now go forth and create some realistic cycles materials ;)

Create something cool? Post it in the comments below!

Create Realistic Materials with Cycles, 4.6 out of 5 based on 187 ratings

About Andrew Price

User of Blender for 9+ years. I've written tutorials for 3d World Magazine and spoken at three Blender conferences. My goal is to help artists get employed in the industry by making training accessible and easy to understand. I'm an Aussie and I live in South Korea ;)
READ MORE

Related Videos

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →
  • Trent

    I was trying a lot of combinations and trying as hard as I could to get the glass to look as close to what you have it at 29:40 but I couldn’t. The white was all over the place and I could not get it to be reflected of the top sides. I kept trying until the Blender application said “Enough!” and died on me. Unfortunately, I forgot to save. But other than that, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do differently or instead of?

  • paulina

    Maybe I have so weak computer?? ;-)

  • paulina

    Hello Andrew, I want to thank You for Your tutorials, they are really amazing.
    I have a qestion about a Cicles. I see that this engine is much better than the blender one but in I have a problem. All of my renders are very noisy and I don’t know what should I do with that. I tried to set up the samples on about 2000, but my render was still noise. What should I do?
    I will be gratefull for some adwice.
    Regards,
    paulina.

  • Robyn

    You’re a *legend*, Andrew! I really love the fact that you appeal to those of us who don’t learn the best by watching a video in that you put up screenshots of the shaders. One of the HUGE things I love about your Nature Academy course – best investment I ever made… almost paid for, too! :D – are the pdfs you include with your videos. Brilliant stuff… gotta hand it to you, mate, this is all golden.

    Can’t wait to see more on Cycles materials – starting to get into character development, and looking for good skin and eyes and – wow! – hair!

  • http://timothybright.com Tim

    Super tute Andrew, I learnt a lot – and the final image looks fantastic

  • Hakkı Rıza

    Thanks fort the tutorial Andrew!
    I just finished it and I shocked when I saw the texture of the shoes!

  • http://www.blenderguru.com/videos/rendering-an-interior-scene-with-cycles brandon

    for some reason i dont have the blur node why does this happen?

  • http://www.blenderguru.com/videos/rendering-an-interior-scene-with-cycles brandon

    what version of gimp are you using????

  • http://blenderguru.com Josh

    Hey guys i found an easier way to add those foot prints and make them look realistic without using gimp there is a website called picmonkey.com
    http://www.picmonkey.com/
    you can add an overlay to the wood texture and you can get those footprints from google. so try that it worked for me

    Blender 2.63

  • help

    Hi ANDREW

    I try make Camera tracking and it’s work, but if i try change a box different object, i dont see shadows :l where is problem..

  • http://www.phanmemblender.com/ sticker

    Unbelievable! I love the floor! too real.

  • cxxl

    Great Tuts Andrew, they have all inspired me… but this one seems totally different to the Node options I have in Version 2.63?? ..especially when it comes to the UV mapping… I dont see any options to rescale or align… it’s very frustrating… Am I missing something?
    Cheers, Chris

    • cxxl

      Hmmm.. disregard… I’ve discovered Cycles thanks to your doughnut tutorial :-)

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/crohack97 Leon

    This is my 3D Parkur and Action Flying game :D Sick !
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1XhYp-P32Y

  • maya

    Will you release a new tutorial today?

  • amogh

    make a tutorial on motion capture in blender
    pls
    thank you

  • Dylan

    Amazing tutorial, as always, Andrew. Thanks a ton!
    I’m working on a project in Cycles and I am trying to use your method to add a sky in the background but it doesn’t seem to work. I used the same method on my last Cycles project and it was fine, but it just doesn’t work here. Can anyone tell me what I’m missing? http://puu.sh/ChDa Thank you, in a advance.

  • http://michelcavro.com Michel Cavro

    I just love the oldish picture with your dad. That was my favourite part :-D
    Very sweet tutorial, as usual.
    Thank you Andrew

  • seamus
  • http://www.chrisfolea.com Chris Folea

    The multiply controls the bump like that because you’re literally multiplying pixel values.

    If the factor of multiply is 1, then you’re multiplying a value of 1 (white) by each of the rust texture pixels, so you literally get the rust texture.

    If the factor of the multiply is 0, then you’re not doing anything to the first channel of the multiply node (white), so your displacement map is solid white.

    Anything in between (I.E a value like 0.5) will be that fraction of the pixel value mixed with white.

    It would work exactly the same if you used a black value with a screen mix node.

    It would also work exactly the same if you just used a mix node with either white or black in the second channel and the image texture in the first channel…

    Hope this helps!

  • sebastian

    are you only doing cycles tutorials now

  • lander blessing

    please, can you render an animation using cycles
    cos, it kind of giving though times
    and please help me with fluid stimulation in animation especially a moving object containing a fluid.
    it not really working for me

  • Angel

    Hi Andrew. You’re doing great job with this tuts. Your work inspired me.

    Can you do tutorials, which learns us how to do normal maps, specular, diffuse etc.?

    Greatings from Poland ^^.

  • TonyC

    great tut for the compositing champs, but what about a tut for how you modelled the scene Andy ? ;)

  • Jennifer_P

    Thanks, that was very educational. :)

    Would you believe it took me 5 and a half hours to complete?

  • BinaryLinux

    If you want the full photoshop experience in GIMP, the set it to Single Window mode (last selection under Windows).

  • Traligy

    Thanks for a great tutorial must try :D

  • sneakySniper74

    Would i be able to get a finished .blend, just to look at a few things? Thanks for the tutorial :)

  • Blendchan

    and the A5 could be too large *

    google translate using. ^^

  • Blendchan

    Guru,

    For blender, you recommend a intuos A6 or A5 on a screen resolution of 1920 * 1080?

    The A6 could be too small, too large and the A5 (in strenuous movements).

    Thx.

  • Bob Dope

    Hi guys!
    I’m trying to reduce noise using the lightpath trick explained in this tutorial, mixing a glass shader and a transparent shader.
    Only problem is I’m rendering water, and I can’t set the IOR for the transparent material. What we see through the water is flat, the light is not refracted.
    Is there a solution with this trick? Thanks

  • Rebeka

    Hello!
    Very nice tutorial, you rock!
    I have a little problem.. At the beginnig when you start making textures, you add Node editor view an than at the right side you have menu and there you add texture (material–>colour–>new texture)… I don’t have menu like this and I don’t know where I can add this node. When I click shift+A I can add other nodes but I can’t add multiply and mix shaders node=( What can I do?

    Thanks for help!!

  • Nelsyb

    Nevermind- I guess the MIx node offers more fac. options!
    Thanks!

  • Nelsyb

    Andrew, you can use a Math node instead of a Mix node to combine light rays. It’s strange- I seem to find things out on my own just before watching tutorials on the same topic! The tutorials are great, though.

  • Aktis

    Hello, Can anyone help? I have a texture image (png) on an object at the same time i made that object a glass BSDF.How can I make that image show through the glass?

  • bRezak

    somebody got a prob with the glass material? my basic simple 100% transparent material is still acting as if it were glass! i mean the lighting is so noisy, howewer without the bolb it’s just fine. i think something must have changed in blender… i’ve used several builds but it’s still the same :(

    • bRezak

      ok i’ve figured it out. that’s my old GeForce 9800… I have to use the “experimental” feature set for rendering as the “supported” set does not work with the card because of its low CUDA version.. CPU rendering works fine. need a new card i guess…
      sorry

  • http://www.apertureless.de jakub

    Looks awesome!
    But the sole of the shoe is way to clean and doesnt match the composition. :-P

  • erik.68

    Thank!

  • Adão

    Andrew, acho que a textura da ferrugem do seu render poderia ficar melhor se não tivesse efeito brilhoso nele. :)

  • jokayo

    opak … opa… opaque , its not the first time you do it , do u have a broblem with Opaques !!! :D

  • Kjell Inge Sandvik

    Hi Andrew and thanks again for yet a high-quality tutorial!

    Just a thought: You have in-depth knowledge of Blender and Cycles; how about making a e-book called “Realistic materials in Blender using Cycles” and made it the same type/layout as “The Wow Factor”? The recipies could have a complete node-setup with corresponding explanations and links to online textures and examples.

  • Thomas

    Hi Andrew, thanks for another fantastic tutorial! Here is what I came up with…

    http://s1063.photobucket.com/albums/t505/tcb5000/?action=view&current=lamplarge5.png

  • Deini

    Andrew, i think you shhould make a video about UV unwrapping, for instance with this same scene. I have more problems unwrapping tham apliying or making materials… im a total mess unwrapping, i thin it would help me you explaining, you are very good. So think about it, please, i really need it, i seem stupid coming up with thingns in blender…
    Thansk for your time!

  • craig

    Fantastic tut, really like that your using Gimp.
    But the best is that you’ve included the pictures of your node setups, really nice, thanks

  • ASHOOR

    Hello
    Andrew Price: At first I would like to thank you for the wonderful educational lessons and useful,I wish you all the best
    Sec
    I want to get the program you used TO show click on the mouse or keyboard during recording

    ex:
    http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/6e10/j8oemza1afbm4eg6g.jpg

    thanks for help me :)

    • Ran13

      That is Blender’s internal “Screencast” system.
      You need to enable the add-on “3D View:Screencast Keys” in the Add-on section of User Preferences.

      Nothing to download. It is a default plug-in included with the official BF release.

      Once you do that, there will be a new section in the 3D View properties panel (“n” key to open) labeled “Screencast Keys”. Open that section and press the
      “Start Display” button.

      There are also settings for the placement, size, & font of the key press display.

      • ASHOOR

        thanks a lot :)

        I figured that a separate program
        But is there something like a other 3d programs like 3d Max and Maya
        Because it will help me a lot during the recording of lessons
        And certainly the viewer will benefit greatly

        thanks you again

    • Owen

      It’s a blender addon called Screencast keys or something like that. It’s included with Blender by default.

    • Bryan

      That’s a plugin for Blender. Go to File/user preferences/3dview and check 3dview: Screencast keys.

  • Fritz

    Hello it´s a very nice Tutorial
    Greetings from German
    Fritz

  • Rich

    Great video and really fun to watch. A tiny nit pick: Gaussian is pronounced “gow-see-an” where “gow” rhymes with “cow”. The “Gauss” part comes from the durname of the dude that first proposed the Gaussian: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/De-carlfriedrichgauss.ogg

    • Rich

      *surname… *sigh*

  • fabian

    Wow, This is so cool!

    I will try it, but at the moment my (blender)computer is broken :(

    Thank you
    Fabian

  • dani

    wow..looks greate. Thank you for this nice tutorial.

    Tip: Try Gimp in Single Window Mode

    Open Gimp 2.8 -> Windows -> Single-Window Mode

    have a nice day

  • Данил

    Please, look at the wooden-floor.png
    The last mix shader for displacement has factor 1.000. I think, that makes previous shader unnecessary.

    • Данил

      Ups, watched the video, understood why it so.. mix-color/mix-shader
      A great tutorial! Thank you.

  • LentoTea

    Can anybody help me? When I tried to download the latest blender version (2.63a) the tool bars and the menus are gone when I launch it.

    • Marcos

      You problably installed as with administrator priviledge and the tools were stored in the administrator user folder. Try running blender as administrator (right click on blender.exe and choose run as administrator).
      You will need to keep running as administrator or having such priviledge on the local machine.
      Just a guess.

      • LentoTea

        That didn’t work unfortunately. My toggle system console says this;

        python line lookup failed, interpreter inactive
        search for unknown operator ‘WM_OT_url_open’, ‘WM_OT_url_open’
        uiltemStringO: ‘WM_OT_url_open’ unknown operator

        and this is repeated 5 times

    • Andrew

      I’d suggest checking your versions of Python to make sure it is completely compliant with the newest version of blender. If not then perhaps it’s a small bug in the build. This rarely ever happens from even blender builder bot however just wait ’til tomorrow and try the next… Hope this helps :)

    • Trent

      Is it for the right bit system, 32 or 64?

← Older Comments
Newer Comments →