Library of standard materials for 3ds max

In the process of developing a scene, creating your project, it is easier to use a library of materials to take ready-made and frequently used materials, and then adjust them, than to create new ones each time. It is for this reason that the 3ds max developers have created a convenient system of material libraries that are physically located on your hard drive in the form of a file with the extension.mat. When you install 3ds Max for the first time, a ready-made template library calledAecTemplates.mat, which is intended for creating standard materials for architecture and the standard 3ds Max material library, which contains the following necessary categories:

- Backgrounds (background images);
- Bricks (brickwork);
- Ground (ground);
- Metal (metals);
- Sky (sky);
- Space (space);
- Stones (stone);
- Wood (tree).

Along with these libraries, when installing 3ds Max, libraries of architectural materials are also installed, which you can find in installation folder max-a, in the materiallibraries directory (in the case of 3ds max 2008) or in the matlibs folder (in more earlier versions max-a).

Access to the materials library.

To open the materials library you need:

1. Open the material editor in 3ds Max (Rendering -> Material Editor, or just click on the hotkeyM).

2. In the field Browse Fromselect buttonMlt Library.

3. Click the button in the material editorGet Material, to open the windowMaterial/Map Browser(navigator for libraries, materials, textures).

4. By default, the standard max library should open, which is stored in the 3dsmax.mat file, you will see a list of materials from this library.

5. In order to open another library of materials, you need to select in the fieldFile button Open. A window will open Open Material Library(Fig. 1).

6. B standard window select files, find the library of materials you need on disk and click the buttonOpen, then you will see a list of materials from the selected library in the windowMaterial/Map Browser.


rice. 1. Material Library window for opening material libraries.

Material Library Features

When working with the library, you can add your materials to it, delete them, or combine them with other libraries:

- you can add the desired material to the library by simply dragging it from the slot into the windowMaterial/Map Browser. Another way is to press the button when the desired slot with the material is activatedPut Material to Library(Place the material in the library);

- you can load all materials from another library into the current library by clicking the Merge button and selecting required file libraries on disk;

- by clicking the button Delete From Library(Remove from Library) allows you to remove unnecessary material. All changes will be saved only after pressing the buttonSave(Save);

- if you want to completely empty the library of materials placed in it, you need to press the buttonClear Material Library(Clear material library). Using this method, you can create an empty blank “for yourself”, filling it later with the necessary materials.

Creating a Material Library

To manage libraries, there are commands in the fieldFile window Material/Map Browser:

- Save(Save) - saves the library to HDD in the form of a file with the extension .mat, with the same name. Textures used in library materials are NOT saved to this file. Be careful not to overwrite the default 3ds Max Material Library.

- Save As(Save As) accordingly allows you to specify the file name under which you want to save the library.

To create your own library of materials, add all necessary materials from slots toMaterial/Map Browser, then using the buttonSave Assave the library to your hard drive under the right name, For exampleMyLib. Eat quick way to save all materials of the current scene - select itemScene in the shape of Browse Fromand after displaying all materials, save the library by pressing the buttonSave As.

Naturally, to save time, so as not to create the same materials every time, make your own personal library of materials, which you will gradually fill and use in subsequent projects.

The 3D MAX program helps you design in detail architectural objects, locations, interiors, cartoon characters, movies and much more. It's almost major program for those who work with computer graphics. But since it is quite voluminous and complex program, you need to learn it methodically, persistently and for a long time. The 3D MAX tutorial and various forums can be a great help in mastering its basics. In this article we will talk about the aspect of adding a material library to 3D MAX. We’ll also talk about how to create a personal library.

Adding a new library

3D MAX initially offers a choice of 15 libraries, grouped into 6 groups: metal, wood, stones, sky, earth and brick. All additional materials and textures can be easily downloaded on the Internet. Library files are saved in .mat format. To add a library to the program, you need to open the material editor (M on the keyboard or the ball with an arrow icon). On the left in the Browse from block, select Mtl Library, and then Open a little lower. A dialog box called Open Material Library will open, here you select the library you need and click the Open button.

Using the Merge command, you can add new materials to the current library, which is this moment loaded and in use. The Save button will save the current library taking into account all new updates. If you want to save all new materials and textures in the library, use Save button As.

How to create your own library?

It is quite difficult to create an interior or exterior in 3D MAX from scratch and it is quite easy to get confused in the number of materials offered for use. Many people prefer to create personal libraries with frequently used textures or for a specific object. This allows you to have your favorite materials at your fingertips quick access and not pollute the main libraries.

To do this, open the scene from which we want to save the texture map and press the Latin M on the keyboard, select the Scene item from the Browse From block. In the Map Browser window, click the Save As button. The Save Material Library window opens, where you need to specify the name of the library. Save and enjoy.

To add new material, press M on the keyboard, in the library window we find the Put to Library button. You must enter the name of the material in the dialog box and save. You can remove the card using Delete buttons from Library.

In 3ds Max 2017 there is big set ready-made materials, but basically all of them are for mental ray rendering.
To get to the materials library, click on the button Get Material(Get material). In the window that opens Material/Map Browser Expand the Autodesk Material Library rollout. Several hundred materials are stored here, divided into categories (Fig. 1).

If you don't see the Autodesk Material Library rollout, select Mental ray as the active renderer.

To make libraries appear more large icons, - click on the scroll with the library name right click mouse and select the command Display Group (and Subgroups) - As Large Icons.

You can create your own library of materials for any render and add materials from different projects to it. To do this in the window Material/Map Browser select an option from the drop-down list New Material Library(New Material Library) as shown in Fig. 2. Enter a name new library and save it to disk. Please note that library files have a .mat extension and, by default, are stored in the 3ds Max/materiallibraries folder. You can expand this folder with additional libraries, for example, adding them from previous versions 3ds Max.

After creating a new library, it needs to be filled with materials. It can be done simple drag and drop materials from slots to the library (Fig. 3). Periodically save the library by right-clicking on its name and selecting Save.

To open the materials library in a new file, click on the button Get Material(Take material). A window will open Material/Map Browser. Select an option from the drop-down list Open Material Library(Open material library).

You can load materials from any max-file. To do this, in the selection window, specify option.max as the file type.

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