Shell Material for Texture Baking

The Shell material is for use with texture baking.

• Render to a texture. > Material Editor > Pick Material from Object > Click object with baked material.
Note: The material appears in the Material/Map Browser only if the active renderer supports it.

When you use Render To Texture to bake a texture, it creates a Shell material that contains two materials: the original material used in the rendering, and the baked material. The baked material uses a bitmap that is saved to disk by Render To Texture. It is “baked,” or attached to an object in the scene.

The Shell material is a container for other materials, like Multi/Sub-Object. It also lets you control which material is used in which renderings.

Note: The Material/Map Browser lists the Shell material when you assign a new material. You can apply two materials to a single object this way, but changing a material's type to Shell does not generate a baked texture that is saved to disk.

Procedures

To load a shell material into the Material Editor:

1. Click an unused sample slot. In the Slate Material Editor, the sample slots are in the last group displayed by the Material/Map Browser panel.
2. Click Pick Material From Object.
3. In a viewport, click an object that has a baked material.

   The sample slot now contains the baked material.

   • In the Compact Material Editor, the Shell Material Parameters rollout is immediately visible.
   • In the Slate Material Editor, drag the sample slot into the active View as an instance, then double-click the Shell mode so you can see the material’s parameters.

Interface

Original Material

Displays the name of the original material. Click the button to view that material and adjust its settings.

Baked Material

Displays the name of the baked material. Click the button to view that material and adjust its settings.

In addition to the coloring and maps used by the original material, the baked material can include shadows from lighting, and other information. Also, a baked material has a fixed resolution.

Viewport

Use these buttons to choose which material appears in shaded viewports: the original material (upper button) or the baked material (lower button).

Render

Use these buttons to choose which material appears in renderings: the original material (upper button) or the baked material (lower button).