Welcome to KeyShot 2KeyShot is the first interactive image creation tool of its kind that allows anyone with little or no experience to create photographic images from their 3D digital data within seconds. It is a continuation of the product HyperShot that was developed by Luxion from 2006 until 2009.

About this manualKeyShot works on both, Mac and PC. The functionality is identical. The only differences are some of the supported file formats as well as the CTRL key, which is ⌘ on the Mac. This will be clearly documented throughout the manual.

How it worksKeyshot is a realtime raytracing and global illumination application that is entirely CPU based and thus doesn’t require any special hardware to run. With the use of scientifically accurate materials and real world light combined with extreme ease-of-use anybody can generate photographic images from their 3D geometry within a matter or minutes after first opening the program.The performance of KeyShot increases when more processors are being added. KeyShot’s architecture is highly optimized such that when the number of processors doubles, performance also doubles.There is no limit on how many CPUs can be addressed in one computer. KeyShot also supports chip sets with a hyper-threaded architecture with the same efficiencies as multiple CPUs and multi-core CPUs.KeyShot raytraces constantly, as soon as you start the application. At any point in time you are able to stop the realtime rendering by hitting [Shift] + [P]. Resume realtime raytracing using the same key combination.

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KeyShot licensingThe KeyShot license is locked to the MAC address of your computer. The exception is KeyShot Pro Floating which allows you run KeyShot from any computer. Please contact sales@luxion.com for more information.You can deactivate your license from your current computer and activate on another machine. Please note that an internet activation is needed for this. You can transfer your licenses between a total of 3 machines. There is no limit on how often you can do this.To deactivate a license to move to another computer, simply start KeyShot and go to the Help menu (PC), or KeyShot menu (Mac), and select Deactivate license on this computer.You can now activate KeyShot on a different computer with your permanent serial code.

KeyShot contentKeyShot, by default, has the following content structure:• Scenes: Contains all your saved scenes.• Materials: Contains all materials.• Textures: Contains all textures and labels used with your materials • Environments: Contains all you lighting environments• Backplates: Contains images and photographs• Renderings: Contains all Screenshot and Renderings

KeyShot PreferencesKeyShot allows you to customize the application based on your preferences. Access the preferences under Edit > Preferences (PC) or KeyShot2 > Preferences [⌘ ,]. Preference settings allow you to control• General settings• Location of the KeyShot Resources• Importer settingsGeneral Settings• Use transparent windows: Makes the Options dialog and Library transparent.• Adjust aspect ratio to backplate: When checked, the realtime window will

automatically adjust to the aspect ratio of a backplate that is added to the scene.

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• Show advanced material settings: Turns on the advanced parameters for each material when edited in the material tab.

• Ask for screen shot name: This will prompt you for a screenshot name when taking a screenshot rather than adding the default name and incremental number from the scene.

• Save camera with screen shot: Adds the current view to the saved list of views when taking a screenshot. The name will be identical to the name of the screenshot.

• Enable auto update: Allows KeyShot to automatically check for updates.• Idle time in seconds to pause realtime renderer: When set to a value other

than 0, KeyShot will pause after x seconds when no mouse movement is detected. This is helpful when processing large renderings or the render queue and have them finish much sooner than you getting back to the computer.

• User interface style: Select from one of the 3 predefined color themes to customize the KeyShot UI.

• Language: Choose between English, German, and Japanese. You must restart KeyShot for the new language to take effect.

KeyShot user interface and toolsThis chapter describes the user interface and all the tools inside KeyShot. Please note the following abbreviations:• LMB = Left Mouse Button• MMB = Middle Mouse Button• RMB = Right Mouse ButtonThe KeyShot applications has 3 main areas:• Realtime window• Library• Options

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Realtime Window6 button user interface

Import 3D data, or scene

Open material library

Open environment library

Open backplate

Save image from the

Open settings for final render

Open options window

The realtime window has the main toolbar on the bottom that takes the user through the 6 steps from importing a model to creating the final image.• Import: Import a model including KeyShot’s own scenes (.bip files)• Materials: Open material library.• Environment: Open the environment library to access lighting environments• Backplates: Open the backplates library to access images to add to the scene.• Screenshot: Save image from the realtime window.• Render: Open the render settings to control the final image output.When working with objects in the realtime window, you will also have the option to access important functions via the right mouse button pop up menu when clicking on the object.Right mouse button menuWhen clicking onto the right mouse button in the realtime window after positioning the mouse cursor over an object, you will have access to the following options:• Edit Material: Edit assigned material in the Material Tab.• Copy Material: Copy material to the clipboard.• Paste/Paste and link material: After copying you can paste the material onto

parts in the tree or in the realtime window. Paste will simply assign the material, Paste and link material will assign the material and link it to the original material. When you make changes to the material, all parts that carry this material will change simultaneously. You can brake this by right clicking on the part and selecting Unlink parts.

• Unlink material: Removes parts from a material group by unlinking them. • Add material to library: Add the selected material library to the material

library.

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• Hide/Undo hide part: Quickly hide/unhide entire objects or individual parts. You can select multiple parts and hide them through the right mouse button menu.

• Show all parts: Show all hidden parts at once.• Delete/Undo delete part: Works like Hide/Unhide. Delete and undeletes

parts.• Move part: Activates the Move Widget to move the object.• Scale part: Activates the Scale Widget to scale the object.• Look at: Positions the selected point at the center of the scene, and sets the

camera pivot point at that location. To reset the camera pivot point, select Reset in the Camera Tab.

• Show in tree: This will highlight the selected object in the scene tree.Performance mode [ALT P]While KeyShot constantly raytraces from the moment you open the application it may be desired to quickly move through the scene. In particular when you set up the model and paint it, you may not need all the “details” and only want to get job done quickly.In this case, pressing [ALT P] will enter Performance Mode, indicated by a P in the upper right hand corner of the realtime window. This will turn off ground shadows, detailed shadows, ground reflections, and detailed indirect illumination. It will also drop the ray bounces to 2. KeyShot will no perform much faster.To exit Performance Mode, click [Alt P] again. This is particularly useful on lower end machines.

LibraryThe library contains all content for your scenes which can be dragged and dropped into the realtime window. When first opening the library, right click into each tab and select Rescan Library Directory. You can also add additional content, create groups and remove content from the library.MaterialsDrag and drop a material onto an object in the realtime window or one or multiple objects in the Scene Tree (Options). When dragging materials onto the object you will notice that the part will adopt the material and show the result in realtime. The material is not being applied until you let go of the mouse button. Right mouse menu options are:• Remove material: Remove the selected material from the library.• Copy material: Copy select material to clipboard.

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• Paste material: Paste material onto object in realtime window or scene tree.• Edit material: Edit the selected material directly in the library.• Rename material: Rename material in library.• Add group: Create a new material group.• Remove group: Delete group from library. Note: The group must be empty

prior to deletion.• Refresh materials: Re-render all materials in the library under current

lighting conditions.• Refresh materials in current group: Re-render all materials in group under

current lighting conditions.• Sort A-Z/Z-A: Ascending/Descending alphabetical ordering of materials.• Save material library: Save the material library without closing the current

KeyShot session.EnvironmentsDrag and drop into the realtime window to see the effect of the lighting in the scene. Right mouse menu options are:• Rescan library directory: This is necessary when you changed the content

location under preferences. Rescanning the library directory will display the relative content of the set location and show all environments in this location.

• Sort A-Z/Z-A: Ascending/Descending alphabetical ordering of environments.

• Add files to library: Add new environments to the library.• Add group: Create a new group.• Use this: Use the selected environment in the scene.• Add to favorites: When selected the first time, a new group called “Favorites”

is created. After that, every select environment will be added to this group.• Remove from library: Remove the selected environment from the library.

BackplatesContains your photographs and other background images that you may want to use to compose the final image. Right mouse menu options are:• Rescan library directory: This is necessary when you changed the content

location under preferences. Rescanning the library directory will display the relative content of the set location and show all backplates in this location.

• Sort A-Z/Z-A: Ascending/Descending alphabetical ordering of backplates.• Add files to library: Add new backplates to the library.• Add group: Create a new group.

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• Use this: Use the selected backplate in the scene.• Add to favorites: When selected the first time, a new group called “Favorites”

is created. After that, every select backplates will be added to this group.• Remove from library: Remove the selected backplate from the library.TexturesDrag and drop textures onto an object with any non-transparent material. Hold down the CTRL (⌘) key to apply the texture as a bump map to any material. Right mouse menu options are:• Rescan library directory: This is necessary when you changed the content

location under preferences. Rescanning the library directory will display the relative content of the set location and show all textures in this location.

• Add files to library: Add new textures to the library.• Add group: Create a new group.• Add to favorites: When selected the first time, a new group called “Favorites”

is created. After that, every select textures will be added to this group.• Remove from library: Remove the selected texture from the library.RenderingContains all realtime and offline rendered images which can also be used as back plates. Right mouse menu options are:• Rescan library directory: This is necessary when you changed the content

location under preferences. Rescanning the library directory will display the relative content of the set location and show all renderings in this location.

• Add files to library: Add new renderings to the library.• Add group: Create a new group.• Add to favorites: When selected the first time, a new group called “Favorites”

is created. After that, every select environment will be added to this group.• Remove from library: Remove the selected rendering from the library.

Options [Spacebar]The options dialog will give you access • work with the scene and objects in the scene - Scene• create and edit materials - Material• adjust the lighting - Environment• compose the final image - Backplate• set up the perfect image in realtime - Realtime• control the camera and save views - Camera

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Importers• Use new importers (beta): While the new importers for IGES and STEP are

failry robust, there may still be cases where the old importer works better than the new ones. In this case disable the new importers to access the original importers for IGES and STEP.

• Tessellation quality: Controls the number of polygons upon import. Higher values mean higher polygon count. This will only have an effect for ALIAS, Pro/E. IGES, and STEP.

FolderUnder the Folder preference tab you can set the path to your dedicated folders per project. You will need to rescan your Library for each folder that you changed in order for the content to be displayed. In the case of a new materials folder, you will need to restart KeyShot.

Right mouse button menuThe right mouse button menu gives you the ability to quickly interact with the model and the scene.

Hotkeys [K]KeyShot relies heavily on hotkeys for fast and efficient workflow. You can access the list of hotkeys by simply hitting [K]. To close tke hotkey list, hit [K] again. When using hotkeys, make sure that the realtime window is active. You can make it active by simply clicking inside of it.

Moving the CameraKeyShot is a highly interactive and dynamic application. When moving the camera, you will notice some pixelation that will stop when the camera movement stops. At that point in time the image will res to perfection until the camera is moved again. To move the camera use the following mouse and hotkey combinations:• [ALT LMB], Mac: [⌥ LMB] : Tumble the camera around the focal point• [ALT MMB], Mac: [⌥ MMB]: Pan the camera• [ALT RMB], Mac [⌥ MMB]: Dolly the camera, i.e. moving the camera closer to

or away from the object. CAD users would describe this as “Zoom”. Make sure to move the mouse horizontally.

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Import - Importing dataImporting 3D data or KeyShot scenes (bips)Select import model to import your model in any of the following file formats:

• ALIAS 2011 or prior (.wire)• Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2, 3, 4, 5 (.prt, .asm) • Rhinoceros 4.0 and prior (.3dm)• SketchUp 7 and prior (.skp)• Solid Edge ST 3 and prior (.par, .asm) - Windows only• SolidWorks 2010 and prior (.sldprt, .sldasm) - Windows only• 3DStudio Max (.3ds)• IGES• STEP AP203/214• Obj• FBX• BIP (KeyShot Scene - import objects with materials and camera

views)After selecting Import Model, you have the following options:• Merge with current scene: Select this option when you want to add multiple

models into the same scene. You may want to move the first imported object first by moving the model using [SHIFT ALT Left Mouse Button], and drag the model off the center on the ground plane.

• Same coordinates as previous object: This ensures that the imported object maintains the same size relative to the previously imported object. This only makes sense when you add a second object to a scene. Make sure that Merge with current scene is checked. This has no effect when importing .bip files.

• Retain materials: Check this option if you want to import design updates, variants, or simply the same model. It can be used in combination with “Merge with current scene”. The model will then come in with all materials already applied based on the model in the current scene. Only new surfaces / parts will not have any materials. The materials between the objects are linked. Unlink by right-clicking on the material on the part in the realtime window or scene tree and selecting “Unlink Material/Part”.

• Keep individual parts: This option allows you to keep individual parts that otherwise may be grouped together. This can come in handy for all kinds of file formats. When parts appear to be grouped together and can’t be unlinked, simply re-import by checking this option. This has no effect when importing .bip files.

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• Group by Shader: This option only become available when importing data from ALIAS. When checked KeyShot will import the model grouped by shader, if unchecked by layer. Shader and layer names are maintained, respectively.

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Scene - Working with objectsThe scene tab contains the scene tree that gives you direct access to all objects and parts in the scene, as well as the ability to move and scale objects (not parts yet).

Scene treeThe scene tree gives you access to the objects in the scene and all its parts. Right now you will see either the part or layer name, or the material name.You can do the following by right clicking on the object in the tree.• Edit Material: Edit assigned material in the Material Tab.• Copy Material: Copy material to the clipboard.• Paste/Paste and link material: After copying you can paste the material onto

parts in the tree or in the realtime window. Paste will simply assign the material, Paste and link material will assign the material and link it to the original material. When you make changes to the material, all parts that carry this material will change simultaneously. You can brake this by right clicking on the part and selecting Unlink parts.

• Hide/Unhide: Quickly hide/unhide entire objects or individual parts. You can select multiple parts and hide them through the right mouse button menu.

• Delete/Undo delete part: Works like Hide/Unhide. Delete and undeletes parts.

• Unlink part: Removes parts from a material group by unlinking them.

Moving and ScalingYou can move and scale an object in conjunction with or instead of using the Move Widget in the realtime window.• Position: Move the object in local x, y, or z direction.• Rotation: Rotate the object around the local x, y or z axis. Use the up/down

arrows to quickly rotate around 45º.• Scale: Increase the size of the object in local x, y, or z direction• Size: Increase or decrease the overall size of the object.• Snap to ground: Snap the object to the ground plane.• Reset: Reset the object back to it’s original position.

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Material - Working with materialsApplying materialsTo apply a material to any part of an object, open the material library. Select a material and drag and drop it onto the object. Notice how the parts adopt the material as soon as you move the mouse over the part. The part will not be painted until you let go of the mouse button. Alternatively, you can use [SHIFT LMB] to select a material and [SHIFT RMB] to apply the material to the desired portion of the model. If you desire to apply the selected material to several parts of the model, simple continue to [SHIFT RMB] click onto the desired parts.You can also open the Scene tab in the Option menu and drag and drop the material onto the one or multiple parts, or the entire object.

Editing and creating new materialsWhether you want to create a new material or edit an existing one, the steps are identical. In essence, whenever you edit an existing material on the object you are creating a new material. To edit or create new materials double click onto a material that has been applied to a part of the object in the scene, or right click onto a part in the scene and select Edit material. Either way you will be taken to the Material tab in the Options dialog. The selected material’s parameter list appears. The available choices will depend on which material you selected. Please see APPENDIX: KeyShot Materials for more detailed information on the individual parameters for each material.All material changes and new creation always stay with the object, and are saved in the BIP file.KeyShot’s materials are fundamentally different from “shaders” found in traditional rendering applications. All of KeyShot’s materials are scientifically accurate, requiring therefore far less work to define a certain material and finish for an object.• Name: The name of the material. + allows you to add the material to the

library for later reuse.• Material type: Choose the material like that you would like to start out with.

Think in terms of real world materials such as metal, glass, plastic etc. Each material has predefined color and parameter settings. Upon selecting the material type you will see the immediate effect a core material has.

• Color, IOR, Roughness et al: Tweak the color and parameters, and see the effects immediately.

• Reset: Reset ALL parameter, texture, bumpmap and label changes to the beginning when the dialog was first opened.

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Once you made the edits to the core material you have chosen, you can save the material to the library for later use in other scenes by hitting the + next to Name.

Applying texturesNon-transparent materials can have a texture applied to replace the base color. This texture will can be a jpeg, tiff, png or other common file format. To apply a texture, create a new material or edit and existing material. Then select the Texture tab.• Load: Select a jpeg, tiff or any other image file. When you selected an image

once, and then open a different material to map a texture the previous texture is available for immediate use, yet with default settings. You can select a new texture if you choose.

• Enable: Turn texture on or off.• Repeat: Switches between single and multiple copies of the texture.• Sync: Synchronize all settings with the bump map.• Projection: Determines how the texture is being mapped:

UV coordinates: Your object may not have any uv coordinates and the texture may not show up initially. Change the projection type.Box Map: Mapping uses a “box”.Planar x, y, z: uses the planar projection from the x, y, or z direction. To determine the direction, turn on the coordinate system in the View menu, or use [SHIFT] + C. If the surface you would like to map to is at an angle, you may want to try and rotate the object so it aligns with the projection direction. After mapping you can move the object back to its original position. The mapping will stay.Cylindrical (beta): Uses a cylinder standing up (y-direction) for mapping. If your object requires cylindrical mapping in any other direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping. Spherical (beta): Uses a sphere with y being the up direction. If your object requires spherical mapping in a different direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping.

• Position: Drag the texture on the model into position. Move the camera using [ALT] + LMB. You can still interact with all other parameters while in this mode.

• Keep aspect ratio: Maintains the original aspect ratio of the image• Flip horizontal / vertical: Invert the texture.• Shift u: Move the texture in horizontal direction over the surface.

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• Shift v: Move the texture in vertical direction over the surface.• Scale u: Change the width of the texture. • Scale v: Change the height of the texture.• Angle: Rotate the texture around its center.• Intensity: Change the brightness of the texture.

Bump mappingYou can apply a bumpmap to any material by using any kind of image, allowing you to add extra realism to materials, and stunning visual effects. The bumpmap can be combines with texture maps mentioned above, or used by themselves. To apply a bumpmap, create a new material or edit an existing material. Then select the Bumpmap tab. This will open up a new dialog that looks nearly identical to the texture map dialog.Bump Map: Select a jpeg, tiff or any other image file. When you selected an image once, and then open a different material to map a texture the previous texture is available for immediate use, yet with default settings. You can select a new bumpmap if you choose.• Load: Select a jpeg, tiff or any other image file. When you selected an image

once, and then open a different material to map a bumpmap the previous bumpmap is available for immediate use, yet with default settings. You can select a new bumpmap if you choose.

• Enable: Turn bumpmap on or off.• Repeat: Switches between single and multiple copies of the bumpmap.• Sync: Synchronize all settings with the bump map.• Projection: Determines how the bumpmap is being mapped:

UV coordinates: Your object may not have any uv coordinates and the bumpmap may not show up initially. Change the projection type.Box Map: Mapping uses a “box”.Planar x, y, z: uses the planar projection from the x, y, or z direction. To determine the direction, turn on the coordinate system in the View menu, or use [SHIFT] + C. If the surface you would like to map to is at an angle, you may want to try and rotate the object so it aligns with the projection direction. After mapping you can move the object back to its original position. The mapping will stay.Cylindrical (beta): Uses a cylinder standing up (y-direction) for mapping. If your object requires cylindrical mapping in any other direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping. Spherical (beta): Uses a sphere with y being the up direction. If your object

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requires spherical mapping in a different direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping.

• Position: Drag the bumpmap on the model into position. Move the camera using [ALT] + LMB. You can still interact with all other parameters while in this mode.

• Keep aspect ratio: Maintains the original aspect ratio of the image.• Normal map: When using an actual Normal Map, make sure to check this

option• Flip horizontal / vertical: Invert the bumpmap.• Shift u: Move the bumpmap in horizontal direction over the surface. • Shift v: Move the bumpmap in vertical direction over the surface.• Scale u: Change the width of the bumpmap. • Scale v: Change the height of the bumpmap.• Angle: Rotate the bumpmap around its center.• Height: Controls the height of the bunmpmap.

LabelsIf you are working with a logo, make sure that the image has transparency, also known as an “Alpha Channel”. Only .tiff or .png files can have an alpha channel or transparency. The transparency will allow the color of the material to be visible.• Add: Add a label.• Delete: Delete a label.• Up/Down arrows: Move label to front/back• Enable: Turn label on or off.• Repeat: Switches between single and multiple copies of the label.• Projection: Determines how the label is being mapped:

Normal Projection: The default setting wraps the label onto any given surface UV coordinates: Your object may not have any uv coordinates and the label may not show up initially. Change the projection type.Box Map: Mapping uses a “box”.Planar x, y, z: uses the planar projection from the x, y, or z direction. To determine the direction, turn on the coordinate system in the View menu, or use [SHIFT] + C. If the surface you would like to map to is at an angle, you may want to try and rotate the object so it aligns with the projection direction. After mapping you can move the object back to its original position. The mapping will stay.Cylindrical: Uses a cylinder standing up (y-direction) for mapping. If your

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object requires cylindrical mapping in any other direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping. Spherical: Uses a sphere with y being the up direction. If your object requires spherical mapping in a different direction, rotate the object to align the object with the projection direction. Move the object back to its original position after mapping.

• Position: Drag the label on the model into position. Move the camera using [ALT] + LMB. You can still interact with all other parameters while in this mode.

• Keep aspect ratio: Maintains the original aspect ratio of the image.• Two sided: See front and back of label.• Flip horizontal / vertical: Invert the label.• Shift u: Move the label in horizontal direction over the surface. • Shift v: Move the label in vertical direction over the surface.• Scale u: Change the width of the label. • Scale v: Change the height of the label.• Angle: Rotate the label around its center.• Intensity: Change the brightness of the texture.• Depth: Determines how far the label should be projected.• IOR: Determines the level of reflectivity of the label. The color of the

specularity below must not be black to see the effect.• Specularity: Determines the color of the reflective coat on the label. The

brighter the color the more reflective the label will be. Use in combination with IOR.

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Environment - Adjust lighting and other environment effectsThe functions in the environment tab control the lighting in the scene. These are grouped into 2 categories, Environments and Environment Shading.• Background Color: This function allows you to change the background color.

The background color is hidden by the environment. You will need to hide the environment (see below) in order to see the background color. The background color doesn’t affect the scene, nor is it reflected in the object.

• Shadow Color: Controls the color of the ground shadow. This is especially useful when trying to match the ground shadow color to the shadow color in a backplate image.

• Visible Environment [E]: Hides the environment when checked, and displays the background color set above. Note that even when the environment is hidden the scene will still be fully illuminated, and all shadows and reflections continue to be present.

• Ground Shadows: Turn the ground shadows on and off. Shadows that are being cast onto the object itself will still be visible.

• Ground Reflections: Turns the ground plane into a reflective surface. The amount of reflection is controlled by the color of the background and the camera angle. To get additional control over ground reflections it is recommended to add a geometric plane to the scene which can then be painted with various materials and textures.

• Flatten Ground [G]: This flattens the bottom part of the sphere to give it “gum drop” shape. You may notice some stretching of the environment towards the edge of the ground. Flattening of the Ground may be desired to get a more detailed reflection of the ground in the object. This is often times desired by people working with cars.

• Sharp glossy reflections: Checked by default, this options ensures proper reflection in surfaces with reflective materials that have small amounts of roughness applied. When checked, the reflection will stay sharp.

• Brightness [Arrow keys]: Controls the amount of light in the scene. Use the left /right arrow keys to decrease / increase the amount of light in the scene.

• Gamma: Controls the intensity of the light in the scene. Larger values will yield less of a contrast between light and dark areas, resulting in softer shadows. Lower values yield a higher contrast between light and dark areas.

• Environment Size: Controls the size of the spherical environment in meters. Note that changing the size will not change the intensity of the light. Changing the environment size can be used to control the reflections in an object.

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• Environment Height Adjustment: This functions allows you to move the environment up and down to control position of the lighting in the environment and reflection in the object. The number is a relative percentage of the overall size of the environment. Together with the Rotation of the environment this function gives great control over the position of the lighting.

• Rotation [CTRL LMB], [⌘ LMB] (Mac): Rotates the environment around the y (vertical)” axis of the scene. When rotating the environment you will notice that the ground shadow doesn’t update until you let go of the mouse button and finish the rotation.

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Backplates - Using images in the backgroundBackplates are 2D images that can be used as background image against the scene. They can also be used to place a 3D object “into the image”, making it look like that is actually part of the image. Use the Camera controls to adjust Distance, Perspective, Azimuth, Incline, and Twist to get the perfect fit. Use the Ground grid for perfect perspective matching.By default, the realtime window will adjust and assume the aspect ratio of the backplate. This behavior can be controlled under Preferences.The functions are:• Select: Load backplate• Use backplate: Quickly toggle backplate on/off.• Adjust brightness: Takes on Brightness and Gamma set in the Realtime tab

when checked.

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Realtime - Setting up the perfect picture in realtimeUse this tab extensively. The settings in here let you control the scene, so you can get the perfect picture in realtime. Your final rendering will then look identical.

Image Settings Adjustment: These settings affect the overall image including the backplate.• Width / Height: This allows you to set the size of the realtime window. It is

recommended to set the proper aspect ratio before setting camera angles. A larger windows will result in slower realtime performance. When changing the window size, you can chose from pre-set resolution, or enter your custom resolution.

• Lock Aspect Ratio: Uncheck when changing the aspect ratio• Brightness: Adjusts the overall brightness of the image.• Gamma: Determines the overall contrast of the image. A higher gamma value

will result in darker areas appearing less dark, and brighter areas to be less bright.

Realtime SettingsThese settings affect realtime and final rendering.• Ray Bounces: Determines the number of bounces light makes in a scene. It is

important to gradually increase the number of raybounces until no difference can be noticed when increasing the number. This number should be used in the final rendering

• Shadow Quality: Determines the quality of the Ground Shadow. This setting is independent of the setting in the Render Tab, but is indicative of what value should be used in the rendering.

• Detailed Shadows [S]: Calculates detailed and inter-object shadows when checked.

• Detailed Indirect Illumination: Turns on light reflections from objects.• Ground indirect illumination: Turns on ground caustics.• Fast updates: This allows fast interaction in realtime. When unchecked, you

will not see any pixelation but have a detailed raytraced scene at all times. However, this is very computationally intensive, and therefore only recommended for 8 core systems and higher.

• Sepia: Turns on Sepia effect in realtime.• Ground grid: Turn on a grid on the ground plane.

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EffectsThese settings are realtime imaging effects that will be maintained in final saved image. These effects are accessing the GPU without the need for a special graphics card.• Enable: Enable Effects.• Bloom Intensity: Controls the intensity of bloom that direct and indirect light

create. This effect is applied to the entire image.• Bloom radius: This function controls the size of the bloom.• Vignetting: Use this functions to darken the edges of the image while keeping

the center bright.

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Camera - Working with the camera and camera effectsThe camera tab contains functions for interacting with the camera for fine tuning the camera position, select different camera types, and save the current view with its settings.• View: This pulldown menu contains all saved views that you create

throughout your session. It contains several predefined views, as well as the last view with which your scene was saved. To go from one view to the next, simply select a new view. You can also switch to the next view using [ALT N], [⌥N] (Mac). You can Add (+) a new view, or Delete (-) the current view.

• Lock camera: This will freeze the camera in its current positions so it can’t be moved. All other functions are not affected.

• Orthographic camera: Switch the camera to Orthographic to work with a true orthographic camera. You will notice that some functions will become unavailable.

• Keep above ground: This will keep the camera above the ground plane. Uncheck if you want to move the camera below the ground.

• Distance: Controls the distance of the camera from the object.• Azimuth: The horizontal angle from the reference direction (focal point). • Inclination: The elevation angle of the camera with the focal point as being

the center.• Twist [CTRL ALT Wheel], [⌘⌥ Wheel] (Mac): Changing the twist angle will

tilt the camera around its horizontal viewing axis.• FOV - Field of View: The field of view is that part of the scene that is visible

through the camera at a particular position and orientation in space. FOV works in conjunction with Focal Length. Notice how both sliders move simultaneously.

• Focal Length [ALT Wheel], [⌥ Wheel] (Mac): Changing the focal length to change perspective. In Photography terms, this is also referred to as “Zoom”. When increasing the value, the camera zooms closer to the object and therefore must be moved away from the object. The larger the focal length, the less perspective you will have in the scene. If you decrease the focal length, you will add more perspective. You may need to move the camera closer to the object to get the desired effect.

• Perspective: Changes FOV / Focal Length and Distance of the camera to the object simultaneously. It is a combination of those 2 functions in one, allowing you to change the perspective of the scene while “keeping the object in place”.

• Pick pivot: Set the pivot point

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• Reset [ALT R], [⌥ R] (Mac): Reset the camera to the view that was last saved with the scene.

• Enable Depth of Field: This will turn on a realtime Depth of Field effect. Here is how it works:Click the check box to Enable Depth of Field. You will see how the entire scene gets blurry. Unchecking the check box will return to the clear scene.Pick Focus Point becomes active. Select Pick focus point. Select a point on an object in the scene on which you want the camera to focus on. You can still move the camera. You will notice how the area around the select point will become clear, while the rest of the scene stays blurry. Repeat these steps if you would like to focus on a different point. Once satisfied, select Done.Adjust the F-stop value accordingly to find to make the clear area larger or smaller by entering larger or smaller values accordingly.Changing the Focal distance to move the focal point closer to the camera or further away.

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Render - Rendering the final imageThe functions in this tab will be used when you are ready to create you final rendering. When opening the render tab you will find 5 categories: Render, Quality, Queue, Turntable and Region.You will notice that all categories have a Render and a Close option. Clicking Render will render the image(s) with the current settings.Detailed indirect illumination and Detailed shadows are automatically activated, independent of whether it is set in realtime or not. Ground shadows, Ground reflections and Ground indirect illumination are only calculated when turned on in realtime.

Render• Folder: Change the output folder where the rendering should be stored. You

can permanently change your output folder in the Preferences.• File: Save the image under a custom name a non-default location.• Format: Select the format of the final image: JPEG, TIFF, EXR. • Resolution: By default the size is identical to the realtime window. Simply

adjust width or height to get the desired output size. The aspect ratio is maintained from the realtime window. If you want to change the aspect ratio of your final image, change the realtime window accordingly by unchecking Maintain Aspect Ratio in the Render Options Tab.

• Print resolution: Works in conjunction with Resolution. When the resolution is changed, the print resolution will change according to the DPI setting. Alternatively, you can set the size of the print, select DPI, and the Resolution will be automatically calculated.Note: The Alpha channel includes Ground shadows and Ground reflections when checked in the Environment tab.

• Render in background (KeyShot Pro only):When rendering the image, you can’t interact with the scene in realtime until the rendering finishes. Check to continue to work in realtime while the offline rendering is generated. You can kick off multiple rendering if you chose.

• Use Realtime Render: This render mode will take the image you created in realtime and render it in the resolution you entered. There is only one quality setting.

QualityDepending on the render mode you select you will see different quality settings. Note: Increasing quality settings may have a significant impact on render times. It is therefore recommended to increase render quality settings gradually and

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check the result before rendering with values that are only increasing render times, but don’t affect the quality of the image.Default - Use Realtime Render not checked• Samples: Controls the amount of samples per pixel. Scenes with a large

amount of self reflection and refraction may benefit from higher sample settings. Higher sample settings should also be used in combination with higher anti-alias settings (see below).

• Ray Bounces: This parameter controls how often objects reflect within each other. As a general rule of thumb you should set up the number of raybounces in the Settings tab in realtime in conjunction with Detailed Indirect Illumination checked prIOR to creating the final rendering. When the image looks “right” in realtime, then there is no need to work with higher ray bounce settings in realtime nor the final rendering. This will only increase render times without any additional benefit.

• Anti-Aliasing Level: Increasing the anti-alias level will provide less jagged edges on objects that have a highly reflective materials on edges displayed at a near horizontal orientation. When increasing the parameter, please also insure to increase Samples accordingly.

• Shadow Quality: This parameter controls the quality of all shadows in the scene.

• Global Illumination Quality: Increase this parameter to obtain more detailed lighting in areas with small detail.It is in generally not needed but may be used when shadows and light reflections need improvements.

• Pixel Filter Size: This function adds a blur to the image to make it softer. Parameters between 1.5 and 1.8 are recommended. When rendering jewelry you may find it necessary to lower this value to anywhere between 1 and 1.2.

• Depth of Field (DOF) Quality: Increasing the value will result in a less grainy out of focus area. A setting of 3 is usually enough to obtain highest quality result. Please note that render times will increase at higher settings.

• Sharp Shadows: This parameter is checked by default and usually doesn’t have to be touched. It will ensure that shadows in small detail areas render sharp.

Use Realtime Render checkedThere 2 parameters that you can set - frame and time. These 2 parameters can be used individually, in combination, or not at all. If used in combination, the rendering will stop based on whatever comes first. If none are set, the image will continue until the user hits Stop. This will save the image at it’s current state.

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• Max number of frames: Enter the number of frames or “passes” you want the KeyShot to process. This is identical to letting a rendering sit in realtime. Please note that more complex materials and scenes will require a higher number of frames.

• Max render time in seconds: This will stop the rendering when the time is reached.

Queue (KeyShot Pro only)This will allow to add multiple renderings to a queue that can be processed at a later point in time.• Add job: Add any rendering from various scenes with individual settings to

the queue be simply selecting this button.• Process jobs: Process all jobs in the queue. This can’t be stopped. You will

need to quit all render jobs stored in the queue individually in order to stop the queue.

• View jobs: Review all jobs that have been stored. You can also delete individual jobs by selecting the job, and hitting Delete.

Turntable (KeyShot Pro)This will allow you to create a full or partial rotation animation either around the center of the object or the center of the scene.Check Turntable rendering to create a turntable animation of your scene. The output are individual sequentially numbered files that need to be compiled to a movie in a third party application. The object(s) will rotate around the given axis.• Begin angle: Set the angle (degrees) where you want the turntable to start.• End angle: Set the angle (degrees) where you want the turntable to stop.• Number of frames: Determines how many frames should be rendered

between Begin and End Angel. The more frames, the higher the quality of the resulting movie.

• Rotate around environment center: When checked, the object(s) will rotate around center of the environment. If unchecked, the object(s) will rotate around the center of the enclosing bounding box of all objects.

Region Rendering (Pro)• This function allows to render just a portion of the scene as defined through a

customer region. The output will be an image of the given size as defined in the Render tab with the only the set region being fully rendered. Here is how it works:Enable Region Rendering: Check to activate Region Rendering.

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Set Region: Click Set Region. Notice how the cursor changes. Select the region that you want to render in the realtime window.Min X/Y, Max X/Y: Fine tune the selected area, or enter custom pixels coordinates if you know what region you want to render.

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APPENDIX - KeyShot materialsKeyShot includes a material library that contains many pre-configured materials. All materials are based on scientifically accurate materials that contain the accurate mathematical description. Each of these pre-configured materials contains of several user-definable parameters that allow you to both customize how the material looks and define certain material types.Some parameters are considered advanced, and are therefore hidden by default. You can expose them using the setting Show advanced parameter settings in the Preferences.The slider values are often recommended ranges. You can overwrite them by entering a lower or higher number directly into the text box.

AdvancedThe advanced material is the default material that will be applied. It can be used to simulate a variety of materials.• Diffuse: Specifies the color of the material’s diffuse reflectivity.• Ambient: Specifies the material’s constant indirect diffuse illumination.• Specular: Specifies the color of the material’s specular highlight.• Diffuse transmission (Advanced): Specifies the translucency of the material.

If the color is all black (0, 0, 0), then the material is solid.• Specular transmission (Advanced): Specifies the transparency of the

material’s. If the color is all black (0, 0, 0)then the material is opaque.• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the material’s specular component.

This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has IOR=1.33, and typical glass has IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material, which is tied to the fresnel parameter. In order for the IOR to have an effect, the fresnel parameter must be checked (non-transparent) or the Specular Transmission must not be black (transparent).

• Fresnel: Controls the reflectivity of the material when the Specular Transmission is not white. When checked, the material will appear less reflective, except when viewed from grazing angles.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

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• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

• Use diffuse alpha (Advanced): Currently no effect

AnisotropicThis material simulates brushed finishes on metallic surfaces. To get actual brush strokes on the material, augments the material with a bump map.• Diffuse: Specifies the color of the material’s diffuse reflectivity.• Specular: Specifies the color of the material’s specular highlight.• Roughness x: Controls the roughness of the grain. Typical values are between

0 and 0.6.• Roughness y: Controls the highlight of the grain. Higher numbers result in a

broader highlight roughness of the material’s specular component. Typical values are between 0 and 0.6.

• Angle: Controls the direction of the grain.• Mode (Advanced): Controls the grain mapping: 1 = linear, 2 = circular.

Circular is still under development, and may not work in all cases.• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy

reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 64 or higher or more will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

Dielectric (formerly known as Solid Glass)The Dielectric material, formerly know asSolid Glass is a specialized material that allows the accurate representation of any type of refractive material, including crystal and gem stones such as emerald, ruby, diamond et al. It also can be used to simulate various types of clear or translucent plastics. • IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has

IOR=1.33, and typical glass has IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material.

• IOR out: Specifies the index of refraction of the object in which the glass is placed. In most cases this “object” is the environment sphere. Therefore the value stays at 1, which is the IOR of air.

• Transparency: Specifies the color of the glass.• Transparency out: Specifies the color of the object in which the glass is

placed. In most cases this “object” is the environment sphere. Therefore the color stays white, which is the “color of air”.

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• Thickness: Specifies the thickness at which the color is given as defined by the transmission parameter.

• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the material’s specular component. This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

• Abbe number: Controls the material’s dispersion, which is the variation of the refractive index with wavelength. The Abbe number is material specific.

• Dispersion samples: Controls the quality of the dispersion set under the abbe_number. The default setting is 3. Higher values will have a significant impact on performance in both realtime and offline raytracing.

DiffuseThis simple material simulates matte opaque surfaces. • Diffuse: Specifies the material’s color.

EmissiveThe emissive material is a light emitting material that can be used for simulating lights. The emissive material may be used to add additional light to a certain part of the object. Make sure to check Detailed indirect illumination in the Realtime tab to see the full effect.• Intensity: Determines the light intensity of the emissive material• Color: Color of the light emitting material. Use darker colors when increasing

the intensity to preserve the intended color of the light.• Two sided (Advanced): Determines whether the surface should emit light on

both sides of the surface or not.• Visible to eye: When checked the part will be hidden, but light will still be

emitted. It will still show up in the reflection of other parts.• Visible in reflection: When checked the part will not show in the reflection of

another object while still emitting light.

Flat

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The Flat material is a material that is perfectly suited for masking. It is, as the name suggests, a material that is completely flat and only has the color parameter that can be changed.• Color: Specifies the material’s color.

GemA simplified Solid Glass (Advanced) material that allows for quick creation of scientifically accurate gem stones.• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has

IOR=1.33, and typical glass has IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material. Accurate IORs for gemstones can be obtained from the internet.

• Transparency: Specifies the thickness at which the set color is given.• Roughness (Advanced): Controls the roughness of the material’s specular

component. This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher or more will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

• Abbe number: Controls the material’s dispersion, which is the variation of the refractive index with wavelength. The Abbe number is material specific.

• Dispersion samples (Advanced): Controls the quality of the dispersion set under the abbe_number. The default setting is 3. Higher values will have a significant impact on performance in both realtime and offline raytracing.

GeneralThe General material is a material that can be uses to simulate a wide variety of materials. • Diffuse: Specifies the color of the material’s diffuse reflectivity.• Specular: Specifies the color of the material’s specular highlight.• Ambient: Specifies the material’s constant indirect diffuse illumination. It is

like an emissive shader.• Alpha: Determines the transparency of the material. When making an object

completely transparent (alpha = 0), the object will still cast a shadow.

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• Reflectivity: Controls the reflectivity of the environment in the object.• Indirect multiplier: The multiplier of how much diffuse light to receive from

the environment. It is recommended to leave the value at 1.• Texture modulate: The multiplier between the diffuse and texture color. If

textureModulate is checked off, you will see the diffuse color of the surface.• Shadow modulate: When checked, it takes the alpha channel of the applied

texture into consideration to allow light to pass through.• Texture: Applies texture (diffuse map) to a surface if texture coordinates are

present. Support formats are jpeg, tiff, targa, dds, and hdr. When using an HDRI as a texture, the object becomes an actual lightsource in the scene.

• Texture shift u: Shift the texture in u direction of the surface. Negative values will flip the texture.

• Texture shift v: Shift the texture in v direction of the surface. Negative values will flip the texture.

• Texture tile s: Repeat the texture in u direction of the surface.• Texture wrapmode u: Determines how the texture should be repeated in u

direction. Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

• Texture wrapmode v: Determines how the texture should be repeated in v direction. Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

• Bumptexture: Applies bump texture to the object. It can be used in conjunction with a texture map, or by itself. Any bump texture that is used has to be a normal map.

• Bumptexture shift u: Shift the bump texture in u direction of the surface.• Bumptexture shift v: Shift the bump texture in v direction of the surface.• Bumptexture tile u: Repeat the bump texture in u direction of the surface.• Bumptexture tile v: Repeat the bump texture in v direction of the surface.• Bumptexture wrapmode u: Determines how the bump texture should be

repeated in u direction. Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

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• Bumptexture wrapmode v: Determines how the bump texture should be repeated in v direction.Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

• Bumptexture height: Determines the height of the bump texture. Positive and negative values are accepted.

• Specularmap: Applies the texture of the highlight and reflections. Common use is for controlling where the reflection should show up on the surface. Grid patterns are a good example where specular maps are helpful to obtain realistic results.

• Specular shift u: Shift the specular map in u direction of the surface.• Specular shift v: Shift the specular map in v direction of the surface.• Specular tile u: Repeat the specular map in u direction of the surface.• Specular tile v: Repeat the specular map in v direction of the surface.• Specular wrapmode u: Determines how the specular map should be repeated

in u direction. Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

• Specular wrapmode v: Determines how the specular map should be repeated in v direction. Wrap modes are:0: no repeat1: repeat2: repeat, mirror in u direction3: repeat. mirror in v direction

GlassThe Glass material is a specialized material that is optimized for windows. It can simulate both single paned and double-paned windows (i.e. windows modeled using either a single polygon or multiple polygons). Typical applications are the windshield and headlamp of an automobile, or window glass. The material parameters are:• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has

IOR=1.33, and typical glass has an IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material. When using a surface without thickness (surface rather than solid), the index of refraction will only affect the reflectivity of the surface but not refract.

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• Two sided: This option should be turned on when working with “solids”. A “solid” will described as two surfaces close together. In 3D systems that can’t create “solid”, the user may have created 2 surfaces closely together. Inside KeyShot, the representation is identical. In this case, two sided should be checked to give the effect of solid glass. The IOR will now have an effect. Checking two sided for single surface will turn everything between the outside surface and the object behind it visually into solid glass. A sphere will turn into a solid glass ball, for example.

• Transmission: Specifies the color of the glass.

LeatherThis material simulates leather procedurally. The parameters are:• Color 1: The color of the leather surface.• Color 2: The color of the leather cracks.• Specularity: Specifies the materials specular (highlight). It determines the

shininess of the leather.• Roughness: The roughness of the leather surface.• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use s samples to compute the glossy reflections

on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

• Bumpiness: The amount of bumpiness, cracks, etc., in the leather.• Scale: The scale of the leather. Decreasing the scale increases the distance

between cracks in the leather.

LiquidA specific material to define liquids. This is another derivative of the Solid Glass (Advanced) material.• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has

IOR=1.33. It also affects the reflectivity of the material.• IOR out (Advanced): Specifies the index of refraction of the object in which

the liquid is placed.• Color: Specifies the color of the liquid.• Transparency: Specifies the thickness at which the set color is given.

MetalThe metal material is used to simulate metals such as aluminum, gold, and silver, with different finishes such as polished, powder coated, cast, etc. • Color: Specifies the metals color.

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• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the materials specular component. This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

Metallic PaintThis material simulates metallic paints such as car paints, but can also be used to simulate multilayer plastic finishes. • Base: The color of the base paint.• Metal: The color of the metallic flake.• Roughness: The roughness of the clear coat. Typical values range from

0.0-0.05.• Metal roughness: The roughness of the metallic flakes. Typical values range

from 0.01-0.2. Lower values give a more uniform, “flat” spread of the metallic flake, while higher values make the metallic flake spread rougher.

• Metal coverage: The density of the metallic flakes. Typical values range from 0.0-0.6. If a value 1 is chosen, the base paint has no effect on the overall appearance. If the value is 0, the flake will have no effect on the paint. Use this for obtaining non-metallic car paints, or plastics.

• Metal samples (Advanced): Use metal samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

• IOR: The index of refraction of the clear coat. It determines the refraction as well as the shine of the clear coat. Typical value ranges are 1.3-1.6 for car paint, below that for plastics. Values lower than 1 will have no effect.

PaintThe paint material is a simplified version of Metallic Paint.• Color: The color of the base paint.

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• Roughness: The roughness of the clear coat. Typical values range from 0.0-0.05.

• IOR: The index of refraction of the clear coat. It determines the refraction as well as the shine of the clear coat. Typical value ranges are 1.3-1.6 for car paint, below that for plastics. Values lower than 1 will have no effect.

PlasticThe Plastic material is optimized to simulate many plastic types. • Diffuse: Specifies the color of the material’s diffuse reflectivity.• Specular: Specifies the color of the material’s specular highlight.• Diffuse transmission: Specifies the translucency of the material. If the color

is all black (0, 0, 0), then the material is solid.• Specular transmission: Specifies the transparency of the material’s. If the

color is all black (0, 0, 0)then the material is opaque.• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the material’s specular component.

This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has IOR=1.33, and typical glass has IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material, which is tied to the fresnel parameter. In order for the IOR to have an effect, the fresnel parameter must be checked (non-transparent) or the Specular Transmission must not be black (transparent).

• Fresnel: Checked by default. Controls the reflectivity of the material when the Specular Transmission is not white. When unchecked, the material will appear more reflective.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

Solid GlassA derivate of Dielectric (formerly known as Solid Glass). This material is best suited for the creation of scientifically accurate solid glass.

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• IOR: Specifies the material’s index of refraction. Air has IOR=1.0, water has IOR=1.33, and typical glass has IOR 1.4-1.7. It also affects the reflectivity of the material.

• Color: Specifies the color of the glass.• Transparency: Specifies the thickness at which the set color is given.• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the material’s specular component.

This influences the appearance of the highlight (light reflection). A high roughness value (larger than 0.5) creates a rough surface with a large highlight, while a small roughness value creates a relatively smooth surface with a small highlight.

• Glossy (Advanced): Activates glossy (blurry) reflections based on the roughness parameter. Increasing the roughness value makes the reflections more blurry.

• Glossy samples (Advanced): Use glossy samples to compute the glossy reflections on the material. For high roughness, increasing this value to 32 or higher will reduce noise in the reflections, and give a more accurate representation of the rough surface finish.

ThinfilmThis material simulates thin film interference phenomena as seen in soap bubbles, oil slicks, and protective coatings. This material can be used to simulate the protective and anti-glare coating on headlamps, LCD screens et al. The material’s parameters are:• IOR: The index of refraction of the film. Typical values for this material range

from 1.3-1.7.• Thickness: Thickness of the film (in nanometers).

TranslucentUse this material to generate organic or plastic materials that are translucent. This includes human skin. Keep in mind that this material is highly dependent on size and thickness of the object The material’s parameters are:• Diffuse: Determines the diffuse or outside color of the material. Note: If you

choose colors that are fully saturated, i.e. have a value of 255, the material will appear black. Reduce the saturation of the color to lower value to see the effect.

• Transmission: Determines the inside color of the material• Translucency: Controls the amount of light that passes through the outer

surface of the object. Higher values will let more light pass through.• IOR: Determines how the light is bend when penetrating the object.

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• Roughness: Controls the roughness of the surface. 0 means shiny.• Specularity: Determines the amount of reflectivity of the material.• Texture color: Creates a blend color between together with the diffuse color

X-rayThe X-ray material represent a material that can be seen in an image generated by an X-ray machine. The only parameter is the color.Color: Specifies the material’s color.

WireframeThis material allows the user to visualize the object in a wireframe representation based on the tessellation of the object. The material’s parameters are:• Width: Determines the thickness of the edges of the polygons.• Wire color: Specifies the color of the wireframe.• Base color: Specifies the fill color of the polygons.• Base transmission: Specifies the transmission fill color of the polygons.

Setting the color to white will make the polygons appear transparent.• Backside base color: Specifies the backside fill color of the polygons.• Backside wire color: Specifies the backside color of the wireframe.

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