HOW DO I CREATE A SIMPLE CAR PAINT MATERIAL?
Pietro Chiovaro replies
There are several ways to create car paint materials with 3D software, from using texture to simply painting them. But to ensure realism, the best process is the procedural method, which enables you to create materials from scratch in a more free and creative manner. The real challenge is getting the job done easily, but that’s why I’m here! I tried out a number of different methods until I found the key elements for putting together the perfect material.
Before diving into the creation process, let’s focus on the key element that helps us achieve the realism we’re after, which is the accuracy of our new materials. The model by itself is like white clay, but with the right material and good lighting we can make it look either true-to-life or stylised, depending what you’re after.
This is why, when starting a new project, I develop the model first and then create all the different materials I need. I study the various properties they have in the real world, such as roughness, transparency, reflectivity, and so on, with the aim of recreating them in 3D.
Here I’ll demonstrate how to create the car paint material seen in this render using a minimal number of nodes and without relying on external textures or elements. All you need is three minutes spare and a good model to place it on.
To begin, select the object you want to assign the material to. Once selected, navigate to the Shader Editor panel and add these elements: a Fresnel node, two Glossy BSDF nodes, a Mix Shader, and of course the Material Output.
Now we’ll connect them. First link the Fresnel to the Factor input of the Mix Shader, then connect both Glossy BSDF nodes to the same Mix Shader. Finally, link the Mix Shader to the Material Output.
Once all these nodes are connected we can adjust the material values, starting by setting the Fresnel IOR to a value of 1.450. Next up we’ll set a Roughness value between 0.200-0.400 for the first Glossy BSDF, and then input a value of 0.0010.015 for the second.
When it comes to adding the colour, I’d suggest keeping the second Glossy BSDF white and defining the main colour in the first, as this will get you a better chromatic effect. Now the material is ready, so feel free to test it out with different parameters and lighting as you need.