💡 Intro to Materials
Time: 1 hour
🎯 Objective
Use materials to bring your scene to life. Create atmosphere and emotion using color, surface, and texture.
Mood & Material Planning
Before diving in, ask yourself:
- What mood do you want? (warm, eerie, soft, mysterious?)
- What kind of materials would help? (glass, metal, cloth, plastic?)
- Where is the light coming from in your world? Is it comming from the sun? the moon? a spot light? other type of light source?
Tips for Mood and Atmosphere
| Mood |
Color Palette |
Light Style |
Material Ideas |
| Cozy/Warm |
Orange, red |
Soft, area lights |
Matte, rough, warm tones |
| Mysterious |
Purple, blue |
Low spotlight |
Glossy, glowing elements |
| Futuristic |
Cyan, silver |
Bright sun, contrast |
Metal, glass, neon colors |
| Nature-like |
Green, brown |
Sunlight, warm fill |
Earth tones, rough texture |
Step 1: Add Materials
- Select an object
- Go to the Material Properties tab (icon in bottom-right panel)
- Click + New
- Change:
- Base Color
- Roughness (smooth vs. matte)
- Metallic (non-metal to chrome)
Preview Your Scene
- Switch to Rendered View:
Z → Rendered
- Or click the shaded ball icon in top-right of the 3D view
Tutorials
💾 Save Your Work!
File → Save- Use filename:
YourName_SceneLights.blend
- Save to USB or class folder
📝 Reflection
What kind of mood or feeling do your materials create?
→ Describe it in one or two words!