How do you test and preview your materials in different environments and scenarios?

1 Use a material preview tool

A material preview tool is a software application that lets you see how your materials will look on different shapes, models, and scenes. You can adjust various parameters such as color, roughness, metallic, normal, and displacement maps, and see the changes in real time. Some examples of material preview tools are Substance Player, Quixel Mixer, and Blender's Material Preview mode. A material preview tool can help you fine-tune your materials and avoid surprises when you export them to your final render engine.

2 Use a PBR workflow

PBR stands for Physically Based Rendering, which is a method of creating materials that mimic how light interacts with real-world surfaces. PBR materials are composed of base color, metallic, roughness, normal, and height maps, which define the color, reflectivity, smoothness, surface detail, and elevation of the material. PBR materials are more consistent and realistic across different render engines and lighting scenarios, as they follow a standard set of rules and formulas. To create PBR materials, you can use a dedicated software such as Substance Painter, Quixel Suite, or ArmorPaint, or use a node-based system such as Blender's Shader Editor or Maya's Hypershade.

3 Use HDRI images for lighting and reflections

HDRI stands for High Dynamic Range Imaging, which is a technique of capturing and storing a wider range of light values than a normal image. HDRI images can be used as environment maps for lighting and reflections in your render engine, creating more realistic and natural illumination and reflections for your materials. HDRI images can also provide a background for your scene, adding context and contrast to your materials. You can find free and paid HDRI images online, or create your own using a 360-degree camera or a panoramic stitching software.

4 Use reference images and materials

One of the best ways to create realistic materials is to use reference images and materials from the real world. You can use photos, videos, or physical samples of the materials you want to recreate, and study their properties, such as color, texture, glossiness, and imperfections. You can also use online libraries of scanned materials, such as Megascans, Poliigon, or CC0 Textures, which provide high-quality PBR materials that you can download and use in your projects. Using reference images and materials can help you achieve more accuracy and realism in your material design.

5 Use a render farm or cloud rendering service

Rendering your materials in high quality and resolution can take a lot of time and computing power, especially if you have complex scenes, models, and lighting. If you want to speed up your rendering process and save your resources, you can use a render farm or a cloud rendering service. A render farm is a network of computers that work together to render your images or animations faster. A cloud rendering service is a online platform that lets you upload your files and render them on remote servers. Some examples of render farms and cloud rendering services are RenderStreet, SheepIt, and GarageFarm.

6 Test your materials on different devices and platforms

Finally, you should test your materials on different devices and platforms, such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, VR headsets, and game consoles. Depending on your target audience and purpose, you may need to optimize your materials for different screen sizes, resolutions, performance, and compatibility. You can use tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine, or Godot to create cross-platform applications that showcase your materials, or use online platforms such as Sketchfab, ArtStation, or Marmoset Viewer to share your materials with others. Testing your materials on different devices and platforms can help you ensure that they look and work as intended.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?