How to make a great looking pearlescent material
cynaptic started this discussion in Model Export and Render

I figured out a way to simulate the marbled metallic effect found in LEGO's pearlescent pieces.
http://i.imgur.com/N8xgW1d.png

Here's how to set it up in Scrubs' Blender template - (Here's a link to his template with it added)
http://i.imgur.com/40AXqAc.png

It is adjustable - the scale of the Voronoi Texture controls the size of the metallic flakes - and the attributes of the Magic Texture control the marble effect. You can also tweak the roughness of the Glossy node to change how shiny the metallic is.

To speed it up you could try removing the Voronoi Texture. It's probably only noticeable in close ups.

The sample render shown here doesn't really do it justice - check out some of my recent renders (like this one) to see how it looks in action.

The metallic also reacts to changing light angles accurately, so it'll be great for animations too.

Enjoy!

7 replies · Page 1 of 1

Thank you! I'm gonna bookmark this...

Hey, would you be able to upload a template with that set as the pearlescent shader? It would save me a lot of time. 😉

Link added to the post.

Thanks!

Check the file name has "+metal". The first version I added had a small error.

BONUS!!! - A simple way to make drum lacquered ink/metal parts look better.
http://i.imgur.com/ptTjFcP.png

I got the updated one just now. Thank you again!

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