Improve your 3ds Max workflow: Getting the most out of the slate material editor

Paul Hatton shows you how to take advantage of the node-based slate material editor to create complex materials quickly and clearly in 3ds Max...

Improving your 3ds Max workflow – previous chapters:

Top 10 interface secrets
Better modeling workflow
Handling massive scenes
3ds Max animation tools
Organic placement using MassFx
An introduction to Particle Flow
Adding natural movement with the Flex modifier

Before the release of 3ds Max 2010, users were restricted to a material editor which did indeed enable you to edit materials but it was cumbersome to navigate around. There was no way to see your materials in their entirety; instead you had to laboriously navigate through levels of maps and settings, never quite sure how it all fitted together! In this tutorial I will give you the building blocks to enable you to build the bridge between the old compact editor and the slate editor. Let's dive in.

Make the switch, go on!

The first step to freedom is committing to leaving the compact material editor behind. Even the fact that it's called ‘compact' leaves me disappointed and constrained! I just have that urge to break out. With your compact material editor open, go to the Modes menu at the top-left and select Slate material editor. You will notice a whole new world open up in front of you. A new shiny world with many possibilities. Just bask in it for a while.

The slate material editor gives you not only more room and flexibility, but primarily it enables you to see the entirety of your materials. That's a massive plus

The slate material editor gives you not only more room and flexibility, but primarily it enables you to see the entirety of your materials. That's a massive plus

The interface

It's split up into 3 primary panes. The first on the left is your Material/Map Browser which will display all the materials and maps that you can use. This list is dependent on the renderer that you have selected in your render settings. The second pane in the middle is the Active View which is a node based interface and we'll look at that more shortly. And the third pane is the Parameter editor which displays the parameters for the material that you have selected in the node interface.

The clean, spacious and tidy interface is a breath of fresh air compared to the old compact material editor

The clean, spacious and tidy interface is a breath of fresh air compared to the old compact material editor

Setting up your first material

There are a couple of ways to do this. The first is to drag and drop the material or map from the left hand side into your middle viewport. Doing this is quick and the Material/Map Browser is fairly logically laid out. The other way of doing it is to right-click in the node viewport and to navigate to your desired material or map. Personally, I use the first option the majority of the time just because I find it quicker and more intuitive.

The simple drag and drop interface makes it a delight to use

The simple drag and drop interface makes it a delight to use

Material/Map interface

A material is made up of a collection of items which we'll explore now. At the top you have the Title bar which contains the preview, the material name and the material type. Underneath that you have a series of slots that show the components which make up your material. Helpfully the editor will only display the slots that are available for that particular material or map. The circular nodes to the left are used for inputting items into the material and the node to the right is used for outputting to an object.

<h5>The node slots let you attach maps, materials and objects together quickly and efficiently</h5>

The node slots let you attach maps, materials and objects together quickly and efficiently

Using the nodes

Now that we know some of the terminology of the slate material editor and how it is all set up, let's start linking nodes together. Let's start by adding some maps to our material (V-Ray in this example). Drag and drop a Bitmap map from the Map Browser into the Active View. Connect your two items by clicking and dragging from the output connection of the bitmap over to the input connection of the Diffuse Map. Then add a Noise map to the Active View and connect it to the Bump map slot. Hopefully you can see how quick it is to set your materials up.

<h5>Add maps quickly and easily and attach them to your materials. You can even connect a single bitmap to multiple material inputs</h5>

Add maps quickly and easily and attach them to your materials. You can even connect a single bitmap to multiple material inputs

Changing parameters

In reality this is very similar to the compact material editor. The interface is identical so it'll hopefully be familiar to you. The right hand side Parameter editor displays the parameters of the material or map that you have selected in the Active View. An active selection is made by double-clicking on a material or map. The thing I love about the slate editor is that everything is clearly laid out so that you can edit parameters at the same time as seeing your material and maps, all in one place.

<h5>The Parameter Editor is identical to the one in the Compact Editor. Not much to say here therefore!</h5>

The Parameter Editor is identical to the one in the Compact Editor. Not much to say here therefore!

Keeping things organized in views

One of the other major benefits in the slate material editors is that you can keep your materials organized in something called Views. No longer are you limited to 24 sample slots but now the world is your oyster. You can set up views for exterior materials, interior materials or break it down by room for example. At the top of the Active View you'll see View 1. To create a new view simply right-click on this and click Create New View. You can also rename and delete views from this menu.

Views will speed up your workflow and enable you to find exactly what you need in a quick space of time

Views will speed up your workflow and enable you to find exactly what you need in a quick space of time

Moving node trees to other views

Now that we know about views you may at times find it helpful to move whole tree nodes over to another view. In the early days of the slate editor I found options like this a right pain to find, but as with a lot of things in the slate editor, it can be found by right-clicking on the material. Towards the bottom you'll notice an option for Move Tree to View and then a list of the views that exist in your scene.

<h5>Keep things organized by moving materials between views. This can also often be helpful if you want to set up multi-sub materials</h5>

Keep things organized by moving materials between views. This can also often be helpful if you want to set up multi-sub materials

Get all scene materials

The material picker tool is brilliant but there are times when you want to pick all of the materials in your scene and display them in the slate material editor. To do this simple go to the Materials drop-down and select Get all scene materials. This will display all the materials and maps that are active in your scene. You are then free to make any edits you need to.

<h5>Gather all of your scene materials into 1 place with this helpful tool</h5>

Gather all of your scene materials into 1 place with this helpful tool

Customize your interface

As with most parts of 3ds Max, they do give you the opportunity to fine tune and customize the interface. You can do this by going to Options and Preferences. In there it gives you the option to reverse the Node Layout Direction as well as a handy compatibility display mode if you're having problems with older graphic card drivers.

<h5>The preferences give you that control over your interface that you sometimes want or even need</h5>

The preferences give you that control over your interface that you sometimes want or even need

Top tip: Really complex materials

At times you may find the slate material becoming a bit slow. I know that Grant Warwick has reported this with some of his really complex materials. At those times you may find it easier to move over to the compact editor but that can make it more challenging to navigate around your material.

<h5>They are occasions when switching back to the compact material editor makes sense</h5>

They are occasions when switching back to the compact material editor makes sense

Improving your 3ds Max workflow – previous chapters:

Top 10 interface secrets
Better modeling workflow
Handling massive scenes
3ds Max animation tools
Organic placement using MassFx
An introduction to Particle Flow
Adding natural movement with the Flex modifier

Related links

Check out Paul Hatton's personal site
Are you a 3ds Max user, or looking to start? You could try our collection of 3ds Max eBooks or purchase our books, 3ds Max Projects and Photoshop for 3D Artists

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