About materials
A material workflow guide for 3D artists creating and reusing production assets. It covers PBR settings, procedural effects, material budgets, and export preparation.
Key features
- 01Create reusable master materials
- 02Make parameter-based material variations
- 03Build procedural wear and dirt effects
- 04Set up vertex-color variation masks
- 05Control material counts and prepare exports
Use cases
- 01Develop materials after UV work
- 02Set up a master material library
- 03Create variations from shared masters
- 04Prepare materials for engine export
MCP support
The guide describes using MCP to create material slots, assign materials, set Principled BSDF parameters, query scene material counts, and check naming conventions.
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/materialsin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Bundled filesreferences/procedural-patterns.mdreferences/surface-recipes.md
Details
From the project READMEMaterials
Production shading with material reuse. PBR-accurate or intentionally stylized. Minimal unique materials.
When to Use
- Look development after UVs
- Procedural material creation
- Master material library setup
- Material variation from shared masters
- Engine export material preparation
Workflow
Master Materials → Instance Variations → Object Assignment
→ Vertex Color/Mask Setup → Validation → Export Prep
Master Material Library
Create reusable masters in MAT_ prefix:
| Master | Base Setup |
|---|---|
| MAT_Metal_Base | Principled: Metallic 1, adjustable Roughness |
| MAT_Plastic_Base | Principled: Metallic 0, Specular 0.5 |
| MAT_Fabric_Base | Principled + Sheen |
| MAT_Glass_Base | Principled: Transmission 1, IOR 1.45 |
| MAT_Emissive_Base | Principled: Emission strength variable |
| MAT_Organic_Base | Subsurface scattering enabled |
Instance variations: duplicate master, adjust parameters only.
PBR Value Ranges
| Material | Metallic | Roughness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polished metal | 1.0 | 0.1–0.3 | |
| Brushed metal | 1.0 | 0.4–0.6 | Anisotropic if available |
| Painted metal | 0.0 | 0.3–0.5 | Base color = paint |
| Plastic | 0.0 | 0.3–0.6 | |
| Rubber | 0.0 | 0.7–0.9 | |
| Concrete | 0.0 | 0.8–0.95 | |
| Wood (raw) | 0.0 | 0.5–0.7 | |
| Glass | 0.0 | 0.0 | Transmission 1 |
| Skin | 0.0 | 0.4–0.6 | Subsurface 0.1–0.3 |
| Fabric | 0.0 | 0.7–0.9 | Sheen |
Procedural Material Patterns
Wear mask: Noise → ColorRamp → Lerp between clean/worn Edge wear: Bevel node → Pointiness or Ambient Occlusion Dirt accumulation: AO inverted → multiply with dirt color Rust: Noise mask on metal → orange/brown color override
Material Count Budget
| Asset Type | Max Materials |
|---|---|
| Hero prop | 3–5 |
| Standard prop | 1–2 |
| Modular piece | 1 (atlas) |
| Character | 3–8 (body, cloth, eyes, hair) |
| Environment module | 1–2 |
Vertex Color Usage
- RGB: variation masks (wear, moss, color variation)
- R: wear amount, G: dirt, B: wetness
- Document channel usage in material notes
Stylized Materials
See stylized-style skill. Key differences:
- Flatten roughness range
- Hand-painted base color priority
- Rim light via Fresnel mix
- NPR toon shaders if project requires
MCP Integration
- Create material slots via MCP
- Assign materials to objects via MCP
- Set principled BSDF parameters via MCP
- Query material count per scene
- Verify material names follow convention
Constraints
MUST DO
- Reuse master materials; instance variations
- Name materials
MAT_[Surface]_[Descriptor] - Match PBR values to style skill direction
- Limit material count per asset budget
- Test materials in target lighting setup
MUST NOT DO
- Unique material per object (unless hero)
- PBR values outside physically plausible range (realistic style)
- Skip vertex color masks for variation
- Leave default material names
- Finalize materials before UVs complete
Reference Guide
| Topic | Reference | Load When |
|---|---|---|
| Surface recipes | references/surface-recipes.md | Specific materials |
| Procedural nodes | references/procedural-patterns.md | Wear, dirt, variation |