{"id":13978,"date":"2026-05-13T23:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/?post_type=manual_documentation&#038;p=13978"},"modified":"2026-05-14T20:46:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:46:31","slug":"pbmchannels","status":"publish","type":"manual_documentation","link":"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/texturing\/pbmchannels\/","title":{"rendered":"PBM Channels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 3DCoat render system supports an advanced physically based material (PBR\/PBM) model. It includes not only standard channels but also specialized effects to create the most realistic surfaces possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is a detailed description of each channel and its impact on the material&#8217;s appearance, based on the internal shader architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Base Channels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>AlbedoColor (Albedo \/ Base Color)<\/strong><br \/>The main color of the surface. For dielectrics (non-metals), this is their own color. For metals, it&#8217;s their reflection color.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Opacity<\/strong><br \/>Determines how opaque a pixel is. Usually used for &#8220;CutOut&#8221; transparency (leaves, meshes), hiding geometry where the value is low.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emissive<\/strong><br \/>Adds self-illumination to the material. The surface will be bright even in complete darkness and can cast light on neighboring objects (via global illumination).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TSNormal (Tangent Space Normal)<\/strong><br \/>A normal map that defines fine surface relief without altering the geometry itself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AmbientOcclusion<\/strong><br \/>Micro-shadowing in recesses. Darkens areas that are hard for diffuse light to reach, emphasizing the volume of the relief.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mask<\/strong><br \/>A general technical channel that can be used for layer blending logic or creating custom effects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Specular &amp; Metalness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Metalness<\/strong><br \/>Determines whether a material is a metal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>0<\/code> (Dielectric): Reflects only 4% of light at a direct angle (depends on IOR), albedo acts as the surface color.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>1<\/code> (Metal): Albedo becomes the reflection color (e.g., yellow gold), and the diffuse color disappears.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Roughness \/ Gloss<\/strong><br \/><code>Gloss = 1.0 - Roughness<\/code>. Determines the &#8220;polish&#8221; of the surface. High Gloss gives sharp, mirror-like reflections, while high Roughness blurs reflections, making the surface matte.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>IOR (Index of Refraction)<\/strong><br \/>Determines the strength of the base reflection (F0) for non-metals. For example, water has an IOR ~1.33, glass ~1.5. Affects how strongly a surface reflects light when viewed at a direct angle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ReflectionColor<\/strong><br \/>Additional color control for reflection. Usually, reflection for non-metals is colorless, but this channel allows you to forcefully change its tint (e.g., for stylized materials).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SpecularEdgePower<\/strong><br \/>Controls the Fresnel effect (how strongly a material reflects light when viewed at a grazing angle). Allows you to enhance or weaken highlights on the edges of an object.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FlatSpecular<\/strong><br \/>Allows you to &#8220;flatten&#8221; reflections, ignoring fine irregularities from the normal map. Useful for stylization or avoiding &#8220;noisy&#8221; highlights on complex details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Refraction \/ Glass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Refraction<\/strong><br \/>Unlike <code>Opacity<\/code> (which simply &#8220;cuts&#8221; a hole), this is physical material transparency (like glass or water). Light passes through the surface and refracts. The higher the value, the more transparent the material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>RefractionBlur<\/strong><br \/>Frosted glass. Blurs the background visible through a transparent object. Often linked to regular <code>Roughness<\/code> but allows controlling background blur separately.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>RefractionMetalness<\/strong><br \/>Allows creating translucent metals (like thin gold foil or metallized films) while retaining transparency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>RefractionChromatic (Chromatic Aberration)<\/strong><br \/>Separates refracted light into a spectrum (like a prism), creating colored halos on the edges of thick glass.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. SubSurface Scattering (SSS &amp; Volume)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Used for translucent materials (skin, wax, milk, plastic, jade).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SubSurface \/ Volume<\/strong><br \/>Determines how deep light penetrates into the material. This makes shadows softer and translucent edges brighter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SubSurfaceColor<\/strong><br \/>The color of the light that scatters beneath the surface. For example, for human skin, <code>AlbedoColor<\/code> would be flesh-toned, while <code>SubSurfaceColor<\/code> would be red (due to blood under the skin).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Special Surface Effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Anisotropy<\/strong><br \/>Stretches the specular highlight in a specific direction. Characteristic of brushed metal (pots), hair, or silk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Iridescence<\/strong><br \/>Thin film interference effect. Creates rainbow shifting colors depending on the viewing angle (like on soap bubbles, insect wings, or spilled gasoline).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>EffectNormal<\/strong><br \/>A color channel (vector direction) that defines the direction for stretching the anisotropic highlight and the direction for the iridescence gradient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ClearCoat<\/strong><br \/>Creates an additional transparent glossy layer on top of the existing material (like car paint or varnished wood). This layer has its own reflection, independent of the base material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ClearCoatGloss<\/strong><br \/>Determines how smooth the clear coat layer is.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Fabrics, Micro-relief and Fuzz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These channels are designed to simulate materials with complex microstructures on the surface (fabrics, dust).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Velvet \/ Sheen<\/strong><br \/>Creates a soft highlight on the edges of an object. Characteristic of velvet, peach, suede. This is light reflecting from micro-fibers at grazing angles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SheenColor<\/strong><br \/>Tints the fabric highlight a specific color.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Microprotrusions (Fuzz \/ Dust)<\/strong><br \/>Simulates the presence of microscopic particles (or dust) on the surface that scatter light differently than the main surface. Can make the material &#8220;dusty&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MicroprotrusionsGloss<\/strong><br \/>Controls how sharply these micro-fibers reflect light.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MicroprotrusionsColor<\/strong><br \/>The color of the dust or fuzz resting on the material.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":14059,"menu_order":0,"template":"","manualdocumentationcategory":[9,193],"manual_doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-13978","manual_documentation","type-manual_documentation","status-publish","hentry","manualdocumentationcategory-manual","manualdocumentationcategory-nodes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PBM Channels - 3DCoat Documentation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/3dcoat.com\/documentation\/manual\/texturing\/pbmchannels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PBM Channels - 3DCoat Documentation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 3DCoat render system supports an advanced physically based material (PBR\/PBM) model. 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