Omar Khalid
KeyShot is a 3D rendering and animation software by Luxion that offers a range of material types, including plastic. To distress plastic in KeyShot, one can adjust the material's settings, such as diffuse colour, specular reflections, and roughness. For instance, setting the diffuse colour to black will turn off reflections, while white will result in a shiny plastic look. Increasing the roughness value will make the plastic appear less smooth and polished, giving it a distressed appearance. Additionally, adding colour to the specular value can introduce a metallic effect with microscopic imperfections. To create a distressed look resembling recycled plastic, one can experiment with textures, motion blur, and photogrammetry techniques.
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What You'll Learn
Adjusting the roughness
To adjust the roughness in KeyShot, you can follow these steps:
- Access the Roughness parameter: In the KeyShot interface, locate the Roughness slider, which is typically found under the Material Settings or General Parameters section.
- Adjust the slider: Move the slider to the left or right to increase or decrease the roughness of the material. A lower value, such as 0, will make the material appear smooth and polished, while increasing the value will add more imperfections and a rougher appearance.
- Observe the changes: As you adjust the slider, pay attention to the preview area to see how the changes in roughness affect the appearance of your material.
- Fine-tune the roughness: Depending on the material you are trying to create, you may need to fine-tune the roughness level. For example, if you are creating a cloudy or translucent plastic effect, you can adjust the Diffuse Transmission Color to a dark version of the desired color.
- Apply textures: If you want to add more detail to the roughness, you can apply textures by using the checkered box next to the Roughness parameter. This allows you to control the glossy appearance of the surface. When a texture is applied, dark areas will appear glossy, while white areas will have a matte finish.
- Use the Samples slider: For more advanced control, click the expand arrow next to the Roughness slider to access the Samples slider. This setting improves the accuracy of rough materials by allowing you to set the number of rays emitted from a pixel in a rendered image. Adjusting the Samples slider can smooth out the noise and provide a more evenly distributed roughness.
By following these steps and experimenting with different values, you can create various distressed plastic effects in KeyShot, from subtle wear marks to more dramatic weathered appearances.
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Using the colour picker
When you open the Color Picker, you will see the Color Bar, the Color Map, the Color Sliders, and the Color Swatches. The current colour will be shown in the Color Bar, located in the Color Map by a white/black circle, and on the Color Sliders with vertical lines and a value corresponding to the Color Space selected from the Color Space dropdown menu.
To select a new colour, place your cursor on another area of the Color Map and click. Alternatively, you can click-hold and drag to change colours dynamically. For finer control over the colour, select a Color Space that corresponds to the colour control you desire, then use the colour/value channels and input fields to adjust to the colour desired. The Eye Dropper tool allows you to select any colour on your display. When you select the Eye Dropper tool, the colour under your mouse cursor will appear in the New Color Bar area.
You can also use the Color Picker to save colours to your library. Once you have selected your desired colour, drag and drop it from the new area of the Color Bar to the Color Swatch grid for later use. To save a new colour to your library, click the Save icon. A prompt will appear for you to choose a Color folder in the KeyShot Library where you would like to save your new colour. To add a new folder to the Color Library, go to the Library, Color tab, and select the New Folder icon, or right-click at the location in the folder list where you want to add the new folder, and select Add.
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Creating a metallic effect
To create a metallic effect in KeyShot, you can start by selecting the Metal material type. This will give you the option to control the metal by colour, measured material preset, or by importing a complex IOR file.
If you choose to control the metal by colour, you can select the desired shade from the colour picker. Increasing the values will add microscopic levels of imperfections to the surface of the material, giving it a rougher look as light is diffused across the surface.
Alternatively, you can choose from 13 scientifically accurate metal presets, including aluminium, brass, chromium, copper, gold, iron, magnesium, nickel, niobium, platinum, silver, titanium, and zinc. These presets also allow you to add an anodized coating, which will further enhance the metallic effect.
To create an old, ancient, or rusty metal look, you can use KeyShot's Material Graph to tweak the material's colour, roughness, or refractive index. You can use texture maps to create an inconsistent colour and roughness, adding a texture to the Bump section to create an imperfect surface. Play around with the values to achieve the desired level of reflectivity.
Additionally, you can use the Curvature Node to control the opacity of the material, making it visible only on convex parts of the object. Adjusting the Cutoff value will determine how KeyShot treats flat surfaces, and changing the Radius value will blur or sharpen the transition between light and dark areas.
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Simulating a translucent effect
To simulate a translucent effect in KeyShot, you can adjust the translucency value of the material. This will control how deep light penetrates into and through the surface. The higher the translucency value, the more of the subsurface colour will show through the surface. This will also create a softer-looking material.
To create a translucent effect, you can also adjust the roughness of the material. A low roughness value will make the surface look more evenly distributed and smooth. A higher roughness value will create a more imperfect, noisy, and rough look. This will cause additional light to be scattered across the surface of the material, simulating a translucent effect.
The diffuse colour of the outer surface of the material can also be adjusted to create a translucent effect. This is considered the overall colour of the material. If you want to create a transparent glass or plastic, the diffuse colour should be black, with all the colour derived from this parameter. Transparent glasses or plastics should have the specular set to white. If you want to create a cloudy plastic, the diffuse colour can be set to a very dark version of the colour set.
Additionally, you can adjust the refraction within the surface to create a translucent effect. The default refraction value of 1.4 is a good starting point for simulating most types of plastics. However, you can increase the value to create a more dramatic refraction within the surface, similar to the effect of glass and other similar materials.
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Making recycled plastic
To make recycled plastic, you will need to collect plastic bags and proceed to shred them. This step is important as it will make the final texture of the recycled plastic finer and more homogeneous. Next, you will need to melt the shredded plastic in a pot. It is recommended to use an old pot that you will no longer use for cooking. Heat the pot to 248°F (120°C) as this is the melting point of LDPE plastic, which is the type of plastic used for plastic bags. You can use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the pot. Once the plastic is melted, add oil to regulate the temperature and prevent the plastic from burning. Canola oil is a good option for this. Mix the molten plastic and oil together until they are fully incorporated. Be careful as the mixture will be very hot. Now, while the mixture is still pliable, you can start to mould it into your desired shape. You can use containers or bottles to help create the shape you want. Once you are happy with the shape, let the plastic cool at room temperature or place it in the freezer to speed up the process. And that's it! You have successfully made recycled plastic.
- If you want to create a more complex shape, you may need to use a mould. You can make your own mould by machining down a brick into large chunks and feeding them into a homemade injection moulder.
- If you want to add colour to your recycled plastic, you can use wax instead of oil. This will give the final surface a less greasy appearance.
- You can also experiment with using different types of plastic, such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE/PET or #1), which has a higher melting point than LDPE.
- Always be cautious when working with hot materials and follow proper safety procedures to avoid any injuries.
Now, let's shift our focus to distressing plastic in KeyShot. KeyShot is a 3D rendering and animation software that can be used to create photorealistic images of various materials, including distressed plastic. Here are the steps to distress plastic in KeyShot:
- Start by setting the diffuse colour, which is the overall colour of the plastic. You can do this by clicking on the colour box and selecting your desired colour from the Colour Picker. For a realistic look, choose a grey or white colour as these represent the lack of colour in the specular value of realistic plastics.
- Next, adjust the roughness of the material. Increasing the roughness will make the plastic appear more distressed and imperfect. Play around with the values until you achieve the desired level of distress.
- Utilise the spots texture as an opacity mask. Apply slightly varied values to each spot to create a unique and non-uniform look. You can also use distortion to further enhance the non-uniform appearance.
- Experiment with the falloff feature to feather the edges of the spots, creating a softer transition between the distressed and non-distressed areas.
- Consider using animation and motion blur to add a sense of movement to your distressed plastic. This can be done through the animation tab in KeyShot, where you can adjust the translation and motion blur settings.
- If you're looking for an easier alternative, try using a high-quality image of distressed plastic as a custom texture that you can apply to your 3D model in KeyShot.
By following these steps and experimenting with the various features in KeyShot, you can create a wide range of distressed plastic looks, from simple to complex.
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Frequently asked questions
Set the diffuse (overall colour) and add some specular (reflections), then adjust the roughness. A low roughness setting will make the surface look more noisy and imperfect.
Set the roughness to 0 for a smooth and polished look. Increase the value to make the material appear rougher as light is diffused across the surface.
Start with a material that has a lot of labels, each one a different colour. Then, use the spots texture as an opacity mask for each label. Use a different seed number on each texture to vary the placement of the spots.
Set the diffuse colour to a very dark version of the colour you want.
