This simple to use shader is useful for creating car paint materials. It supports three layers: base_layer, specular and clear_coat. These layers work similarly to those in the standard_surface shader. However, there are some unique attributes for specifically controlling color ramps, light facing color, and falloff that are unique to the car_paint shader. Metallic flakes can also easily be added to the specular layer.
Several car paint presets are available in the attribute editor of the Car Paint shader.
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Base
Weight
The primer layer color weight.
Color
The color of the primer layer.
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Red
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Green
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Blue
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Roughness
The primer layer follows an Oren-Nayar reflection model with surface roughness. A value of 0.0 is comparable to a Lambert reflection.
Specular
Weight
The base coat color weight.
Color
The color the specular reflection will be modulated with. Use this color to 'tint' the specular highlight from the base coat layer.
Specular Color: White (default). Rollover image to view orange.
Flip Flop
Connect a ramp shader here to modulate the specular reflection from the base coat depending on the viewing angle. This can be used to mimic a pearlescent effect. Rollover image to view without a ramp (solid color). The color changes depending on the viewing angle.
Light Facing Color
Modulates the base coat specular color of the area facing the light source. Pearlescent car paint effects can be created by combining light_facing_color with base_color.
Falloff
The falloff rate of the light facing color of the base specular coat. The higher the value, the narrower the region. It also determines how the ramp color and light facing color are blended. In the example below, the Flip-Flop color has been set to green and the Light Facing Color to red. Setting the Falloff to 1 disables the Light Facing Color (red): Falloff: 0 to 1. Flip-Flop color: Magenta, Light Facing Color: Red
Roughness
Controls the glossiness of the specular reflections from the base coat layer. The lower the value, the sharper the reflection. In the limit, a value of 0 will give you a perfectly sharp mirror reflection, while 1.0 will create reflections that are close to a diffuse reflection.
IOR
Determines the index of refraction for the base coat.
Transmission Color
This simulates light attenuation due to pigments. The lower the value, the denser pigments. The transmission_color also affects the appearance of the flakes. For example, when the base_color is blue and the transmission_color is yellow it becomes multiplied and renders as green, with the flakes tinted yellow.
Flakes
Flake Color
The color the specular reflection will be modulated with. Use this color to 'tint' the specular highlight from flakes.
Flip Flop
Connect a ramp shader here to modulate the specular reflection from flakes depending on the viewing angle. Ramp connected to Flake Flip Flop
Light Facing Color
Modulate the specular reflection color from flakes of the area facing the light source.
Falloff
The falloff rate of the light facing color of flakes. The higher the value, the narrower the region.
(Light Facing Color: blue)
Roughness
Controls the glossiness of the specular reflections from flakes. The lower the value, the sharper the reflection. In the limit, a value of 0 will give you a perfectly sharp mirror reflection, while 1.0 will create reflections that are close to a diffuse reflection.
IOR
Determines the index of refraction of flakes.
Scale
Scales the flake structure up or down. Smaller values zoom out of the map, giving a larger number of flakes.
Density
Controls the density of flakes. There will be no flakes if it is 0. The surface is fully covered with flakes at 1.
Layer
Specify the number of flake layers. The flakes at a deep layer are covered by the ones closest to the surface.
Normal Randomize
Randomize the orientation of flakes.
Coord Space
Specifies the coordinate space used for calculating the shapes of flakes.
Pref Name
Specify the name of the reference position user-data array. Previously, the name was hard-coded as "Pref", which is still the default.
Coat
Weight
This attribute is used to coat the material. It acts as a clear-coat layer on top of the base coat and primer layers. The coating is always reflective (with the given roughness) and is assumed to be dielectric.
Coat weight: 1 (rollover image to view 0). Specular Roughness: 0.5.
Color
This is the color of the coating layer's transparency.
Coat Color: White (default). Rollover image to view red.
Roughness
Controls the glossiness of the specular reflections. The lower the value, the sharper the reflection. In the limit, a value of 0 will give you a perfectly sharp mirror reflection, while 1.0 will create reflections that are close to a diffuse reflection. You should connect a map here to get variation in the coat highlight.
IOR
The IOR parameter (Index of Refraction) defines the material's Fresnel reflectivity and is by default the angular function used. Effectively the IOR will define the balance between reflections on surfaces facing the viewer and on surface edges.
Normal
The Coat Normal affects the Fresnel blending of the coat over the base, so depending on the normal, the base will be more or less visible from particular angles. Uses for Coat Normal could be a bumpy coat layer over a smoother base. This could include a rain effect, a carbon fiber shader or a car paint shader where you could use different normals (using e.g. flakes) for the coat layer and base layers.