**Filament Materials Guide**
# About
This document is part of the [Filament project](https://github.com/google/filament). To report errors in this document please use the [project's issue tracker](https://github.com/google/filament/issues).
## Authors
- [Romain Guy](https://github.com/romainguy), [@romainguy](https://twitter.com/romainguy)
- [Mathias Agopian](https://github.com/pixelflinger), [@darthmoosious](https://twitter.com/darthmoosious)
# Overview
Filament is a physically based rendering (PBR) engine for Android. Filament offers a customizable
material system that you can use to create both simple and complex materials. This document
describes all the features available to materials and how to create your own material.
## Core concepts
Material
: A material defines the visual appearance of a surface. To completely describe and render a
surface, a material provides the following information:
- Material model
- Set of use-controllable named parameters
- Raster state (blending mode, backface culling, etc.)
- Vertex shader code
- Fragment shader code
Material model
: Also called _shading model_ or _lighting model_, the material model defines the intrinsic
properties of a surface. These properties have a direct influence on the way lighting is
computed and therefore on the appearance of a surface.
Material definition
: A text file that describes all the information required by a material. This is the file that you
will directly author to create new materials.
Material package
: At runtime, materials are loaded from _material packages_ compiled from material definitions
using the `matc` tool. A material package contains all the information required to describe a
material, and shaders generated for the target runtime platforms. This is necessary because
different platforms (Android, macOS, Linux, etc.) use different graphics APIs or different
variants of similar graphics APIs (OpenGL vs OpenGL ES for instance).
Material instance
: A material instance is a reference to a material and a set of values for the different values of
that material. Material instances are not covered in this document as they are created and
manipulated directly from code using Filament's APIs.
# Material models
Filament materials can use one of the following material models:
- Lit (or standard)
- Subsurface
- Cloth
- Unlit
- Specular glossiness (legacy)
## Lit model
The lit model is Filament's standard material model. This physically-based shading model was
designed after to offer good interoperability with other common tools and engines such as _Unity 5_,
_Unreal Engine 4_, _Substance Designer_ or _Marmoset Toolbag_.
This material model can be used to describe many non-metallic surfaces (_dielectrics_)
or metallic surfaces (_conductors_).
The appearance of a material using the standard model is controlled using the properties described
in table [standardProperties].
Property | Definition
-----------------------:|:---------------------
**baseColor** | Diffuse albedo for non-metallic surfaces, and specular color for metallic surfaces
**metallic** | Whether a surface appears to be dielectric (0.0) or conductor (1.0). Often used as a binary value (0 or 1)
**roughness** | Perceived smoothness (1.0) or roughness (0.0) of a surface. Smooth surfaces exhibit sharp reflections
**reflectance** | Fresnel reflectance at normal incidence for dielectric surfaces. This directly controls the strength of the reflections
**sheenColor** | Strength of the sheen layer
**sheenRoughness** | Perceived smoothness or roughness of the sheen layer
**clearCoat** | Strength of the clear coat layer
**clearCoatRoughness** | Perceived smoothness or roughness of the clear coat layer
**anisotropy** | Amount of anisotropy in either the tangent or bitangent direction
**anisotropyDirection** | Local surface direction in tangent space
**ambientOcclusion** | Defines how much of the ambient light is accessible to a surface point. It is a per-pixel shadowing factor between 0.0 and 1.0
**normal** | A detail normal used to perturb the surface using _bump mapping_ (_normal mapping_)
**bentNormal** | A normal pointing in the average unoccluded direction. Can be used to improve indirect lighting quality
**clearCoatNormal** | A detail normal used to perturb the clear coat layer using _bump mapping_ (_normal mapping_)
**emissive** | Additional diffuse albedo to simulate emissive surfaces (such as neons, etc.) This property is mostly useful in an HDR pipeline with a bloom pass
**postLightingColor** | Additional color that can be blended with the result of the lighting computations. See `postLightingBlending`
**ior** | Index of refraction, either for refractive objects or as an alternative to reflectance
**transmission** | Defines how much of the diffuse light of a dielectric is transmitted through the object, in other words this defines how transparent an object is
**absorption** | Absorption factor for refractive objects
**microThickness** | Thickness of the thin layer of refractive objects
**thickness** | Thickness of the solid volume of refractive objects
[Table [standardProperties]: Properties of the standard model]
The type and range of each property is described in table [standardPropertiesTypes].
Property | Type | Range | Note
-----------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------:|:-------------------------
**baseColor** | float4 | [0..1] | Pre-multiplied linear RGB
**metallic** | float | [0..1] | Should be 0 or 1
**roughness** | float | [0..1] |
**reflectance** | float | [0..1] | Prefer values > 0.35
**sheenColor** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB
**sheenRoughness** | float | [0..1] |
**clearCoat** | float | [0..1] | Should be 0 or 1
**clearCoatRoughness** | float | [0..1] |
**anisotropy** | float | [-1..1] | Anisotropy is in the tangent direction when this value is positive
**anisotropyDirection** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB, encodes a direction vector in tangent space
**ambientOcclusion** | float | [0..1] |
**normal** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB, encodes a direction vector in tangent space
**bentNormal** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB, encodes a direction vector in tangent space
**clearCoatNormal** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB, encodes a direction vector in tangent space
**emissive** | float4 | rgb=[0..n], a=[0..1] | Linear RGB intensity in nits, alpha encodes the exposure weight
**postLightingColor** | float4 | [0..1] | Pre-multiplied linear RGB
**ior** | float | [1..n] | Optional, usually deduced from the reflectance
**transmission** | float | [0..1] |
**absorption** | float3 | [0..n] |
**microThickness** | float | [0..n] |
**thickness** | float | [0..n] |
[Table [standardPropertiesTypes]: Range and type of the standard model's properties]
!!! Note: About linear RGB
Several material model properties expect RGB colors. Filament materials use RGB colors in linear
space and you must take proper care of supplying colors in that space. See the Linear colors
section for more information.
!!! Note: About pre-multiplied RGB
Filament materials expect colors to use pre-multiplied alpha. See the Pre-multiplied alpha
section for more information.
!!! Note: About `absorption`
The light attenuation through the material is defined as $e^{-absorption \cdot distance}$,
and the distance depends on the `thickness` parameter. If `thickness` is not provided, then
the `absorption` parameter is used directly and the light attenuation through the material
becomes $1 - absorption$. To obtain a certain color at a desired distance, the above
equation can be inverted such as $absorption = -\frac{ln(color)}{distance}$.
!!! Note: About `ior` and `reflectance`
The index of refraction (IOR) and the reflectance represent the same physical attribute,
therefore they don't need to be both specified. Typically, only the reflectance is specified,
and the IOR is deduced automatically. When only the IOR is specified, the reflectance is then
deduced automatically. It is possible to specify both, in which case their values are kept
as-is, which can lead to physically impossible materials, however, this might be desirable
for artistic reasons.
!!! Note: About `thickness` and `microThickness` for refraction
`thickness` represents the thickness of solid objects in the direction of the normal, for
satisfactory results, this should be provided per fragment (e.g.: as a texture) or at least per
vertex. `microThickness` represent the thickness of the thin layer of an object, and can
generally be provided as a constant value. For example, a 1mm thin hollow sphere of radius 1m,
would have a `thickness` of 1 and a `microThickness` of 0.001. Currently `thickness` is not
used when `refractionType` is set to `thin`.
### Base color
The `baseColor` property defines the perceived color of an object (sometimes called albedo). The
effect of `baseColor` depends on the nature of the surface, controlled by the `metallic` property
explained in the Metallic section.
Non-metals (dielectrics)
: Defines the diffuse color of the surface. Real-world values are typically found in the range
$[10..240]$ if the value is encoded between 0 and 255, or in the range $[0.04..0.94]$ between 0
and 1. Several examples of base colors for non-metallic surfaces can be found in
table [baseColorsDielectrics].
Metal | sRGB | Hexadecimal | Color
----------:|:-------------------:|:------------:|-------------------------------------------------------
Coal | 0.19, 0.19, 0.19 | #323232 |
Rubber | 0.21, 0.21, 0.21 | #353535 |
Mud | 0.33, 0.24, 0.19 | #553d31 |
Wood | 0.53, 0.36, 0.24 | #875c3c |
Vegetation | 0.48, 0.51, 0.31 | #7b824e |
Brick | 0.58, 0.49, 0.46 | #947d75 |
Sand | 0.69, 0.66, 0.52 | #b1a884 |
Concrete | 0.75, 0.75, 0.73 | #c0bfbb |
[Table [baseColorsDielectrics]: `baseColor` for common non-metals]
Metals (conductors)
: Defines the specular color of the surface. Real-world values are typically found in the range
$[170..255]$ if the value is encoded between 0 and 255, or in the range $[0.66..1.0]$ between 0 and
1. Several examples of base colors for metallic surfaces can be found in table [baseColorsConductors].
Metal | sRGB | Hexadecimal | Color
----------:|:-------------------:|:------------:|-------------------------------------------------------
Silver | 0.97, 0.96, 0.91 | #f7f4e8 |
Aluminum | 0.91, 0.92, 0.92 | #e8eaea |
Titanium | 0.76, 0.73, 0.69 | #c1baaf |
Iron | 0.77, 0.78, 0.78 | #c4c6c6 |
Platinum | 0.83, 0.81, 0.78 | #d3cec6 |
Gold | 1.00, 0.85, 0.57 | #ffd891 |
Brass | 0.98, 0.90, 0.59 | #f9e596 |
Copper | 0.97, 0.74, 0.62 | #f7bc9e |
[Table [baseColorsConductors]: `baseColor` for common metals]
### Metallic
The `metallic` property defines whether the surface is a metallic (_conductor_) or a non-metallic
(_dielectric_) surface. This property should be used as a binary value, set to either 0 or 1.
Intermediate values are only truly useful to create transitions between different types of surfaces
when using textures.
This property can dramatically change the appearance of a surface. Non-metallic surfaces have
chromatic diffuse reflection and achromatic specular reflection (reflected light does not change
color). Metallic surfaces do not have any diffuse reflection and chromatic specular reflection
(reflected light takes on the color of the surfaced as defined by `baseColor`).
The effect of `metallic` is shown in figure [metallicProperty] (click on the image to see a
larger version).
![Figure [metallicProperty]: `metallic` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/metallic.png)
### Roughness
The `roughness` property controls the perceived smoothness of the surface. When `roughness` is set
to 0, the surface is perfectly smooth and highly glossy. The rougher a surface is, the "blurrier"
the reflections are. This property is often called _glossiness_ in other engines and tools, and is
simply the opposite of the roughness (`roughness = 1 - glossiness`).
### Non-metals
The effect of `roughness` on non-metallic surfaces is shown in figure [roughnessProperty] (click
on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [roughnessProperty]: Dielectric `roughness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/dielectric_roughness.png)
### Metals
The effect of `roughness` on metallic surfaces is shown in figure [roughnessConductorProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [roughnessConductorProperty]: Conductor `roughness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/conductor_roughness.png)
### Refraction
When refraction through an object is enabled (using a `refractonType` of `thin` or `solid`), the
`roughness` property will also affect the refractions, as shown in figure
[roughnessRefractionProperty] (click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [roughnessRefractionProperty]: Refractive sphere with `roughness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/refraction_roughness.png)
### Reflectance
The `reflectance` property only affects non-metallic surfaces. This property can be used to control
the specular intensity and index of refraction of materials. This value is defined
between 0 and 1 and represents a remapping of a percentage of reflectance. For instance, the
default value of 0.5 corresponds to a reflectance of 4%. Values below 0.35 (2% reflectance) should
be avoided as no real-world materials have such low reflectance.
The effect of `reflectance` on non-metallic surfaces is shown in figure [reflectanceProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [reflectanceProperty]: `reflectance` varying from 0.0 (left)
to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/reflectance.png)
Figure [reflectance] shows common values and how they relate to the mapping function.
![Figure [reflectance]: Common reflectance values](images/diagram_reflectance.png)
Table [commonMatReflectance] describes acceptable reflectance values for various types of materials
(no real world material has a value under 2%).
Material | Reflectance | IOR | Linear value
--------------------------:|:-----------------|:-----------------|:----------------
Water | 2% | 1.33 | 0.35
Fabric | 4% to 5.6% | 1.5 to 1.62 | 0.5 to 0.59
Common liquids | 2% to 4% | 1.33 to 1.5 | 0.35 to 0.5
Common gemstones | 5% to 16% | 1.58 to 2.33 | 0.56 to 1.0
Plastics, glass | 4% to 5% | 1.5 to 1.58 | 0.5 to 0.56
Other dielectric materials | 2% to 5% | 1.33 to 1.58 | 0.35 to 0.56
Eyes | 2.5% | 1.38 | 0.39
Skin | 2.8% | 1.4 | 0.42
Hair | 4.6% | 1.55 | 0.54
Teeth | 5.8% | 1.63 | 0.6
Default value | 4% | 1.5 | 0.5
[Table [commonMatReflectance]: Reflectance of common materials]
Note that the `reflectance` property also defines the index of refraction of the surface.
When this property is defined it is not necessary to define the `ior` property. Setting
either of these properties will automatically compute the other property. It is possible
to specify both, in which case their values are kept as-is, which can lead to physically
impossible materials, however, this might be desirable for artistic reasons.
The `reflectance` property is designed as a normalized property in the range 0..1 which makes
it easy to define from a texture.
See section [Index of refraction] for more information about the `ior` property and refractive
indices.
### Sheen color
The sheen color controls the color appearance and strength of an optional sheen layer on top of the
base layer described by the properties above. The sheen layer always sits below the clear coat layer
if such a layer is present.
The sheen layer can be used to represent cloth and fabric materials. Please refer to
section [Cloth model] for more information about cloth and fabric materials.
The effect of `sheenColor` is shown in figure [materialSheenColor]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [materialSheenColor]: Different sheen colors](images/screenshot_sheen_color.png)
!!! Note
If you do not need the other properties offered by the standard lit material model but want to
create a cloth-like or fabric-like appearance, it is more efficient to use the dedicated cloth
model described in section [Cloth model].
### Sheen roughness
The `sheenRoughness` property is similar to the `roughness` property but applies only to the
sheen layer.
The effect of `sheenRoughness` on a rough metal is shown in figure [sheenRoughnessProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version). In this picture, the base layer is a dark blue, with
`metallic` set to `0.0` and `roughness` set to `1.0`.
![Figure [sheenRoughnessProperty]: `sheenRoughness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/sheen_roughness.png)
### Clear coat
Multi-layer materials are fairly common, particularly materials with a thin translucent
layer over a base layer. Real world examples of such materials include car paints, soda cans,
lacquered wood and acrylic.
The `clearCoat` property can be used to describe materials with two layers. The clear coat layer
will always be isotropic and dielectric.
![Figure [clearCoat]: Comparison of a carbon-fiber material under the standard material model
(left) and the clear coat model (right)](images/material_carbon_fiber.png)
The `clearCoat` property controls the strength of the clear coat layer. This should be treated as a
binary value, set to either 0 or 1. Intermediate values are useful to control transitions between
parts of the surface that have a clear coat layers and parts that don't.
The effect of `clearCoat` on a rough metal is shown in figure [clearCoatProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [clearCoatProperty]: `clearCoat` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/clear_coat.png)
!!! Warning
The clear coat layer effectively doubles the cost of specular computations. Do not assign a
value, even 0.0, to the clear coat property if you don't need this second layer.
!!! Note
The clear coat layer is added on top of the sheen layer if present.
### Clear coat roughness
The `clearCoatRoughness` property is similar to the `roughness` property but applies only to the
clear coat layer.
The effect of `clearCoatRoughness` on a rough metal is shown in figure [clearCoatRoughnessProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [clearCoatRoughnessProperty]: `clearCoatRoughness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/clear_coat_roughness.png)
### Anisotropy
Many real-world materials, such as brushed metal, can only be replicated using an anisotropic
reflectance model. A material can be changed from the default isotropic model to an anisotropic
model by using the `anisotropy` property.
![Figure [anisotropic]: Comparison of isotropic material
(left) and anistropic material (right)](images/material_anisotropic.png)
The effect of `anisotropy` on a rough metal is shown in figure [anisotropyProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [anisotropyProperty]: `anisotropy` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/anisotropy.png)
The figure [anisotropyDir] below shows how the direction of the anisotropic highlights can be
controlled by using either positive or negative values: positive values define anisotropy in the
tangent direction and negative values in the bitangent direction.
![Figure [anisotropyDir]: Positive (left) vs negative
(right) `anisotropy` values](images/screenshot_anisotropy_direction.png)
!!! Tip
The anisotropic material model is slightly more expensive than the standard material model. Do
not assign a value (even 0.0) to the `anisotropy` property if you don't need anisotropy.
### Anisotropy direction
The `anisotropyDirection` property defines the direction of the surface at a given point and thus
control the shape of the specular highlights. It is specified as vector of 3 values that usually
come from a texture, encoding the directions local to the surface in tangent space. Because the
direction is in tangent space, the Z component should be set to 0.
The effect of `anisotropyDirection` on a metal is shown in figure [anisotropyDirectionProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [anisotropyDirectionProperty]: Anisotropic metal rendered
with a direction map](images/screenshot_anisotropy.png)
The result shown in figure [anisotropyDirectionProperty] was obtained using the direction map shown
in figure [anisotropyDirectionProperty].
![Figure [anisotropyDirectionProperty]: Example of Lighting: specularAmbientOcclusiona direction map](images/screenshot_anisotropy_map.jpg)
### Ambient occlusion
The `ambientOcclusion` property defines how much of the ambient light is accessible to a surface
point. It is a per-pixel shadowing factor between 0.0 (fully shadowed) and 1.0 (fully lit). This
property only affects diffuse indirect lighting (image-based lighting), not direct lights such as
directional, point and spot lights, nor specular lighting.
![Figure [aoExample]: Comparison of materials without diffuse ambient occlusion
(left) and with (right)](images/screenshot_ao.jpg)
### Normal
The `normal` property defines the normal of the surface at a given point. It usually comes from a
_normal map_ texture, which allows to vary the property per-pixel. The normal is supplied in tangent
space, which means that +Z points outside of the surface.
For example, let's imagine that we want to render a piece of furniture covered in tufted leather.
Modeling the geometry to accurately represent the tufted pattern would require too many triangles
so we instead bake a high-poly mesh into a normal map. Once the base map is applied to a simplified
mesh, we get the result in figure [normalMapped].
Note that the `normal` property affects the _base layer_ and not the clear coat layer.
![Figure [normalMapped]: Low-poly mesh without normal mapping (left)
and with (right)](images/screenshot_normal_mapping.jpg)
!!! Warning
Using a normal map increases the runtime cost of the material model.
### Bent normal
The `bentNormal` property defines the average unoccluded direction at a point on the surface. It is
used to improve the accuracy of indirect lighting. Bent normals can also improve the quality of
specular ambient occlusion (see section [Lighting: specularAmbientOcclusion] about
`specularAmbientOcclusion`).
Bent normals can greatly increase the visual fidelity of an asset with various cavities and concave
areas, as shown in figure [bentNormalMapped]. See the areas of the ears, nostrils and eyes for
instance.
![Figure [bentNormalMapped]: Example of a model rendered with and without a bent normal map. Both
versions use the same ambient occlusion map.](images/material_bent_normal.gif)
### Clear coat normal
The `clearCoatNormal` property defines the normal of the clear coat layer at a given point. It
behaves otherwise like the `normal` property.
![Figure [clearCoatNormalMapped]: A material with a clear coat normal
map and a surface normal map](images/screenshot_clear_coat_normal.jpg)
!!! Warning
Using a clear coat normal map increases the runtime cost of the material model.
### Emissive
The `emissive` property can be used to simulate additional light emitted by the surface. It is
defined as a `float4` value that contains an RGB intensity in nits as well as an exposure
weight (in the alpha channel).
The intensity in nits allows an emissive surface to function as a light and can be used to recreate
real world surfaces. For instance a computer display has an intensity between 200 and 1,000 nits.
If you prefer to work in EV (or f-stops), you can simplify multiply your emissive color by the
output of the API `filament::Exposure::luminance(ev)`. This API returns the luminance in nits of
the specific EV. You can perform this conversion yourself using the following formula, where $L$
is the final intensity in nits: $ L = 2^{EV - 3} $.
The exposure weight carried in the alpha channel can be used to undo the camera exposure, and thus
force an emissive surface to bloom. When the exposure weight is set to 0, the emissive intensity is
not affected by the camera exposure. When the weight is set to 1, the intensity is multiplied by
the camera exposure like with any regular light.
### Post-lighting color
The `postLightingColor` can be used to modify the surface color after lighting computations. This
property has no physical meaning and only exists to implement specific effects or to help with
debugging. This property is defined as a `float4` value containing a pre-multiplied RGB color in
linear space.
The post-lighting color is blended with the result of lighting according to the blending mode
specified by the `postLightingBlending` material option. Please refer to the documentation of
this option for more information.
!!! Tip
`postLightingColor` can be used as a simpler `emissive` property by setting
`postLightingBlending` to `add` and by providing an RGB color with alpha set to `0.0`.
### Index of refraction
The `ior` property only affects non-metallic surfaces. This property can be used to control the
index of refraction and the specular intensity of materials. The `ior` property is intended to
be used with refractive (transmissive) materials, which are enabled when the `refractionMode` is
set to `cubemap` or `screenspace`. It can also be used on non-refractive objects as an alternative
to setting the reflectance.
The index of refraction (or refractive index) of a material is a dimensionless number that describes
how fast light travels through that material. The higher the number, the slower light travels
through the medium. More importantly for rendering materials, the refractive index determines how
the path light travels is bent when entering the material. Higher indices of refraction will cause
light to bend further away from the initial path.
Table [commonMatIOR] describes acceptable refractive indices for various types of materials.
Material | IOR
--------------------------:|:-----------------
Air | 1.0
Water | 1.33
Common liquids | 1.33 to 1.5
Common gemstones | 1.58 to 2.33
Plastics, glass | 1.5 to 1.58
Other dielectric materials | 1.33 to 1.58
[Table [commonMatIOR]: Index of refraction of common materials]
The appearance of a refractive material will greatly depend on the `refractionType` and
`refractionMode` settings of the material. Refer to section
[Blending and transparency: refractionType] and section [Blending and transparency: refractionMode]
for more information.
The effect of `ior` when `refractionMode` is set to `cubemap` and `refractionType` is set to `solid`
can be seen in figure [iorProperty2] (click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [iorProperty2]: `transmission` varying from 1.0
(left) to 1.5 (right)](images/materials/ior.png)
Figure [iorProperty] shows the comparison of a sphere of `ior` 1.0 with a sphere of `ior` 1.33, with
the `refractionMode` set to `screenspace` and the `refractionType` set to `solid`
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [iorProperty]: `ior` of 1.0 (left) and 1.33 (right)](images/material_ior.png)
Note that the `ior` property also defines the reflectance (or specular intensity) of the surface.
When this property is defined it is not necessary to define the `reflectance` property. Setting
either of these properties will automatically compute the other property. It is possible to specify
both, in which case their values are kept as-is, which can lead to physically impossible materials,
however, this might be desirable for artistic reasons.
See the Reflectance section for more information on the `reflectance` property.
!!! Tip
Refractive materials are affected by the `roughness` property. Rough materials will scatter
light, creating a diffusion effect useful to recreate "blurry" appearances such as frosted
glass, certain plastics, etc.
### Transmission
The `transmission` property defines what ratio of diffuse light is transmitted through a refractive
material. This property only affects materials with a `refractionMode` set to `cubemap` or
`screenspace`.
When `transmission` is set to 0, no amount of light is transmitted and the diffuse component of
the surface is 100% visible. When `transmission` is set to 1, all the light is transmitted and the
diffuse component is not visible anymore, only the specular component is.
The effect of `transmission` on a glossy dielectric (`ior` of 1.5, `refractionMode` set to
`cubemap`, `refractionType` set to `solid`) is shown in figure [transmissionProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [transmissionProperty]: `transmission` varying from 0.0
(left) to 1.0 (right)](images/materials/transmission.png)
!!! Tip
The `transmission` property is useful to create decals, paint, etc. at the surface of refractive
materials.
### Absorption
The `absorption` property defines the absorption coefficients of light transmitted through the
material. Figure [absorptionExample] shows the effect of `absorption` on a refracting object with
an index of refraction of 1.5 and a base color set to white.
![Figure [absorptionExample]: Refracting object without (left)
and with (right) absorption](images/material_absorption.png)
Transmittance through a volume is exponential with respect to the optical depth (defined either
with `microThickness` or `thickness`). The computed color follows the following formula:
$$color \cdot e^{-absorption \cdot distance}$$
Where `distance` is either `microThickness` or `thickness`, that is the distance light will travel
through the material at a given point. If no thickness/distance is specified, the computed color
follows this formula instead:
$$color \cdot (1 - absorption)$$
The effect of varying the `absorption` coefficients is shown in figure [absorptionProperty]
(click on the image to see a larger version). In this picture, the object has a fixed `thickness`
of 4.5 and an index of refraction set to 1.3.
![Figure [absorptionProperty]: `absorption` varying from (0.0, 0.02, 0.14)
(left) to (0.0, 0.36, 2.3) (right)](images/materials/absorption.png)
Setting the absorption coefficients directly can be unintuitive which is why we recommend working
with a _transmittance color_ and a _"at distance"_ factor instead. These two parameters allow an
artist to specify the precise color the material should have at a specified distance through the
volume. The value to pass to `absorption` can be computed this way:
$$absorption = -\frac{ln(transmittanceColor)}{atDistance}$$
While this computation can be done in the material itself we recommend doing it offline whenever
possible. Filament provides an API for this purpose, `Color::absorptionAtDistance()`.
### Micro-thickness and thickness
The `microThickness` and `thickness` properties define the optical depth of the material of a
refracting object. `microThickness` is used when `refractionType` is set to `thin`, and `thickness`
is used when `refractionType` is set to `volume`.
`thickness` represents the thickness of solid objects in the direction of the normal, for
satisfactory results, this should be provided per fragment (e.g.: as a texture) or at least per
vertex.
`microThickness` represent the thickness of the thin layer (shell) of an object, and can generally
be provided as a constant value. For example, a 1mm thin hollow sphere of radius 1m, would have a
`thickness` of 1 and a `microThickness` of 0.001. Currently `thickness` is not used when
`refractionType` is set to `thin`. Both properties are made available for possible future use.
Both `thickness` and `microThickness` are used to compute the transmitted color of the material
when the `absorption` property is set. In solid volumes, `thickness` will also affect how light
rays are refracted.
The effect `thickness` in a solid volume with `refractionMode` set to `screenSpace` is shown in
figure [thicknessProperty] (click on the image to see a larger version). Note how the `thickness`
value not only changes the effect of `absorption` but also modifies the direction of the refracted
light.
![Figure [thicknessProperty]: `thickness` varying from 0.0
(left) to 2.0 (right)](images/materials/thickness.png)
Figure [varyingThickness] shows what a prism with spatially varying `thickness` looks like when
the `refractionType` is set to `solid` and `absorption` coefficients are set.
![Figure [varyingThickness]: `thickness` varying from 0.0 at the top of the prism to 3.0 at the
bottom of the prism](images/material_thickness.png)
## Subsurface model
### Thickness
### Subsurface color
### Subsurface power
## Cloth model
All the material models described previously are designed to simulate dense surfaces, both at a
macro and at a micro level. Clothes and fabrics are however often made of loosely connected threads
that absorb and scatter incident light. When compared to hard surfaces, cloth is characterized by
a softer specular lob with a large falloff and the presence of fuzz lighting, caused by
forward/backward scattering. Some fabrics also exhibit two-tone specular colors
(velvets for instance).
Figure [materialCloth] shows how the standard material model fails to capture the appearance of a
sample of denim fabric. The surface appears rigid (almost plastic-like), more similar to a tarp
than a piece of clothing. This figure also shows how important the softer specular lobe caused by
absorption and scattering is to the faithful recreation of the fabric.
![Figure [materialCloth]: Comparison of denim fabric rendered using the standard model
(left) and the cloth model (right)](images/screenshot_cloth.png)
Velvet is an interesting use case for a cloth material model. As shown in figure [materialVelvet]
this type of fabric exhibits strong rim lighting due to forward and backward scattering. These
scattering events are caused by fibers standing straight at the surface of the fabric. When the
incident light comes from the direction opposite to the view direction, the fibers will forward
scatter the light. Similarly, when the incident light from the same direction as the view
direction, the fibers will scatter the light backward.
![Figure [materialVelvet]: Velvet fabric showcasing forward and
backward scattering](images/screenshot_cloth_velvet.png)
It is important to note that there are types of fabrics that are still best modeled by hard surface
material models. For instance, leather, silk and satin can be recreated using the standard or
anisotropic material models.
The cloth material model encompasses all the parameters previously defined for the standard
material mode except for _metallic_ and _reflectance_. Two extra parameters described in
table [clothProperties] are also available.
Parameter | Definition
---------------------:|:---------------------
**sheenColor** | Specular tint to create two-tone specular fabrics (defaults to $\sqrt{baseColor}$)
**subsurfaceColor** | Tint for the diffuse color after scattering and absorption through the material
[Table [clothProperties]: Cloth model parameters]
The type and range of each property is described in table [clothPropertiesTypes].
Property | Type | Range | Note
---------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------:|:-------------------------
**sheenColor** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB
**subsurfaceColor** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB
[Table [clothPropertiesTypes]: Range and type of the cloth model's properties]
To create a velvet-like material, the base color can be set to black (or a dark color).
Chromaticity information should instead be set on the sheen color. To create more common fabrics
such as denim, cotton, etc. use the base color for chromaticity and use the default sheen color
or set the sheen color to the luminance of the base color.
!!! Tip
To see the effect of the `roughness` parameter make sure the `sheenColor` is brighter than
`baseColor`. This can be used to create a fuzz effect. Taking the luminance of `baseColor`
as the `sheenColor` will produce a fairly natural effect that works for common cloth. A dark
`baseColor` combined with a bright/saturated `sheenColor` can be used to create velvet.
!!! Tip
The `subsurfaceColor` parameter should be used with care. High values can interfere with shadows
in some areas. It is best suited for subtle transmission effects through the material.
### Sheen color
The `sheenColor` property can be used to directly modify the specular reflectance. It offers
better control over the appearance of cloth and gives give the ability to create
two-tone specular materials.
The effect of `sheenColor` is shown in figure [materialClothSheen]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [materialClothSheen]: Blue fabric without (left) and with (right) sheen](images/screenshot_cloth_sheen.png)
### Subsurface color
The `subsurfaceColor` property is not physically-based and can be used to simulate the scattering,
partial absorption and re-emission of light in certain types of fabrics. This is particularly
useful to create softer fabrics.
!!! Warning
The cloth material model is more expensive to compute when the `subsurfaceColor` property is used.
The effect of `subsurfaceColor` is shown in figure [materialClothSubsurface]
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [materialClothSubsurface]: White cloth (left column) vs white cloth with
brown subsurface scatting (right)](images/screenshot_cloth_subsurface.png)
## Unlit model
The unlit material model can be used to turn off all lighting computations. Its primary purpose is
to render pre-lit elements such as a cubemap, external content (such as a video or camera stream),
user interfaces, visualization/debugging etc. The unlit model exposes only two properties described
in table [unlitProperties].
Property | Definition
---------------------:|:---------------------
**baseColor** | Surface diffuse color
**emissive** | Additional diffuse color to simulate emissive surfaces. This property is mostly useful in an HDR pipeline with a bloom pass
**postLightingColor** | Additional color to blend with base color and emissive
[Table [unlitProperties]: Properties of the standard model]
The type and range of each property is described in table [unlitPropertiesTypes].
Property | Type | Range | Note
---------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------:|:-------------------------
**baseColor** | float4 | [0..1] | Pre-multiplied linear RGB
**emissive** | float4 | rgb=[0..n], a=[0..1] | Linear RGB intensity in nits, alpha encodes the exposure weight
**postLightingColor** | float4 | [0..1] | Pre-multiplied linear RGB
[Table [unlitPropertiesTypes]: Range and type of the unlit model's properties]
The value of `postLightingColor` is blended with the sum of `emissive` and `baseColor` according to
the blending mode specified by the `postLightingBlending` material option.
Figure [materialUnlit] shows an example of the unlit material model
(click on the image to see a larger version).
![Figure [materialUnlit]: The unlit model is used to render debug information](images/screenshot_unlit.jpg)
## Specular glossiness
This alternative lighting model exists to comply with legacy standards. Since it is not a
physically-based formulation, we do not recommend using it except when loading legacy assets.
This model encompasses the parameters previously defined for the standard lit mode except for
_metallic_, _reflectance_, and _roughness_. It adds parameters for _specularColor_ and _glossiness_.
Parameter | Definition
---------------------:|:---------------------
**baseColor** | Surface diffuse color
**specularColor** | Specular tint (defaults to black)
**glossiness** | Glossiness (defaults to 0.0)
[Table [glossinessProperties]: Properties of the specular-glossiness shading model]
The type and range of each property is described in table [glossinessPropertiesTypes].
Property | Type | Range | Note
---------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------:|:-------------------------
**baseColor** | float4 | [0..1] | Pre-multiplied linear RGB
**specularColor** | float3 | [0..1] | Linear RGB
**glossiness** | float | [0..1] | Inverse of roughness
[Table [glossinessPropertiesTypes]: Range and type of the specular-glossiness model's properties]
# Material definitions
A material definition is a text file that describes all the information required by a material:
- Name
- User parameters
- Material model
- Required attributes
- Interpolants (called _variables_)
- Raster state (blending mode, etc.)
- Shader code (fragment shader, optionally vertex shader)
## Format
The material definition format is a format loosely based on [JSON](https://www.json.org/) that we
call _JSONish_. At the top level a material definition is composed of 3 different blocks that use
the JSON object notation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
// material properties
}
vertex {
// vertex shader, optional
}
fragment {
// fragment shader
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A minimum viable material definition must contain a `material` preamble and a `fragment` block. The
`vertex` block is optional.
### Differences with JSON
In JSON, an object is made of key/value _pairs_. A JSON pair has the following syntax:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
"key" : value
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where value can be a string, number, object, array or a literal (`true`, `false` or `null`). While
this syntax is perfectly valid in a material definition, a variant without quotes around strings is
also accepted in JSONish:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
key : value
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes remain mandatory when the string contains spaces.
The `vertex` and `fragment` blocks contain unescaped, unquoted GLSL code, which is not valid in JSON.
Single-line C++-style comments are allowed.
The key of a pair is case-sensitive.
The value of a pair is not case-sensitive.
### Example
The following code listing shows an example of a valid material definition. This definition uses
the _lit_ material model (see Lit model section), uses the default opaque blending mode, requires
that a set of UV coordinates be presented in the rendered mesh and defines 3 user parameters. The
following sections of this document describe the `material` and `fragment` blocks in detail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Textured material",
parameters : [
{
type : sampler2d,
name : texture
},
{
type : float,
name : metallic
},
{
type : float,
name : roughness
}
],
requires : [
uv0
],
shadingModel : lit,
blending : opaque
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = texture(materialParams_texture, getUV0());
material.metallic = materialParams.metallic;
material.roughness = materialParams.roughness;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
## Material block
The material block is mandatory block that contains a list of property pairs to describe all
non-shader data.
### General: name
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any string. Double quotes are required if the name contains spaces.
Description
: Sets the name of the material. The name is retained at runtime for debugging purpose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : stone
}
material {
name : "Wet pavement"
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: featureLevel
Type
: `number`
Value
: An integer value, either 1, 2 or 3. Defaults to 1.
Feature Level | Guaranteed features
:----------------------|:---------------------------------
1 | 9 textures per material
2 | 9 textures per material, cubemap arrays, ESSL 3.10
3 | 12 textures per material, cubemap arrays, ESSL 3.10
[Table [featureLevels]: Feature levels]
Description
: Sets the feature level of the material. Each feature level defines a set of features the
material can use. If the material uses a feature not supported by the selected level, `matc`
will generate an error during compilation. A given feature level is guaranteed to support
all features of lower feature levels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
featureLevel : 2
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bugs
: `matc` doesn't verify that a material is not using features above its selected feature level.
### General: shadingModel
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `lit`, `subsurface`, `cloth`, `unlit`, `specularGlossiness`. Defaults to `lit`.
Description
: Selects the material model as described in the Material models section.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
shadingModel : unlit
}
material {
shadingModel : "subsurface"
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: parameters
Type
: array of parameter objects
Value
: Each entry is an object with the properties `name` and `type`, both of `string` type. The
name must be a valid GLSL identifier. Entries also have an optional `precision`, which can be
one of `default` (best precision for the platform, typically `high` on desktop, `medium` on
mobile), `low`, `medium`, `high`. The type must be one of the types described in
table [materialParamsTypes].
Type | Description
:----------------------|:---------------------------------
bool | Single boolean
bool2 | Vector of 2 booleans
bool3 | Vector of 3 booleans
bool4 | Vector of 4 booleans
float | Single float
float2 | Vector of 2 floats
float3 | Vector of 3 floats
float4 | Vector of 4 floats
int | Single integer
int2 | Vector of 2 integers
int3 | Vector of 3 integers
int4 | Vector of 4 integers
uint | Single unsigned integer
uint2 | Vector of 2 unsigned integers
uint3 | Vector of 3 unsigned integers
uint4 | Vector of 4 unsigned integers
float3x3 | Matrix of 3x3 floats
float4x4 | Matrix of 4x4 floats
sampler2d | 2D texture
sampler2dArray | Array of 2D textures
samplerExternal | External texture (platform-specific)
samplerCubemap | Cubemap texture
[Table [materialParamsTypes]: Material parameter types]
Samplers
: Sampler types can also specify a `format` which can be either `int` or `float` (defaults to
`float`).
Arrays
: A parameter can define an array of values by appending `[size]` after the type name, where
`size` is a positive integer. For instance: `float[9]` declares an array of nine `float`
values. This syntax does not apply to samplers as arrays are treated as separate types.
Description
: Lists the parameters required by your material. These parameters can be set at runtime using
Filament's material API. Accessing parameters from the shaders varies depending on the type of
parameter:
- **Samplers types**: use the parameter name prefixed with `materialParams_`. For instance,
`materialParams_myTexture`.
- **Other types**: use the parameter name as the field of a structure called `materialParams`.
For instance, `materialParams.myColor`.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
parameters : [
{
type : float4,
name : albedo
},
{
type : sampler2d,
format : float,
precision : high,
name : roughness
},
{
type : float2,
name : metallicReflectance
}
],
requires : [
uv0
],
shadingModel : lit,
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = materialParams.albedo;
material.roughness = texture(materialParams_roughness, getUV0());
material.metallic = materialParams.metallicReflectance.x;
material.reflectance = materialParams.metallicReflectance.y;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: constants
Type
: array of constant objects
Value
: Each entry is an object with the properties `name` and `type`, both of `string` type. The name
must be a valid GLSL identifier. Entries also have an optional `default`, which can either be a
`bool` or `number`, depending on the `type` of the constant. The type must be one of the types
described in table [materialConstantsTypes].
Type | Description | Default
:----------------------|:-----------------------------------------|:------------------
int | A signed, 32 bit GLSL int | 0
float | A single-precision GLSL float | 0.0
bool | A GLSL bool | false
[Table [materialConstantsTypes]: Material constants types]
Description
: Lists the constant parameters accepted by your material. These constants can be set, or
"specialized", at runtime when loading a material package. Multiple materials can be loaded from
the same material package with differing constant parameter specializations. Once a material is
loaded from a material package, its constant parameters cannot be changed. Compared to regular
parameters, constant parameters allow the compiler to generate more efficient code. Access
constant parameters from the shader by prefixing the name with `materialConstant_`. For example,
a constant parameter named `myConstant` is accessed in the shader as
`materialConstant_myConstant`. If a constant parameter is not set at runtime, the default is
used.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
constants : [
{
name : overrideAlpha,
type : bool
},
{
name : customAlpha,
type : float,
default : 0.5
}
],
shadingModel : lit,
blending : transparent,
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
if (materialConstants_overrideAlpha) {
material.baseColor.a = materialConstants_customAlpha;
material.baseColor.rgb *= material.baseColor.a;
}
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: variantFilter
Type
: array of `string`
Value
: Each entry must be any of `dynamicLighting`, `directionalLighting`, `shadowReceiver`,
`skinning`, `ssr`, or `stereo`.
Description
: Used to specify a list of shader variants that the application guarantees will never be
needed. These shader variants are skipped during the code generation phase, thus reducing
the overall size of the material.
Note that some variants may automatically be filtered out. For instance, all lighting related
variants (`directionalLighting`, etc.) are filtered out when compiling an `unlit` material.
Use the variant filter with caution, filtering out a variant required at runtime may lead
to crashes.
Description of the variants:
- `directionalLighting`, used when a directional light is present in the scene
- `dynamicLighting`, used when a non-directional light (point, spot, etc.) is present in the scene
- `shadowReceiver`, used when an object can receive shadows
- `skinning`, used when an object is animated using GPU skinning
- `fog`, used when global fog is applied to the scene
- `vsm`, used when VSM shadows are enabled and the object is a shadow receiver
- `ssr`, used when screen-space reflections are enabled in the View
- `stereo`, used when stereoscopic rendering is enabled in the View
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Invisible shadow plane",
shadingModel : unlit,
shadowMultiplier : true,
blending : transparent,
variantFilter : [ skinning ]
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: flipUV
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `true`.
Description
: When set to `true` (default value), the Y coordinate of UV attributes will be flipped when
read by this material's vertex shader. Flipping is equivalent to `y = 1.0 - y`. When set
to `false`, flipping is disabled and the UV attributes are read as is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
flipUV : false
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: quality
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `low`, `normal`, `high`, `default`. Defaults to `default`.
Description
: Set some global quality parameters of the material. `low` enables optimizations that can
slightly affect correctness and is the default on mobile platforms. `normal` does not affect
correctness and is otherwise similar to `low`. `high` enables quality settings that can
adversely affect performance and is the default on desktop platforms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
quality : default
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: instanced
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Allows a material to access the instance index (i.e.: **`gl_InstanceIndex`**) of instanced
primitives using `getInstanceIndex()` in the material's shader code. Never use
**`gl_InstanceIndex`** directly. This is typically used with
`RenderableManager::Builder::instances()`. `getInstanceIndex()` is available in both the
vertex and fragment shader.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
instanced : true
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### General: vertexDomainDeviceJittered
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Only meaningful for `vertexDomain:Device` materials, this parameter specifies whether the
filament clip-space transforms need to be applied or not, which affects TAA and guard bands.
Generally it needs to be applied because by definition `vertexDomain:Device` materials
vertices are not transformed and used *as is*.
However, if the vertex shader uses for instance `getViewFromClipMatrix()` (or other
matrices based on the projection), the clip-space transform is already applied.
Setting this parameter incorrectly can prevent TAA or the guard bands to work correctly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
vertexDomainDeviceJittered : true
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Vertex and attributes: requires
Type
: array of `string`
Value
: Each entry must be any of `uv0`, `uv1`, `color`, `position`, `tangents`, `custom0`
through `custom7`.
Description
: Lists the vertex attributes required by the material. The `position` attribute is always
required and does not need to be specified. The `tangents` attribute is automatically required
when selecting any shading model that is not `unlit`. See the shader sections of this document
for more information on how to access these attributes from the shaders.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
parameters : [
{
type : sampler2d,
name : texture
},
],
requires : [
uv0,
custom0
],
shadingModel : lit,
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = texture(materialParams_texture, getUV0());
material.baseColor.rgb *= getCustom0().rgb;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Vertex and attributes: variables
Type
: array of `string`
Value
: Up to 4 strings, each must be a valid GLSL identifier.
Description
: Defines custom interpolants (or variables) that are output by the material's vertex shader.
Each entry of the array defines the name of an interpolant. The full name in the fragment
shader is the name of the interpolant with the `variable_` prefix. For instance, if you
declare a variable called `eyeDirection` you can access it in the fragment shader using
`variable_eyeDirection`. In the vertex shader, the interpolant name is simply a member of
the `MaterialVertexInputs` structure (`material.eyeDirection` in your example). Each
interpolant is of type `float4` (`vec4`) in the shaders. By default the precision of the
interpolant is `highp` in *both* the vertex and fragment shaders.
An alternate syntax can be used to specify both the name and precision of the interpolant.
In this case the specified precision is used as-is in both fragment and vertex stages, in
particular if `default` is specified the default precision is used is the fragment shader
(`mediump`) and in the vertex shader (`highp`).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : Skybox,
parameters : [
{
type : samplerCubemap,
name : skybox
}
],
variables : [
eyeDirection,
{
name : eyeColor,
precision : medium
}
],
vertexDomain : device,
depthWrite : false,
shadingModel : unlit
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
float3 sky = texture(materialParams_skybox, variable_eyeDirection.xyz).rgb;
material.baseColor = vec4(sky, 1.0);
}
}
vertex {
void materialVertex(inout MaterialVertexInputs material) {
float3 p = getPosition().xyz;
float3 u = mulMat4x4Float3(getViewFromClipMatrix(), p).xyz;
material.eyeDirection.xyz = mulMat3x3Float3(getWorldFromViewMatrix(), u);
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Vertex and attributes: vertexDomain
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `object`, `world`, `view`, `device`. Defaults to `object`.
Description
: Defines the domain (or coordinate space) of the rendered mesh. The domain influences how the
vertices are transformed in the vertex shader. The possible domains are:
- **Object**: the vertices are defined in the object (or model) coordinate space. The
vertices are transformed using the rendered object's transform matrix
- **World**: the vertices are defined in world coordinate space. The vertices are not
transformed using the rendered object's transform.
- **View**: the vertices are defined in view (or eye or camera) coordinate space. The
vertices are not transformed using the rendered object's transform.
- **Device**: the vertices are defined in normalized device (or clip) coordinate space.
The vertices are not transformed using the rendered object's transform.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
vertexDomain : device
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Vertex and attributes: interpolation
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `smooth`, `flat`. Defaults to `smooth`.
Description
: Defines how interpolants (or variables) are interpolated between vertices. When this property
is set to `smooth`, a perspective correct interpolation is performed on each interpolant.
When set to `flat`, no interpolation is performed and all the fragments within a given
triangle will be shaded the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
interpolation : flat
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: blending
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `opaque`, `transparent`, `fade`, `add`, `masked`, `multiply`, `screen`, `custom`. Defaults to `opaque`.
Description
: Defines how/if the rendered object is blended with the content of the render target.
The possible blending modes are:
- **Opaque**: blending is disabled, the alpha channel of the material's output is ignored.
- **Transparent**: blending is enabled. The material's output is alpha composited with the
render target, using Porter-Duff's `source over` rule. This blending mode assumes
pre-multiplied alpha.
- **Fade**: acts as `transparent` but transparency is also applied to specular lighting. In
`transparent` mode, the material's alpha values only applies to diffuse lighting. This
blending mode is useful to fade lit objects in and out.
- **Add**: blending is enabled. The material's output is added to the content of the
render target.
- **Multiply**: blending is enabled. The material's output is multiplied with the content of the
render target, darkening the content.
- **Screen**: blending is enabled. Effectively the opposite of the `multiply`, the content of the
render target is brightened.
- **Masked**: blending is disabled. This blending mode enables alpha masking. The alpha channel
of the material's output defines whether a fragment is discarded or not. Additionally,
ALPHA_TO_COVERAGE is enabled for non-translucent views. See the maskThreshold section for more
information.
- **Custom**: blending is enabled. But the blending function is user specified. See `blendFunction`.
!!! Note
When `blending` is set to `masked`, alpha to coverage is automatically enabled for the material.
If this behavior is undesirable, refer to the Rasterization: alphaToCoverage section to turn
alpha to coverage off using the `alphaToCoverage` property.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
blending : transparent
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: blendFunction
Type
: `object`
Fields
: `srcRGB`, `srcA`, `dstRGB`, `dstA`
Description
: - *srcRGB*: source function applied to the RGB channels
- *srcA*: source function applied to the alpha channel
- *srcRGB*: destination function applied to the RGB channels
- *srcRGB*: destination function applied to the alpha channel
The values possible for each functions are one of `zero`, `one`, `srcColor`, `oneMinusSrcColor`,
`dstColor`, `oneMinusDstColor`, `srcAlpha`, `oneMinusSrcAlpha`, `dstAlpha`,
`oneMinusDstAlpha`, `srcAlphaSaturate`
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
blending : custom,
blendFunction :
{
srcRGB: one,
srcA: one,
dstRGB: oneMinusSrcColor,
dstA: oneMinusSrcAlpha
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: postLightingBlending
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `opaque`, `transparent`, `add`. Defaults to `transparent`.
Description
: Defines how the `postLightingColor` material property is blended with the result of the
lighting computations. The possible blending modes are:
- **Opaque**: blending is disabled, the material will output `postLightingColor` directly.
- **Transparent**: blending is enabled. The material's computed color is alpha composited with
the `postLightingColor`, using Porter-Duff's `source over` rule. This blending mode assumes
pre-multiplied alpha.
- **Add**: blending is enabled. The material's computed color is added to `postLightingColor`.
- **Multiply**: blending is enabled. The material's computed color is multiplied with `postLightingColor`.
- **Screen**: blending is enabled. The material's computed color is inverted and multiplied with `postLightingColor`,
and the result is added to the material's computed color.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
postLightingBlending : add
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: transparency
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `default`, `twoPassesOneSide` or `twoPassesTwoSides`. Defaults to `default`.
Description
: Controls how transparent objects are rendered. It is only valid when the `blending` mode is
not `opaque` and `refractionMode` is `none`. None of these methods can accurately render
concave geometry, but in practice they are often good enough.
The three possible transparency modes are:
- `default`: the transparent object is rendered normally (as seen in figure [transparencyDefault]),
honoring the `culling` mode, etc.
- `twoPassesOneSide`: the transparent object is first rendered in the depth buffer, then again in
the color buffer, honoring the `culling` mode. This effectively renders only half of the
transparent object as shown in figure [transparencyTwoPassesOneSide].
- `twoPassesTwoSides`: the transparent object is rendered twice in the color buffer: first with its
back faces, then with its front faces. This mode lets you render both set of faces while reducing
or eliminating sorting issues, as shown in figure [transparencyTwoPassesTwoSides].
`twoPassesTwoSides` can be combined with `doubleSided` for better effect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
transparency : twoPassesOneSide
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
![Figure [transparencyDefault]: This double sided model shows the type of sorting issues transparent
objects can be subject to in `default` mode](images/screenshot_transparency_default.png)
![Figure [transparencyTwoPassesOneSide]: In `twoPassesOneSide` mode, only one set of faces is visible
and correctly sorted](images/screenshot_twopasses_oneside.png)
![Figure [transparencyTwoPassesTwoSides]: In `twoPassesTwoSides` mode, both set of faces are visible
and sorting issues are minimized or eliminated](images/screenshot_twopasses_twosides.png)
### Blending and transparency: maskThreshold
Type
: `number`
Value
: A value between `0.0` and `1.0`. Defaults to `0.4`.
Description
: Sets the minimum alpha value a fragment must have to not be discarded when the `blending` mode
is set to `masked`. If the fragment is not discarded, its source alpha is set to 1. When the
blending mode is not `masked`, this value is ignored. This value can be used to controlled the
appearance of alpha-masked objects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
blending : masked,
maskThreshold : 0.5
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: refractionMode
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `none`, `cubemap`, `screenspace`. Defaults to `none`.
Description
: Activates refraction when set to anything but `none`. A value of `cubemap` will only use the
IBL cubemap as source of refraction, while this is significantly more efficient, no scene
objects will be refracted, only the distant environment encoded in the cubemap. This mode is
adequate for an object viewer for instance. A value of `screenspace` will employ the more
advanced screen-space refraction algorithm which allows opaque objects in the scene to be
refracted. In `cubemap` mode, refracted rays are assumed to emerge from the center of the
object and the `thickness` parameter is only used for computing the absorption, but has no
impact on the refraction itself. In `screenspace` mode, refracted rays are assumed to travel
parallel to the view direction when they exit the refractive medium.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
refractionMode : cubemap,
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Blending and transparency: refractionType
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `solid`, `thin`. Defaults to `solid`.
Description
: This is only meaningful when `refractionMode` is set to anything but `none`. `refractionType`
defines the refraction model used. `solid` is used for thick objects such as a crystal ball,
an ice cube or as sculpture. `thin` is used for thin objects such as a window, an ornament
ball or a soap bubble. In `solid` mode all refracive objects are assumed to be a sphere
tangent to the entry point and of radius `thickness`. In `thin` mode, all refractive objects
are assumed to be flat and thin and of thickness `thickness`.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
refractionMode : cubemap,
refractionType : thin,
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: culling
Type
: `string`
Value
: Any of `none`, `front`, `back`, `frontAndBack`. Defaults to `back`.
Description
: Defines which triangles should be culled: none, front-facing triangles, back-facing
triangles or all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
culling : none
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: colorWrite
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `true`.
Description
: Enables or disables writes to the color buffer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
colorWrite : false
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: depthWrite
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `true` for opaque materials, `false` for transparent materials.
Description
: Enables or disables writes to the depth buffer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
depthWrite : false
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: depthCulling
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `true`.
Description
: Enables or disables depth testing. When depth testing is disabled, an object rendered with
this material will always appear on top of other opaque objects.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
depthCulling : false
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: doubleSided
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Enables two-sided rendering and its capability to be toggled at run time. When set to `true`,
`culling` is automatically set to `none`; if the triangle is back-facing, the triangle's
normal is flipped to become front-facing. When explicitly set to `false`, this allows the
double-sidedness to be toggled at run time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Double sided material",
shadingModel : lit,
doubleSided : true
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = materialParams.albedo;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Rasterization: alphaToCoverage
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Enables or disables alpha to coverage. When alpha to coverage is enabled, the coverage of
fragment is derived from its alpha. This property is only meaningful when MSAA is enabled.
Note: setting `blending` to `masked` automatically enables alpha to coverage. If this is not
desired, you can override this behavior by setting alpha to coverage to false as in the
example below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Alpha to coverage",
shadingModel : lit,
blending : masked,
alphaToCoverage : false
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = materialParams.albedo;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Lighting: reflections
Type
: `string`
Value
: `default` or `screenspace`. Defaults to `default`.
Description
: Controls the source of specular reflections for this material. When this property is set to
`default`, reflections only come image-based lights. When this property is set to
`screenspace`, reflections come from the screen space's color buffer in addition to
image-based lights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Glossy metal",
reflections : screenspace
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Lighting: shadowMultiplier
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Only available in the `unlit` shading model. If this property is enabled, the final color
computed by the material is multiplied by the shadowing factor (or visibility). This allows to
create transparent shadow-receiving objects (for instance an invisible ground plane in AR).
This is only supported with shadows from directional lights.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Invisible shadow plane",
shadingModel : unlit,
shadowMultiplier : true,
blending : transparent
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
// baseColor defines the color and opacity of the final shadow
material.baseColor = vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.7);
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Lighting: transparentShadow
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Enables transparent shadows on this material. When this feature is enabled, Filament emulates
transparent shadows using a dithering pattern: they work best with variance shadow maps (VSM)
and blurring enabled. The opacity of the shadow derives directly from the alpha channel of
the material's `baseColor` property. Transparent shadows can be enabled on opaque objects,
making them compatible with refractive/transmissive objects that are otherwise considered
opaque.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
name : "Clear plastic with stickers",
transparentShadow : true,
blending : transparent,
// ...
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor = texture(materialParams_baseColor, getUV0());
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
![Figure [transparentShadow]: Objects rendered with transparent shadows and blurry VSM with a
radius of 4. Model [Bottle of Water](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bottle-of-water-48fd4f6e90d84d89b5740ee78587d0ff)
by [T-Art](https://sketchfab.com/person-x).](images/screenshot_transparent_shadows.jpg)
### Lighting: clearCoatIorChange
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `true`.
Description
: When adding a clear coat layer, the change in index of refraction (IoR) is taken into account
to modify the specular color of the base layer. This appears to darken `baseColor`. When this
effect is disabled, `baseColor` is left unmodified. See figure [clearCoatIorChange] for an
example of how this property can affect a red metallic base layer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
clearCoatIorChange : false
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
![Figure [clearCoatIorChange]: The same rough metallic ball with a clear coat layer rendered
with `clearCoatIorChange` enabled (left) and disabled
(right).](images/screenshot_clear_coat_ior_change.jpg)
### Lighting: multiBounceAmbientOcclusion
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false` on mobile, `true` on desktop.
Description
: Multi-bounce ambient occlusion takes into account interreflections when applying ambient
occlusion to image-based lighting. Turning this feature on avoids over-darkening occluded
areas. It also takes the surface color into account to generate colored ambient occlusion.
Figure [multiBounceAO] compares the ambient occlusion term of a surface with and without
multi-bounce ambient occlusion. Notice how multi-bounce ambient occlusion introduces color
in the occluded areas. Figure [multiBounceAOAnimated] toggles between multi-bounce ambient
occlusion on and off on a lit brick material to highlight the effects of this property.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
multiBounceAmbientOcclusion : true
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
![Figure [multiBounceAO]: Brick texture amient occlusion map rendered with multi-bounce ambient
occclusion enabled (left) and disabled (right).](images/screenshot_multi_bounce_ao.jpg)
![Figure [multiBounceAOAnimated]: Brick texture rendered with multi-bounce ambient
occclusion enabled and disabled.](images/screenshot_multi_bounce_ao.gif)
### Lighting: specularAmbientOcclusion
Type
: `string`
Value
: `none`, `simple` or `bentNormals`. Defaults to `none` on mobile, `simple` on desktop. For
compatibility reasons, `true` and `false` are also accepted and map respectively to `simple`
and `none`.
Description
: Static ambient occlusion maps and dynamic ambient occlusion (SSAO, etc.) apply to diffuse
indirect lighting. When setting this property to other than `none`, a new ambient occlusion
term is derived from the surface roughness and applied to specular indirect lighting.
This effect helps remove unwanted specular reflections as shown in figure [specularAO].
When this value is set to `simple`, Filament uses a cheap but approximate method of computing
the specular ambient occlusion term. If this value is set to `bentNormals`, Filament will use
a much more accurate but much more expensive method.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
specularAmbientOcclusion : simple
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
![Figure [specularAO]: Comparison of specular ambient occlusion on and off. The effect is
particularly visible under the hose.](images/screenshot_specular_ao.gif)
### Anti-aliasing: specularAntiAliasing
Type
: `boolean`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Reduces specular aliasing and preserves the shape of specular highlights as an object moves
away from the camera. This anti-aliasing solution is particularly effective on glossy materials
(low roughness) but increases the cost of the material. The strength of the anti-aliasing
effect can be controlled using two other properties: `specularAntiAliasingVariance` and
`specularAntiAliasingThreshold`.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
specularAntiAliasing : true
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Anti-aliasing: specularAntiAliasingVariance
Type
: `float`
Value
: A value between 0 and 1, set to 0.15 by default.
Description
: Sets the screen space variance of the filter kernel used when applying specular anti-aliasing.
Higher values will increase the effect of the filter but may increase roughness in unwanted
areas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
specularAntiAliasingVariance : 0.2
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Anti-aliasing: specularAntiAliasingThreshold
Type
: `float`
Value
: A value between 0 and 1, set to 0.2 by default.
Description
: Sets the clamping threshold used to suppress estimation errors when applying specular
anti-aliasing. When set to 0, specular anti-aliasing is disabled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
specularAntiAliasingThreshold : 0.1
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Shading: customSurfaceShading
Type
: `bool`
Value
: `true` or `false`. Defaults to `false`.
Description
: Enables custom surface shading when set to true. When surface shading is enabled, the fragment
shader must provide an extra function that will be invoked for every light in the scene that
may influence the current fragment. Please refer to the Custom surface shading section below
for more information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
customSurfaceShading : true
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
## Vertex block
The vertex block is optional and can be used to control the vertex shading stage of the material.
The vertex block must contain valid
[ESSL 3.0](https://www.khronos.org/registry/OpenGL/specs/es/3.0/GLSL_ES_Specification_3.00.pdf) code
(the version of GLSL supported in OpenGL ES 3.0). You are free to create multiple functions inside
the vertex block but you **must** declare the `materialVertex` function:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
vertex {
void materialVertex(inout MaterialVertexInputs material) {
// vertex shading code
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This function will be invoked automatically at runtime by the shading system and gives you the
ability to read and modify material properties using the `MaterialVertexInputs` structure. This full
definition of the structure can be found in the Material vertex inputs section.
You can use this structure to compute your custom variables/interpolants or to modify the value of
the attributes. For instance, the following vertex blocks modifies both the color and the UV
coordinates of the vertex over time:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
material {
requires : [uv0, color]
}
vertex {
void materialVertex(inout MaterialVertexInputs material) {
material.color *= sin(getUserTime().x);
material.uv0 *= sin(getUserTime().x);
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the `MaterialVertexInputs` structure, your vertex shading code can use all the public
APIs listed in the Shader public APIs section.
### Material vertex inputs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
struct MaterialVertexInputs {
float4 color; // if the color attribute is required
float2 uv0; // if the uv0 attribute is required
float2 uv1; // if the uv1 attribute is required
float3 worldNormal; // only if the shading model is not unlit
float4 worldPosition; // always available (see note below about world-space)
mat4 clipSpaceTransform; // default: identity, transforms the clip-space position, only available for `vertexDomain:device`
// variable* names are replaced with actual names
float4 variable0; // if 1 or more variables is defined
float4 variable1; // if 2 or more variables is defined
float4 variable2; // if 3 or more variables is defined
float4 variable3; // if 4 or more variables is defined
};
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!! TIP: worldPosition
To achieve good precision, the `worldPosition` coordinate in the vertex shader is shifted by the
camera position. To get the true world-space position, users can use
`getUserWorldPosition()`, however be aware that the true world-position might not
be able to fit in a `float` or might be represented with severely reduced precision.
!!! TIP: UV attributes
By default the vertex shader of a material will flip the Y coordinate of the UV attributes
of the current mesh: `material.uv0 = vec2(mesh_uv0.x, 1.0 - mesh_uv0.y)`. You can control
this behavior using the `flipUV` property and setting it to `false`.
### Custom vertex attributes
You can use up to 8 custom vertex attributes, all of type `float4`. These attributes can be accessed
using the vertex block shader functions `getCustom0()` to `getCustom7()`. However, before using
custom attributes, you *must* declare those attributes as required in the `requires` property of
the material:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSON
material {
requires : [
custom0,
custom1,
custom2
]
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
## Fragment block
The fragment block must be used to control the fragment shading stage of the material. The fragment
block must contain valid
[ESSL 3.0](https://www.khronos.org/registry/OpenGL/specs/es/3.0/GLSL_ES_Specification_3.00.pdf)
code (the version of GLSL supported in OpenGL ES 3.0). You are free to create multiple functions
inside the fragment block but you **must** declare the `material` function:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
// fragment shading code
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This function will be invoked automatically at runtime by the shading system and gives you the
ability to read and modify material properties using the `MaterialInputs` structure. This full
definition of the structure can be found in the Material fragment inputs section. The full
definition of the various members of the structure can be found in the Material models section
of this document.
The goal of the `material()` function is to compute the material properties specific to the selected
shading model. For instance, here is a fragment block that creates a glossy red metal using the
standard lit shading model:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor.rgb = vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
material.metallic = 1.0;
material.roughness = 0.0;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### prepareMaterial function
Note that you **must** call `prepareMaterial(material)` before exiting the `material()` function.
This `prepareMaterial` function sets up the internal state of the material model. Some of the APIs
described in the Fragment APIs section - like `shading_normal` for instance - can only be accessed
_after_ invoking `prepareMaterial()`.
It is also important to remember that the `normal` property - as described in the Material fragment
inputs section - only has an effect when modified _before_ calling `prepareMaterial()`. Here is an
example of a fragment shader that properly modifies the `normal` property to implement a glossy red
plastic with bump mapping:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
// fetch the normal in tangent space
vec3 normal = texture(materialParams_normalMap, getUV0()).xyz;
material.normal = normal * 2.0 - 1.0;
// prepare the material
prepareMaterial(material);
// from now on, shading_normal, etc. can be accessed
material.baseColor.rgb = vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
material.metallic = 0.0;
material.roughness = 1.0;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Material fragment inputs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
struct MaterialInputs {
float4 baseColor; // default: float4(1.0)
float4 emissive; // default: float4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
float4 postLightingColor; // default: float4(0.0)
// no other field is available with the unlit shading model
float roughness; // default: 1.0
float metallic; // default: 0.0, not available with cloth or specularGlossiness
float reflectance; // default: 0.5, not available with cloth or specularGlossiness
float ambientOcclusion; // default: 0.0
// not available when the shading model is subsurface or cloth
float3 sheenColor; // default: float3(0.0)
float sheenRoughness; // default: 0.0
float clearCoat; // default: 1.0
float clearCoatRoughness; // default: 0.0
float3 clearCoatNormal; // default: float3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
float anisotropy; // default: 0.0
float3 anisotropyDirection; // default: float3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
// only available when the shading model is subsurface or refraction is enabled
float thickness; // default: 0.5
// only available when the shading model is subsurface
float subsurfacePower; // default: 12.234
float3 subsurfaceColor; // default: float3(1.0)
// only available when the shading model is cloth
float3 sheenColor; // default: sqrt(baseColor)
float3 subsurfaceColor; // default: float3(0.0)
// only available when the shading model is specularGlossiness
float3 specularColor; // default: float3(0.0)
float glossiness; // default: 0.0
// not available when the shading model is unlit
// must be set before calling prepareMaterial()
float3 normal; // default: float3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
// only available when refraction is enabled
float transmission; // default: 1.0
float3 absorption; // default float3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
float ior; // default: 1.5
float microThickness; // default: 0.0, not available with refractionType "solid"
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
### Custom surface shading
When `customSurfaceShading` is set to `true` in the material block, the fragment block **must**
declare and implement the `surfaceShading` function:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
// prepare material inputs
}
vec3 surfaceShading(
const MaterialInputs materialInputs,
const ShadingData shadingData,
const LightData lightData
) {
return vec3(1.0); // output of custom lighting
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This function will be invoked for every light (directional, spot or point) in the scene that may
influence the current fragment. The `surfaceShading` is invoked with 3 sets of data:
- `MaterialInputs`, as described in the Material fragment inputs section and prepared in the
`material` function explained above
- `ShadingData`, a structure containing values derived from `MaterialInputs` (see below)
- `LightData`, a structure containing values specific to the light being currently
evaluated (see below)
The `surfaceShading` function must return an RGB color in linear sRGB. Alpha blending and alpha
masking are handled outside of this function and must therefore be ignored.
!!! Note: About shadowed fragments
The `surfaceShading` function is invoked even when a fragment is known to be fully in the shadow
of the current light (`lightData.NdotL <= 0.0` or `lightData.visibility <= 0.0`). This gives
more flexibility to the `surfaceShading` function as it provides a simple way to handle constant
ambient lighting for instance.
!!! Warning: Shading models
Custom surface shading only works with the `lit` shading model. Attempting to use any other
model will result in an error.
#### Shading data structure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
struct ShadingData {
// The material's diffuse color, as derived from baseColor and metallic.
// This color is pre-multiplied by alpha and in the linear sRGB color space.
vec3 diffuseColor;
// The material's specular color, as derived from baseColor and metallic.
// This color is pre-multiplied by alpha and in the linear sRGB color space.
vec3 f0;
// The perceptual roughness is the roughness value set in MaterialInputs,
// with extra processing:
// - Clamped to safe values
// - Filtered if specularAntiAliasing is enabled
// This value is between 0.0 and 1.0.
float perceptualRoughness;
// The roughness value expected by BRDFs. This value is the square of
// perceptualRoughness. This value is between 0.0 and 1.0.
float roughness;
};
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#### Light data structure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
struct LightData {
// The color (.rgb) and pre-exposed intensity (.w) of the light.
// The color is an RGB value in the linear sRGB color space.
// The pre-exposed intensity is the intensity of the light multiplied by
// the camera's exposure value.
vec4 colorIntensity;
// The normalized light vector, in world space (direction from the
// current fragment's position to the light).
vec3 l;
// The dot product of the shading normal (with normal mapping applied)
// and the light vector. This value is equal to the result of
// saturate(dot(getWorldSpaceNormal(), lightData.l)).
// This value is always between 0.0 and 1.0. When the value is <= 0.0,
// the current fragment is not visible from the light and lighting
// computations can be skipped.
float NdotL;
// The position of the light in world space.
vec3 worldPosition;
// Attenuation of the light based on the distance from the current
// fragment to the light in world space. This value between 0.0 and 1.0
// is computed differently for each type of light (it's always 1.0 for
// directional lights).
float attenuation;
// Visibility factor computed from shadow maps or other occlusion data
// specific to the light being evaluated. This value is between 0.0 and
// 1.0.
float visibility;
};
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#### Example
The material below shows how to use custom surface shading to implement a simplified toon shader:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
material {
name : Toon,
shadingModel : lit,
parameters : [
{
type : float3,
name : baseColor
}
],
customSurfaceShading : true
}
fragment {
void material(inout MaterialInputs material) {
prepareMaterial(material);
material.baseColor.rgb = materialParams.baseColor;
}
vec3 surfaceShading(
const MaterialInputs materialInputs,
const ShadingData shadingData,
const LightData lightData
) {
// Number of visible shade transitions
const float shades = 5.0;
// Ambient intensity
const float ambient = 0.1;
float toon = max(ceil(lightData.NdotL * shades) / shades, ambient);
// Shadowing and attenuation
toon *= lightData.visibility * lightData.attenuation;
// Color and intensity
vec3 light = lightData.colorIntensity.rgb * lightData.colorIntensity.w;
return shadingData.diffuseColor * light * toon;
}
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The result can be seen in figure [toonShading].
![Figure [toonShading]: simple toon shading implemented with custom
surface shading](images/screenshot_toon_shading.png)
## Shader public APIs
### Types
While GLSL types can be used directly (`vec4` or `mat4`) we recommend the use of the following
type aliases:
Name | GLSL type | Description
:--------------------------------|:------------:|:------------------------------------
**bool2** | bvec2 | A vector of 2 booleans
**bool3** | bvec3 | A vector of 3 booleans
**bool4** | bvec4 | A vector of 4 booleans
**int2** | ivec2 | A vector of 2 integers
**int3** | ivec3 | A vector of 3 integers
**int4** | ivec4 | A vector of 4 integers
**uint2** | uvec2 | A vector of 2 unsigned integers
**uint3** | uvec3 | A vector of 3 unsigned integers
**uint4** | uvec4 | A vector of 4 unsigned integers
**float2** | float2 | A vector of 2 floats
**float3** | float3 | A vector of 3 floats
**float4** | float4 | A vector of 4 floats
**float4x4** | mat4 | A 4x4 float matrix
**float3x3** | mat3 | A 3x3 float matrix
### Math
Name | Type | Description
:-----------------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**PI** | float | A constant that represent $\pi$
**HALF_PI** | float | A constant that represent $\frac{\pi}{2}$
**saturate(float x)** | float | Clamps the specified value between 0.0 and 1.0
**pow5(float x)** | float | Computes $x^5$
**sq(float x)** | float | Computes $x^2$
**max3(float3 v)** | float | Returns the maximum value of the specified `float3`
**mulMat4x4Float3(float4x4 m, float3 v)** | float4 | Returns $m * v$
**mulMat3x3Float3(float4x4 m, float3 v)** | float4 | Returns $m * v$
### Matrices
Name | Type | Description
:-----------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**getViewFromWorldMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from world space to view/eye space
**getWorldFromViewMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from view/eye space to world space
**getClipFromViewMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from view/eye space to clip (NDC) space
**getViewFromClipMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from clip (NDC) space to view/eye space
**getClipFromWorldMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from world to clip (NDC) space
**getWorldFromClipMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from clip (NDC) space to world space
### Frame constants
Name | Type | Description
:-----------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**getResolution()** | float4 | Dimensions of the view's effective (physical) viewport in pixels: `width`, `height`, `1 / width`, `1 / height`. This might be different from `View::getViewport()` for instance because of added rendering guard-bands.
**getWorldCameraPosition()** | float3 | Position of the camera/eye in world space (see note below)
**getWorldOffset()** | float3 | [deprecated] The shift required to obtain API-level world space. Use getUserWorldPosition() instead
**getUserWorldFromWorldMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from world space to API-level (user) world space.
**getTime()** | float | Current time as a remainder of 1 second. Yields a value between 0 and 1
**getUserTime()** | float4 | Current time in seconds: `time`, `(double)time - time`, `0`, `0`
**getUserTimeMod(float m)** | float | Current time modulo m in seconds
**getExposure()** | float | Photometric exposure of the camera
**getEV100()** | float | [Exposure value at ISO 100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_value) of the camera
!!! TIP: world space
To achieve good precision, the "world space" in Filament's shading system does not necessarily
match the API-level world space. To obtain the position of the API-level camera, custom
materials can use `getUserWorldFromWorldMatrix()` to transform `getWorldCameraPosition()`.
### Material globals
Name | Type | Description
:-----------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**getMaterialGlobal0()** | float4 | A vec4 visible by all materials, its value is set by `View::setMaterialGlobal(0, float4)`. Its default value is {0,0,0,1}.
**getMaterialGlobal1()** | float4 | A vec4 visible by all materials, its value is set by `View::setMaterialGlobal(1, float4)`. Its default value is {0,0,0,1}.
**getMaterialGlobal2()** | float4 | A vec4 visible by all materials, its value is set by `View::setMaterialGlobal(2, float4)`. Its default value is {0,0,0,1}.
**getMaterialGlobal3()** | float4 | A vec4 visible by all materials, its value is set by `View::setMaterialGlobal(3, float4)`. Its default value is {0,0,0,1}.
### Vertex only
The following APIs are only available from the vertex block:
Name | Type | Description
:------------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**getPosition()** | float4 | Vertex position in the domain defined by the material (default: object/model space)
**getCustom0()** to **getCustom7()** | float4 | Custom vertex attribute
**getWorldFromModelMatrix()** | float4x4 | Matrix that converts from model (object) space to world space
**getWorldFromModelNormalMatrix()** | float3x3 | Matrix that converts normals from model (object) space to world space
**getVertexIndex()** | int | Index of the current vertex
**getEyeIndex()** | int | Index of the eye being rendered, starting at 0
### Fragment only
The following APIs are only available from the fragment block:
Name | Type | Description
:---------------------------------------|:--------:|:------------------------------------
**getWorldTangentFrame()** | float3x3 | Matrix containing in each column the `tangent` (`frame[0]`), `bi-tangent` (`frame[1]`) and `normal` (`frame[2]`) of the vertex in world space. If the material does not compute a tangent space normal for bump mapping or if the shading is not anisotropic, only the `normal` is valid in this matrix.
**getWorldPosition()** | float3 | Position of the fragment in world space (see note below about world-space)
**getUserWorldPosition()** | float3 | Position of the fragment in API-level (user) world-space (see note below about world-space)
**getWorldViewVector()** | float3 | Normalized vector in world space from the fragment position to the eye
**getWorldNormalVector()** | float3 | Normalized normal in world space, after bump mapping (must be used after `prepareMaterial()`)
**getWorldGeometricNormalVector()** | float3 | Normalized normal in world space, before bump mapping (can be used before `prepareMaterial()`)
**getWorldReflectedVector()** | float3 | Reflection of the view vector about the normal (must be used after `prepareMaterial()`)
**getNormalizedViewportCoord()** | float3 | Normalized user viewport position (i.e. NDC coordinates normalized to [0, 1] for the position, [1, 0] for the depth), can be used before `prepareMaterial()`). Because the user viewport is smaller than the actual physical viewport, these coordinates can be negative or superior to 1 in the non-visible area of the physical viewport.
**getNdotV()** | float | The result of `dot(normal, view)`, always strictly greater than 0 (must be used after `prepareMaterial()`)
**getColor()** | float4 | Interpolated color of the fragment, if the color attribute is required
**getUV0()** | float2 | First interpolated set of UV coordinates, only available if the uv0 attribute is required
**getUV1()** | float2 | First interpolated set of UV coordinates, only available if the uv1 attribute is required
**getMaskThreshold()** | float | Returns the mask threshold, only available when `blending` is set to `masked`
**inverseTonemap(float3)** | float3 | Applies the inverse tone mapping operator to the specified linear sRGB color and returns a linear sRGB color. This operation may be an approximation and works best with the "Filmic" tone mapping operator
**inverseTonemapSRGB(float3)** | float3 | Applies the inverse tone mapping operator to the specified non-linear sRGB color and returns a linear sRGB color. This operation may be an approximation and works best with the "Filmic" tone mapping operator
**luminance(float3)** | float | Computes the luminance of the specified linear sRGB color
**ycbcrToRgb(float, float2)** | float3 | Converts a luminance and CbCr pair to a sRGB color
**uvToRenderTargetUV(float2)** | float2 | Transforms a UV coordinate to allow sampling from a `RenderTarget` attachment
!!! TIP: world-space
To obtain API-level world-space coordinates, custom materials should use `getUserWorldPosition()`
or use `getUserWorldFromWorldMatrix()`. Note that API-level world-space coordinates should
never or rarely be used because they may not fit in a float3 or have severely reduced precision.
!!! TIP: sampling from render targets
When sampling from a `filament::Texture` that is attached to a `filament::RenderTarget` for
materials in the surface domain, please use `uvToRenderTargetUV` to transform the texture
coordinate. This will flip the coordinate depending on which backend is being used.
# Compiling materials
Material packages can be compiled from material definitions using the command line tool called
`matc`. The simplest way to use `matc` is to specify an input material definition (`car_paint.mat`
in the example below) and an output material package (`car_paint.filamat` in the example below):
```text
$ matc -o ./materials/bin/car_paint.filamat ./materials/src/car_paint.mat
```
## Shader validation
`matc` attempts to validate shaders when compiling a material package. The example below shows an
example of an error message generated when compiling a material definition containing a typo in the
fragment shader (`metalic` instead of `metallic`). The reported line numbers are line numbers in the
source material definition file.
```text
ERROR: 0:13: 'metalic' : no such field in structure
ERROR: 0:13: '' : compilation terminated
ERROR: 2 compilation errors. No code generated.
Could not compile material metal.mat
```
## Flags
The command line flags relevant to application development are described in table [matcFlags].
Flag | Value | Usage
-------------------------------:|:------------------:|:---------------------
**-o**, **--output** | [path] | Specify the output file path
**-p**, **--platform** | desktop/mobile/all | Select the target platform(s)
**-a**, **--api** | opengl/vulkan/all | Specify the target graphics API
**-S**, **--optimize-size** | N/A | Optimize compiled material for size instead of just performance
**-r**, **--reflect** | parameters | Outputs the specified metadata as JSON
**-v**, **--variant-filter** | [variant] | Filters out the specified, comma-separated variants
[Table [matcFlags]: List of `matc` flags]
`matc` offers a few other flags that are irrelevant to application developers and for internal
use only.
### --platform
By default, `matc` generates material packages containing shaders for all supported platforms. If
you wish to reduce the size of your material packages, it is recommended to select only the
appropriate target platform. For instance, to compile a material package for Android only, run
the following command:
```text
$ matc -p mobile -o ./materials/bin/car_paint.filamat ./materials/src/car_paint.mat
```
### --api
By default, `matc` generates material packages containing shaders for the OpenGL API. You can choose
to generate shaders for the Vulkan API in addition to the OpenGL shaders. If you intend on targeting
only Vulkan capable devices, you can reduce the size of the material packages by generating only
the set of Vulkan shaders:
```text
$ matc -a vulkan -o ./materials/bin/car_paint.filamat ./materials/src/car_paint.mat
```
### --optimize-size
This flag applies fewer optimization techniques to try and keep the final material as small as
possible. If the compiled material is deemed too large by default, using this flag might be
a good compromise between runtime performance and size.
### --reflect
This flag was designed to help build tools around `matc`. It allows you to print out specific
metadata in JSON format. The example below prints out the list of parameters defined in Filament's
standard skybox material. It produces a list of 2 parameters, named `showSun` and `skybox`,
respectively a boolean and a cubemap texture.
```text
$ matc --reflect parameters filament/src/materials/skybox.mat
{
"parameters": [
{
"name": "showSun",
"type": "bool",
"size": "1"
},
{
"name": "skybox",
"type": "samplerCubemap",
"format": "float",
"precision": "default"
}
]
}
```
### --variant-filter
This flag can be used to further reduce the size of a compiled material. It is used to specify a
list of shader variants that the application guarantees will never be needed. These shader variants
are skipped during the code generation phase of `matc`, thus reducing the overall size of the
material.
The variants must be specified as a comma-separated list, using one of the following available
variants:
- `directionalLighting`, used when a directional light is present in the scene
- `dynamicLighting`, used when a non-directional light (point, spot, etc.) is present in the scene
- `shadowReceiver`, used when an object can receive shadows
- `skinning`, used when an object is animated using GPU skinning or vertex morphing
- `fog`, used when global fog is applied to the scene
- `vsm`, used when VSM shadows are enabled and the object is a shadow receiver
- `ssr`, used when screen-space reflections are enabled in the View
Example:
```
--variant-filter=skinning,shadowReceiver
```
Note that some variants may automatically be filtered out. For instance, all lighting related
variants (`directionalLighting`, etc.) are filtered out when compiling an `unlit` material.
When this flag is used, the specified variant filters are merged with the variant filters specified
in the material itself.
Use this flag with caution, filtering out a variant required at runtime may lead to crashes.
# Handling colors
## Linear colors
If the color data comes from a texture, simply make sure you use an sRGB texture to benefit from
automatic hardware conversion from sRGB to linear. If the color data is passed as a parameter to
the material you can convert from sRGB to linear by running the following algorithm on each
color channel:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
float sRGB_to_linear(float color) {
return color <= 0.04045 ? color / 12.92 : pow((color + 0.055) / 1.055, 2.4);
}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alternatively you can use one of the two cheaper but less accurate versions shown below:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
// Cheaper
linearColor = pow(color, 2.2);
// Cheapest
linearColor = color * color;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
## Pre-multiplied alpha
A color uses pre-multiplied alpha if its RGB components are multiplied by the alpha channel:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLSL
// Compute pre-multiplied color
color.rgb *= color.a;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the color is sampled from a texture, you can simply ensure that the texture data is
pre-multiplied ahead of time. On Android, any texture uploaded from a
[Bitmap](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/Bitmap.html) will be
pre-multiplied by default.
# Sampler usage in Materials
The number of usable sampler parameters (e.g.: type is `sampler2d`) in materials is limited and
depends on the material properties, shading model, feature level and variant filter.
## Feature level 1 and 2
`unlit` materials can use up to 12 samplers by default.
`lit` materials can use up to 9 samplers by default, however if `refractionMode` or `reflectionMode`
is set to `screenspace` that number is reduced to 8.
Finally if `variantFilter` contains the `fog` filter, an extra sampler is made available, such that
`unlit` materials can use up to 13 and `lit` materials up to 10 samplers by default.
## Feature level 3
16 samplers are available.
!!! TIP: external samplers
Be aware that `external` samplers account for 2 regular samplers.