Matcap
Matcap (Material Capture) is a technique that uses a spherical texture to simulate complex lighting and material properties in a view-dependent way. It's a powerful way to add stylized reflections and highlights to your materials.
Main Parameters
Use Matcap
Toggle to enable or disable the matcap effect.
Matcap Texture
The spherical texture that defines the matcap effect. This is typically a rendering of a sphere with the desired material properties.
Matcap Color
A color tint that is multiplied with the matcap texture. This allows you to adjust the color of the matcap effect without changing the texture.
Matcap Blend
Controls how strongly the matcap effect is blended with the base material. Higher values create a more pronounced effect.
Perspective Correction
When enabled, adjusts the matcap mapping to account for perspective distortion, creating a more accurate effect especially at the edges of the model.
Usage
Matcap is excellent for creating stylized materials with complex lighting effects:
- Enable "Use Matcap"
- Assign a matcap texture
- Adjust the Matcap Color to tint the effect
- Set the Matcap Blend to control the strength
- Enable Perspective Correction for better results on larger models
Matcap textures can simulate various material properties:
- Metallic surfaces with reflections
- Glossy ceramics or plastics
- Stylized highlights for toon materials
- Fake ambient occlusion or edge highlighting
Since matcaps are view-dependent (they're mapped based on the view direction), they create an effect that changes as the camera moves around the object, similar to how real materials catch the light from different angles.