Custom materials can be created by using the Customize controls located in the Panel. In order to use these controls you must first select a surface in your design.
This will allow you to edit the material applied to that surface. This will not change the material in the library, but you can save the changes you have made as a new material in the library. This allows you to create multiple versions of an existing material in different colors.
Select Material
To customize a material, start by selecting a surface in your design that already has a material applied.
To customize a single surface, double‑left‑click directly on it. The selected surface will highlight in red.To customize multiple surfaces at once, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and left‑click each additional surface you want to include.
You can customize several surfaces at the same time, even if they use different materials. Every surface you have selected will update as you adjust the Customize controls.
You can select the surfaces of drawn shapes and library items to customize their materials. This includes all shapes created in Design Stages and all items inserted from the library.
Each shape has its own set of surfaces, and each surface can have a unique material.
If you want to assign a different material to only one side of a shape, first select the shape, then double‑click the specific side where you want the new material applied.
Each library item also has multiple surfaces, allowing detailed customization of materials and colors. For example, a dining chair includes both the frame and the cushion, and each can be customized with different materials or colors to match your design.
Tools
The Panel includes four tools for customizing materials: Move, Matching, Change, and Create. These buttons become available only when you have selected a surface in your design that already has a material applied.
Move: Use this button to pan the selected material across the surface. This helps you align patterns—such as wood planks, tile joints, or stone seams—so they flow cleanly across the entire area.
Matching: With any surface selected, click the Select Matching button to automatically select every other object in the project that uses the same material.
Change: Use this button to apply the customizations from one selected surface to every other surface in your project that uses the same material.
This is especially helpful when you have many repeating elements. For example, you can customize one planter, then click Change to instantly update all other planters using that material so they match.
Change updates every material that shares the same material name as the one you currently have selected—even if some of those materials were already customized. For instance, if you have three planters with the same material, and you darken the first, then make the second more brown, clicking Change while the second planter is selected will update both the first and third planters to match the second.
The Change button also copies any adjustments made with the Material Manipulation tools. If you scale, rotate, or pan the material, those changes will be applied to all other surfaces using the same material when you click Change.
Create: Use this button to build your own custom materials from graphic files. You can import images in common formats, including .bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tga, and .tif.
For more information, see Create Materials.
Customize
When you customize a material, you are changing its color while its pattern or texture remains the same. For example, if you start with a red brick material, you can adjust it to a brown tone, but it will still look like brick.
Reset: Click the Reset button to return a customized material to its original settings from the library. This removes all changes made with Scale, Rotate, Specular and the Advanced options.
Scale: Use the slider or type in a value and press enter, to scale the pattern of the currently selected material. To scale larger than 200%, type in the value and press enter.
Rotate: Use the slider or type in a value and press enter, to rotate the pattern of the currently selected material.
Specular: Use the slider to add non‑metallic reflections, controlling how shiny or glossy the material appears.
Advanced 🔽
Normal: The Normal texture adds fine surface detail and fakes depth by simulating bumps, scratches, and other small imperfections.
Height: The Height texture adds true depth to a surface, creating details like cracks and bumps. Unlike normal maps, it can actually alter geometry or use parallax occlusion, rather than only simulating lighting on a flat surface.
Roughness: The Roughness texture controls how smooth or matte a material appears. It is a grayscale map where white areas are rough and diffuse, and black areas are smooth and highly reflective.
Metallic: The Metallic texture controls how smooth or matte a material appears. Use the Metallic texture only for true metal materials, such as aluminum, gold, silver, or metal alloys like brass.
Color Sliders & Swatches
Each material responds to customization based on its own attributes. As you adjust a material with the Customize controls, different color areas within the material will update at different times. Using the Color Strength and Brightness strips lets you affect more of the overall color in the material.
Color: Use the Color strip to change the color of the material applied to a selected surface in your design. You can either left-click directly on a color in the strip or drag the slider below it to choose a color.
Color Strength: Use the Color Strength strip to adjust how intense or saturated the color appears on the selected material. This helps you fine-tune the color to match your project requirements. You can left-click on the desired strength level or use the slider below the strip.
Brightness: Use the Brightness strip to adjust how light or dark the selected material appears. This control will brighten or darken the color of the material. You can left-click on the desired brightness level or use the slider below the strip.
Swatches: Swatches let you quickly apply a wide range of colors to the material on a selected surface in your design. Simply left-click a swatch to apply its color.
Custom Swatch Colors: Use the 18 available custom swatches to build your own color palette. First, create a color with the Color Wheel, then click the Edit icon (the pencil to the right of the swatches) and choose a swatch to save it to. Your custom color will then be available anytime you need it.
Tint System
When you select a plant or material that is supported by the tint system, you'll see these options appear directly under the color swatches.
You can customize tile, stone, and brick materials by tinting the tile, brick, grout, and mortar separately. It’s a quick, easy, and endlessly customizable way to achieve stunning results.
The tint system also makes it effortless to create the exact plants you need. Flowers and leaves can now be customized individually, giving you the flexibility to create unique, personalized color combinations that suit your every need.
Hue Saturation Values
Advanced Options: Use this panel to precisely adjust the selected color by editing its HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) and RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values.
Each color also has a unique code. When a material is selected, its hexadecimal color code (for example, #123456) appears below the HSV and RGB values.
To use a specific color, type its code into the field or copy and paste a code from another customized material.
Color Wheel
Color Ring: The outer Color Ring lets you set the base color for the material applied to the selected surface in your design. Left-click directly on any color in the ring to choose it.
Color Triangle: The inner Color Triangle lets you adjust the saturation and intensity of that base color. Use it to fine-tune the color so it matches your project requirements. Left-click anywhere inside the triangle to select the desired color.
Color Preview: A live preview of your custom color appears in the upper preview triangle to the left of the Color Ring. Each time you left-click on the Color Ring or Color Triangle, the preview updates automatically.
Save Custom Materials to Library
You can also save your custom materials for future projects. Use the button at the bottom of the Library to save both modified versions of existing materials and any new materials you have imported. Saving your custom materials ensures they are always available for use in future projects.
Save to Library: Use this button to store any customized material in the library as a new entry.
Each time you save, a new material is added to the Material Library, so it is strongly recommended that you save every custom material you create.
When you click the Save to Library button, the Save New Material window appears, showing a preview of your material. Use the drop-down lists to choose the Category and Subcategory where you want to store it, then enter a Name for your new material. To create a new category or subcategory, simply type its name into the appropriate field. Click OK when you are finished.
Only customized materials can be saved to the library. The Save to Library button becomes active only when a modified material is selected.
Delete: Click the Trashcan icon to permanently remove a custom material from the library. This action deletes the material from all projects and cannot be undone.
Gear: Click the Gear icon to edit any custom material saved in the Materials Library. With a custom material selected, the Edit Template window opens, allowing you to change its Category, Subcategory, and Name.
Use the Gear icon to move custom materials between Categories or to create new ones by typing a new category or type name. The Gear icon is available only for custom materials.