Gemstones & Ice: Introduction

A most precious material

Gemstones are unique in that they have dazzling refraction even with a simple surface - especially in the case of natural gemstones. So the real meat and potatoes of this Shader Forge lesson is about manipulating what's inside the material more than what's on the surface.

What You'll Learn

  • You will see how to use the Absorption node group - found in our Utility Node Groups resource. We'll be using this to create a gradient factor value from the middle of the material (or middle of the object with the material applied) to the outside surface, effectively giving us access to do fun things with the inside of the material.
  • Next, we'll use an over-powered procedural bump texture to create the illusion of refractive complexity.
  • Finally, we will add a reflective component to the outside surface and explore coloring the material to represent different kinds of gems.

Applications

Whether it's a crystal cluster or a glass of ice-cubes, this gemstone material has many uses:


CC Attribution

Materials