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title: "Materials"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VMAYA/111739957/Materials"
format: markdown
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This page introduces the different material types in V-Ray for Maya. Overview There are a number of different materials for use with V-Ray for Maya. These materials are quite versatile and can be used in various ways to achieve different looks as needed, from simulating simple surface properties like plastics and metals to replicating complex uses, such as translucent objects, subsurface materials like skin, and even light-emitting objects. Keep in mind that materials look different under different lighting * . The materials can be found in all places in the Maya user interface where standard Maya materials are located. A few of these places are listed below. While V-Ray will render ideally using Maya's own standard materials, these V-Ray-specific materials offer a higher level of illumination and surface accuracy, as well as several features not found in standard Maya materials. ||Right-click on the geometry|| >  Assign New Material...  >  VRay  section > Click on the chosen material ||V-Ray Shelf|| > Right-click to Create V-Ray Materials button > Click on the chosen material ||Hypershade|| >  Window  tab >  Create...  >  VRay  section > Click on the chosen material   Image courtesy of Tuna Unalan V-Ray Materials   Common Materials The most widely used V-Ray materials. Utility Materials This section contains V-Ray materials suitable for various realistic and creative effects. File Based Materials This section contains file-based V-Ray materials. Legacy Materials This section contains legacy V-Ray materials which have newer versions and/or are no longer relevant   Materials Tools and Utilities These are a number of tools and utilities that allow various material related tasks to be accomplished. For more information, see the  Internal Tools  page. Working with Materials Follow this tutorial to learn what are the essential steps when applying materials to your scene. We show you how you can easily create and modify materials in V-Ray for Maya. Plus, demonstrate how you can use Chaos Cosmos, our extensive library of ready-to-render materials, to shade your scene in just a few clicks.    Notes In  Maya 2024 , the Default lighting has an increased intensity. This leads to V-Ray materials appearing brighter when lit with the Default lighting. You can reduce the intensity of the lighting manually or use  V-Ray Lights  to achieve a more natural look.