BasicSurface

The BasicSurface node combines diffuse, specular, and emission controls, allowing you to adjust all three aspects of the material from a single properties panel.

See more about the workflow at BasicSurface: Shader Usage.

Tip: BasicSurface's classic 3D system equivalent is the BasicMaterial node.

Tip: Use BasicSurface’s ray visibility and indirect illumination controls with ScanlineRender for ray-tracing.

Inputs and Controls

Connection Type	Connection Name	Function
Input	unnamed	Connects another shader node, such as ConstantShader or FillShader. Adding several shader nodes one after the other allows you to produce more complex effects.
	diff	An optional input for limiting the effect of the diffuse component. Any changes you make to diffuse are limited to the non-black areas of the mask.
	emis	An optional input for limiting the effect of the emissive component. Any changes you make to emission are limited to the non-black areas of the mask.
	spec	An optional input for limiting the effect of the specular component. Any changes you make to specular are limited to the non-black areas of the mask.
	rough	An optional input for varying the roughness. Note: This input is hidden on the left side of the node.

Control (UI)	Knob (Scripting)	Default Value	Function
BasicSurface Tab
Visibility	sides_mode	both-sides	Choose whether material is visible for both-sides, front-side or back-side faces. Also toggle: Camera - material is visible to camera rays Shadow - material is visible to shadow
shading channels	channels	rgb	The effect is only applied to these channels. If you set this to something other than all or none, you can use the checkboxes on the right to select individual channels.
emission	emission	0	Sets the color of the light the material emits. Note that when you have an image connected to the unnamed input of the BasicSurface node and adjust this value, you need to look at the rendered 2D image to see the effect of your changes. Changing the emission value does not have any effect in the 3D Viewer.
diffuse	diffuse	0.18	Sets the color of the material when illuminated. Note that when you have an image connected to the unnamed input of the BasicSurface node and adjust this value, you need to look at the rendered 2D image to see the effect of your changes. Changing the diffuse value does not have any effect in the 3D Viewer.
specular	specular	0.8	Sets how bright the highlights on the material seem.
roughness	roughness	0.5	Sets the roughness value on the material.
roughness channel	shininess_channel	luminance	Selects which channel is used to map the roughness. Choose: • red - use the red channel for the mapping. • green - use the green channel. • blue - use the blue channel. • alpha - use the alpha channel. • luminance - use the luminance. • average rgb - use the average of the red, green, and blue channels.