Intro to Material Graph

I Applied the 80/20 Principle to KeyShot's Material Graph...
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The Material Graph Masterclass will get you creating custom materials in KeyShot in less than two hours.

You've heard it over and over... KeyShot's Material Graph is the best way to add detail to materials, create custom finishes, or make elaborate labels.

And that's true.

But to be honest, the Material Graph can be a bit overwhelming. And if you've never even heard of it or tried it out, it's a node-based workspace.

By connecting nodes, you can make a network of properties that lead to infinitely-customizable materials.

But again... it can be overwhelming. Below is a screenshot of pretty standard material graph from one of my projects.
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Results.
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Recently, I received an email from a designer. He said that he wasn't landing many interviews when submitting his design portfolio for review.

After watching a bunch of my rendering tutorials, he decided to revisit the renderings in his portfolio.

After bumping up the visuals in his portfolio, not only did he land interviews, he snagged a job at a top design firm. He emailed me to say that he felt his improved rendering skills helped him stand out.

Crazy, right?!

This is just one example that reinforces the importance of being able to create beautiful, accurate renderings.

As a designer, communication is critical.

You need to be able to effectively communicate designs and 3D rendering has become the easiest way to share an idea before committing to it.

And lots of people get hung up on KeyShot's Material Graph.

But they shouldn't!

Learning to use the Material Graph is far easier than you think
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I've been using KeyShot for over a decade, and I've been teaching others how to use it for half that time.

If you have a solid teacher or mentor who's put in the time, you can learn the tool in far less time than if you tried to figure it out on your own.

After hearing from designers who had been overwhelmed, intimidated or too busy to try and learn how to use the Material Graph, I decided to make sort of 'quick-start guide'.

The Material Graph Masterclass will get you up and running because it focuses on a few basic items:

• The logic behind how the Material Graph works
• Breaking down the user interface for easy navigation
• The most useful and often-used Material Graph nodes

The course covers a few key concepts in PDF presentation. This is a simple document you can refer back to anytime if you need a refresher.

Then, we jump into KeyShot for some hands-on examples.
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What You'll Learn to Make
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Below are 4 distinct materials you will learn to create following a step-by-step process.

The course concludes with me answering questions from students who attended the live version of this course. I work through more examples of how the Material Graph can be used to overcome other common challenges.

Course Format
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13 minutes of theory lecture. We begin with a brief slideshow and I break down why you should use KeyShot's Material Graph, how it works and what to connect to what.

1 hour, 27 minutes of live demonstration. I cover 4 distinct material types, all with their own unique challenges and styles. Through repetition, you'll begin to notice patterns and see how the most common Material Graph nodes are used in conjunction with one another.

36 minutes of live questions and answers. I took questions from the attendees of the live class, and did my best to answer with visual demonstrations, extending the teaching with more practical examples.

Total Runtime: 2 hours, 16 minutes
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Lecture

The theory lecture offers a primer before getting hands-on in KeyShot.

What you get
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• 1 KeyShot (KSP) Package File with the finished materials for you to reference and deconstruct to see what settings were used and what is connected to what.
• 3 Videos (lecture, demo and Q&A) with total runtime of 2 hours, 16 minutes
• PDF used during lecture
• 1 3D CAD model to follow along with and practice on (step format)

Requirements
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• KeyShot 6 Pro or newer (to access material graph)
• KeyShot 9 Pro or newer (to access everything shown in this course)

How much experience is required?
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• No previous experience with KeyShot's Material Graph required.
• You should have a basic understanding of KeyShot user interface.
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If you aren't familiar with the following terms, I recommend you follow the links to read up on them:

• Diffuse
• Specular
• Bump
• Roughness
• Normal & Opacity
• Labels
• Texture Mapping
• Displacement

Testimonials
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• Will is a great teacher with an incredible amount of knowledge and tips to share. The course I have attended was very informative and engaging and allowed me to finally understand several concepts of the material graph that I have always struggled with. I would definitely recommend any courses from Will to anyone that is embarking on the rendering journey!!
  
  
• Extremely useful and informative, best 2 hours of my quarantine period, is there a weekly or monthly course subscription option I can sign up for? :)
  
  
• Will is super talented, his lectures are always easy to follow and straight to the point. This course has helped to be comfortable with the material graph, and to explore its potentials. I appreciated the content, pdf Information I can keep and refer to, also source files to practice. I plan to keep purchasing tutorials from Will, and supporting his cause. I appreciate he is always trying to help aspiring designers to be better at representing their designs by sharing all his knowledge.
  
  
• For those who want to expand their knowledge on the material graph and gain some professional tips on how to add final touches to a rendering, this course is a must. Don't think about it, just sign up and enjoy upgrading your presentation renderings to the next level.
  
  
• It was an extremely useful class especially people who are beginners to intermediate levels. I would recommend anyone starting to learn KeyShot not to waste a day, but learn the material graphs from Will. Believe me when I say it was good, because being here in Australia, it was 2 in the morning and the class went on 'till almost 5 and I stayed up. The concepts were explained progressively and the course covered pretty much the tools that would normally in course of time be used to create amazing materials. Overall 100% recommended⚡️
  
  
• Will did excellent demos to explain the use of material graphs. He repeated steps along each demo and showed us different outcomes. I am very satisfied with what I learned and super pump about using KeyShot!

FAQs

Q: What if I don't like the class?
A: If you did not learn anything from it, email me within 48 hours and I'll refund you.

Q: Will I be able to follow along with a non-pro version KeyShot?
A: No, the Material Graph is a KeyShot pro feature.

Q: Will I be able to follow along with an older version of KeyShot?
A: Maybe, but since features and materials change with each release, I can't guarantee you'll have access to everything I show in the live demo.

Q: Will we cover lighting or anything other than material graph in this class?
A: Due to time restrictions, no. But if you want me to make a similar course on another topic, let me know.

Q: Will we get into UV unwrapping or UV mapping in this class?
A: Not at this time. UV unwrapping is beyond the scope of this class.

Q: Will we cover displacement in this class?
A: We will a little bit, but know displacement can require some deeper dives to really master.