Unreal Engine Materials in 6 Levels of Complexity

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a versatile master material in Unreal Engine, which can be used across various projects. The tutorial is divided into six levels of complexity, progressively adding features and controls to your materials. By the end, you will have a fully functional material setup that enhances your artistry in Unreal Engine.

Step 1: Create a Basic Material

• Open Unreal Engine and navigate to the Content Browser.
• Right-click in the Content Browser and select Material to create a new material.
• Name your material appropriately (e.g., "MasterMaterial").
• Double-click the new material to open the Material Editor.
• Add textures to the material:
  • Drag and drop your texture files into the Material Editor.
  • Connect the textures to the Base Color input of the material.

Step 2: Add Texture Controls

• In the Material Editor, add parameters for texture manipulation:
  • Right-click and select Parameter and then choose Texture Parameter for each texture.
  • Name them clearly (e.g., "BaseTexture").
• Add controls for brightness, contrast, saturation, tint, roughness, specular, and normal intensity:
  • Use Scalar Parameters for numerical controls like brightness and roughness.
  • Connect these parameters to their respective nodes.

Step 3: Implement Texture Switchers

• Create switchers to toggle between textures or use sliders:
  • Add a Material Function for texture switching.
  • Use Lerp (Linear Interpolate) nodes to blend between textures based on a parameter.
  • Create a Scalar Parameter for the switch and connect it to the Lerp node.

Step 4: UV Controls with Material Functions

• Build UV control functions for tiling and sliding textures:
  • Create a new Material Function and name it (e.g., "UVManipulation").
  • Add inputs for position, scale, and rotation.
  • Use nodes like Multiply and Add to manipulate UV coordinates.
  • Connect this function to the UV inputs of your textures.

Step 5: Integrate Surface Imperfections

• Add surface imperfections to enhance realism:
  • Create a new texture for imperfections (e.g., dirt or scratches).
  • Use a Blend node to mix this texture into the roughness channel.
  • Add parameters to control the blending amount and intensity.

Step 6: Create a Dirt Overlay Function

• Implement a dirt texture overlay for added detail:
  • Create a new texture for the dirt overlay.
  • Add controls for position, scale, and rotation similar to the UV controls.
  • Connect the overlay to the Base Color and Roughness inputs, adjusting the blend as needed.

Step 7: Migrate the Master Material

• To use your master material in other projects:
  • Right-click the material in the Content Browser and select Migrate.
  • Choose the destination project folder and confirm the transfer.

Step 8: Applying the Material

• To apply the newly created material to a mesh:
  • Select the mesh in the viewport or Content Browser.
  • In the Details panel, find the Materials section.
  • Click the dropdown and select your master material.

Conclusion

You've successfully created a master material in Unreal Engine, complete with texture controls, surface imperfections, and a dirt overlay function. This versatile material can enhance the realism of your 3D assets across multiple projects. Next, explore applying this material to various meshes and experiment with different textures to maximize your creativity!