Using the Material Preview Area

There are several different ways you can see the effects of your material on an object. To switch preview modes, click the triangle at the bottom of the material preview and choose an option from the menu:

• Normal: displays your object as it looks in your scene. This is the default view of your selected object.
  
  
• Up Close: displays a zoomed-in view of your object.
  
  
• Render With Neutral Sky: displays your object against a plain sky. When this option is disabled, your preview contains the current sky settings. This option makes it easier to see the material without being distracted by patterns in the sky.
• Render With Neutral Ground: displays your object with a plain ground. When disabled, the ground in your preview has the same texture as the object.
  
  First image below is with the neutral sky and ground option selected, second image is with both options deselected.
  
  
• Current Selection: displays the material on the currently selected object type (i.e., box, sphere, etc.). This is the default object selected when you enter the Materials Lab.
  
  
• Actual Selection: displays the selected object exactly as it appears in the your scene.
  
  
• Cube: displays the material applied to a cube.
  
  
• Sphere: displays the material applied to a sphere.
  
  
• Cone: displays the material applied to a cone.
  
  
• Cylinder: displays the material applied to a cylinder.
  
  
• Terrain: displays the material applied to a randomly generated terrain object.
  
  
• Ground: displays the material applied to an infinite plane.
  
  
• Torus: displays the material applied to a torus object. Torus objects are good for displaying material properties like altitude changes, slope and height changes, and metallicity.
  
  
• Pyramid: displays the material applied to a pyramid.
  
  
• Circle: displays the material applied to a 2d disc.
  
  
• Square: displays the material applied to a 2d face.
  
  

To change the view angle of the preview area, drag the Preview area in the direction you want to view it from. The preview switches to wireframe as you move it. The angle of the preview does not affect the angle of the object in your scene.

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