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Using Poliigon surface imperfections in 3ds Max

A 3ds Max tutorial on using surface imperfection maps to add realism to a basic materia

Updated over a month ago

How to import Poliigon surface imperfection maps in 3ds Max

  1. The easiest way to import Poliigon imperfection maps into Blender is by using the Poliigon Blender Addon, located here: https://www.poliigon.com/3ds-max

  2. Once you've imported the map to your scene, you'll notice that the addon imports it as a distinct material, which isn't what we want

  3. Select the bitmap node, as well as any adjustments nodes present (this might include an invert node, if it's an older Poliigon material that imported as a gloss map instead of roughness) and copy them

  4. Return to the base material you want to add to, and paste the nodes into this material

  5. If importing manually by creating a bitmap node, depending on the renderer selected (Vray for example), you may have import options allowing you override the gamma correction. For a basecolor/diffuse map, you can leave the setting to automatic, but for roughness or bump maps, you'll want to set it to "override" so that no gamma correction is performed

How to set up Poliigon surface imperfection maps in 3ds Max

Using Arnold Renderer

For Basecolor/Diffuse and Roughness maps:

  1. Add in a 'Composite' node and connect the base material's map to Layer 1, and the surface imperfection map to Layer 2

  2. Change the blend mode of the top layer to either 'Multiply' or 'Screen' based on which map variation you selected (black on white, or white on black)

  3. Adjust opacity of the top layer to get the desired strength

For Bump maps:

  1. Add in a 'Bump 2D' node and feed in the base material's normal map into the 'normal input' and imperfection map into the 'bump_map' input.

  2. Adjust strength as required via the 'Bump 2d' node.

Using Vray Renderer

For Basecolor/Diffuse and Roughness maps:

  1. Add in a 'Composite' node and connect the base material's map to Layer 1, and the surface imperfection map to Layer 2

  2. Change the blend mode of the top layer to either 'Multiply' or 'Screen' based on which map variation you selected (black on white, or white on black)

  3. Adjust opacity of the top layer to get the desired strength

For Bump maps:

  1. Connect the imperfection map to the 'bump' input of the 'Normal Map' node that should already be present.

  2. Adjust strength as required via the 'Normal Map' node.

Using Corona Renderer

For Basecolor/Diffuse and Roughness maps:

  1. Add in a 'Composite' node and connect the base material's map to Layer 1, and the surface imperfection map to Layer 2

  2. Change the blend mode of the top layer to either 'Multiply' or 'Screen' based on which map variation you selected (black on white, or white on black)

  3. Adjust opacity of the top layer to get the desired strength

For Bump maps:

  1. Connect the imperfection map to the 'additional bump' input of the normal map node that should already be present.

  2. Adjust strength as required via the 'Normal Map' node.

Using Octane Renderer

For Basecolor/Diffuse and Roughness maps:

  1. Add in a 'Composite Texture (Legacy)' node and connect the base material's map to Input 1, and the surface imperfection map to Input 2

  2. Change the blend mode of the top layer to either 'Multiply' or 'Screen' based on which map variation you selected (black on white, or white on black)

  3. Adjust opacity of the top layer to get the desired strength

For Bump maps:

  1. Connect the imperfection map to the 'additional bump' input of the normal map node that should already be present.

  2. Adjust strength as required via the 'Normal Map' node.

Related Articles
Using Poliigon overlays to add surface imperfections in Maya with Arnold
Using Poliigon overlays to add surface imperfections in Maya with Redshift
Using Poliigon overlays to add surface imperfections in Maya with V-Ray
Using Poliigon surface imperfections in Blender
Using Poliigon surface imperfection textures in Cinema 4D
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