# blender-materials

Creates and assigns PBR materials in Blender through Principled BSDF: metals, glass, plastic, fabric, skin. Useful when the request is “make it look like copper” or “matte finish”.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1600 installs · ★ 125
- Author: RobLe3
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/RobLe3/cc-blender-skill/tree/HEAD/plugin/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-12
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/blender-materials

## What it does

The skill drives Blender through an MCP server: the agent calls `execute_blender_code`, inspects the scene, and attaches a finished material to the target object. Inside are Python recipes for brushed steel, gold, copper, chrome, glass, plastic, skin, cloth and wood. Base colors come from physical reflectance references rather than eyeballed guesses.

The rule the skill keeps repeating: Metallic is a switch, not a slider. Set `0.0` for dielectrics (plastic, wood, glass, skin) or `1.0` for metals. Anything in between renders non-conservatively and reads as plastic. Dark mirror lenses are the stated exception, around 0.8.

One Blender 5.x quirk matters here. The `Weight` and `Subsurface IOR` inputs are flagged `enabled=False` in the data API, so string-key lookup raises `KeyError` even though the value is respected at render time. The skin recipe uses a `set_input` helper that iterates over inputs by name; other inputs accept plain assignment. Before the first Blender call the skill asks you to read its MCP backend reference and stay on the chosen backend for the whole task. Materials only look right under proper lighting, so it pairs with `blender-lighting`.

## Requirements
- Works with: Blender

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-materials -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/blender-materials/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-materials -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-materials -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install RobLe3/cc-blender-skill blender-materials
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-materials -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --path plugin/skills/blender-materials
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add RobLe3/cc-blender-skill --skill blender-materials -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/RobLe3/cc-blender-skill/tree/HEAD/plugin/skills/blender-materials/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- assign a metal material to an object without wiring nodes by hand
- get physically plausible Base Color values for gold or copper
- build glass with Transmission and the right IOR
- add subsurface scattering for skin or wax
- set Sheen on cloth and Coat on a lacquered surface

## Example prompts
- Make this object out of brushed steel
- Assign polished copper to GEO-target
- Give it a matte plastic material

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 056ee9db8ae8901a.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 056ee9db8ae8901a
````text
---
name: blender-materials
description: Create and assign PBR materials in Blender via Principled BSDF — metals, glass, plastic, fabric, skin, organics. Covers physically-based material recipes with real-world values, Coat layer (varnish/car paint), Sheen (cloth), Subsurface scattering (skin/wax), Transmission (glass), and procedural patterns (wood grain, marble, fabric weave). Use whenever the user asks to "make it look like X material", "give it a metallic finish", "apply a wood texture", "make this glass / plastic / brushed steel / leather / skin", or any look-development request. Make sure to use this skill even if the user does not say "material" — also covers "make it shiny", "matte finish", "looks like copper", "rough surface". Works with any geometry; pairs with blender-lighting (materials only look right under proper lighting).
allowed-tools: Read Bash mcp__blender__execute_blender_code mcp__blender__get_scene_info mcp__blender__get_object_info mcp__blender__get_objects_summary mcp__blender__get_object_detail_summary mcp__blender__render_viewport_to_path mcp__blender__search_api_docs mcp__blender_official__execute_blender_code mcp__blender_official__get_objects_summary mcp__blender_official__get_object_detail_summary mcp__blender_official__render_viewport_to_path mcp__blender_official__search_api_docs
---
## MCP backend
Use when: Any material assignment, PBR setup, shader work, or look-dev request in Blender.
Before the first Blender call, read [../text-to-blender/references/mcp-backends.md](../text-to-blender/references/mcp-backends.md). Prefer official MCP for shared capabilities; preserve the selected backend for the whole task. Tool names in recipes are client/legacy examples: map them through that reference and its agent-host guide.
# Blender Materials
Apply physically-based materials to objects. Use **only Principled BSDF** — it's the only shader that exports cleanly to glTF and matches what other DCC tools expect.
## The metallic switch — never an in-between
The single most-important rule: **Metallic is a switch, not a slider.** Set it to `0.0` (dielectric: plastic, wood, glass, skin) or `1.0` (metal: steel, gold, copper). Values between 0.2 and 0.8 are almost always wrong; they produce energy-non-conservative renders that look "plasticky."

Exception: dark mirror lenses (sunglasses) use ~0.8 to combine strong reflection with slight tint — that's a stylistic choice, not strict PBR.

## Decision tree

```
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 056ee9db8ae8901a

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