threejs-materials

When to use this skill

ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:

• Choosing among built-in mesh materials, map slots (albedo, normal, roughness, metalness, ao, emissive), envMap
• Transparency sorting issues, alphaTest, depthWrite, blending modes, side/double-sided rendering
• ShaderMaterial / RawShaderMaterial uniforms, includes, and compatibility with lights pipeline
• Line, points, sprite materials for vector overlays and particles

IMPORTANT: classic materials vs node-tsl

Need	Skill
Standard PBR with maps, physical clearcoat/sheen	threejs-materials
TSL nodes, NodeMaterial, WebGPU-first shading, compute-style graph	threejs-node-tsl
Migrating ShaderMaterial → TSL	threejs-node-tsl (conceptual), keep ShaderMaterial here until cutover

Trigger phrases include:

• "MeshStandardMaterial", "MeshPhysicalMaterial", "ShaderMaterial", "transparent", "alphaTest"
• "PBR", "Physical Material", "Transparent", "Custom Shader"

How to use this skill

1. Select class by lighting model: MeshBasic (unlit), Lambert/Phong (legacy lit), Standard/Physical (PBR).
2. Assign maps and ensure color space correctness for albedo vs data maps (link threejs-textures).
3. Environment: set envMap from cube or equirect; align metalness/roughness; consider MeshPhysicalMaterial for transmission/IOR when needed.
4. Transparency: order objects or use alphaTest/depthWrite trade-offs; mention sorting limitations.
5. ShaderMaterial: minimize re-lit work unless intentional; document required lights and lights: true flag behavior per version docs.
6. Performance: share materials across meshes; avoid cloning per frame.
7. Skinning/morph: set skinning/morphTargets where applicable—mesh side in threejs-objects.

See examples/workflow-pbr-transparent.md.

Doc map (official)

Docs section	Representative links
Materials (core)	https://threejs.org/docs/Material.html
PBR	https://threejs.org/docs/MeshStandardMaterial.html
Physical	https://threejs.org/docs/MeshPhysicalMaterial.html
Custom GLSL	https://threejs.org/docs/ShaderMaterial.html

Scope

• In scope: Non-Node materials listed under Core Materials in docs (except *NodeMaterial).
• Out of scope: Full Nodes catalog (threejs-node-tsl); post pass materials inside composer (threejs-postprocessing).

Common pitfalls and best practices

• Wrong normal map normalMapType or tangent space breaks lighting; verify geometry has tangents or use appropriate mode.
• Premultiplied alpha vs straight alpha mismatches cause fringe halos on foliage.
• MeshPhysicalMaterial transmission needs thickness and good env—combine with threejs-textures / PMREM.
• Too many unique materials hurts sorting and batching—merge where possible.

Documentation and version

PBR and ShaderMaterial behavior track the Materials section in three.js docs. Color management and default envMap handling changed in modern releases—always pair material answers with renderer/output settings from threejs-renderers when colors look wrong.

Agent response checklist

When answering under this skill, prefer responses that:

1. Link MeshStandardMaterial, MeshPhysicalMaterial, or ShaderMaterial pages as appropriate.
2. Force a clear choice vs threejs-node-tsl when the user asks for “shaders” or “nodes”.
3. Separate map roles (albedo vs roughness vs normal) and colorSpace expectations with threejs-textures.
4. Call out transparency and depthWrite trade-offs for sorted rendering.
5. Note that *NodeMaterial types belong to the node skill, not this one.

References

• https://threejs.org/docs/#Materials
• https://threejs.org/docs/MeshStandardMaterial.html
• https://threejs.org/docs/MeshPhysicalMaterial.html
• https://threejs.org/docs/ShaderMaterial.html

Keywords

English: meshstandardmaterial, meshphysicalmaterial, shadermaterial, pbr, transparency, envmap, materials, three.js

Chinese: Materials, PBR, MeshStandardMaterial, Physical Material, Transparent, Environment Map, ShaderMaterial, three.js