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Material Node
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.. figure:: /images/render_blender-render_materials_nodes_input_material.png
   :align: right

   Material node.


The Material node is used for shading.

Inputs
======

Color
   The diffuse color or texture.
Specular
   The specular color or texture that is reflected as the point of view get perpendicular
   to the light source reflecting off the surface.
Diffuse Intensity
   Amount of diffuse scattering.
   Can also be set by a texture.
Normal
   Standard normal input. Used for normal mapping.

.. note:: Normal Override

   The normal input socket does not blend the source normal
   with the underlying geometry but completely overrides the normals.


Properties
==========

Material field
   Can be used to browse and select materials.
Diffuse
   De/activate diffuse shading.
Specular
   De/activate specular shading.
Invert Normal
   Inverts the material input normal when activated.
   (which, is a combination of the 3D normal given to it by the 3D object plus the normal input point).


Outputs
=======

Color
   Shaded color value.
Alpha
   Alpha transparency value.
Normal
   Direction of the normal.


Examples
========

Using the Material Node with Specularity
----------------------------------------

.. figure:: /images/render_blender-render_materials_nodes_input_material_example.png

   Material Node using Specularity.


To make a material node actually generate a color, at least
a basic input color have to be specified, and optionally a specularity color.
The specularity color is the color that shines under intense light.

For example, consider the mini-map to the right. The base color, a dark blue,
is connected from an RGB color generator node to the *Color* input socket.
The specular color, yellow, is connected to the *Spec* input.
Under *Normal* lighting conditions on a flat surface,
this material will produce a deep blue color and,
as the point of view approaches a spot perpendicular to the light,
the yellow specular color mix in becomes visible.

.. note:: Enable Spec

   To see specularity, the specular toggle has to be enabled,
   which is located just below the material color button in the node.