Using the Default Material

Each Material Set in Foxel contains a built-in Default Material at slot 0.

The Default Material is always available and cannot be deleted. Unlike regular materials, it is not edited in the Material Set. Instead, its properties are defined per object in the Inspector.

This means the same Default Material slot can behave differently on different objects.

How the Default Material Works

Objects such as Voxel Layers, Pixel Layers, and Mesh Layers contain editable element grids whose elements can reference materials by index.

The Default Material can be assigned just like any other material slot. However, when an element uses the Default Material, its material properties are taken from the object it belongs to.

As a result, two different objects can both use the Default Material while still showing different surface properties.

Supported Object Types

The Default Material is available on the following object types:

• Voxel Layer
• Pixel Layer
• Mesh Layer

Each of these object types can define its own Default Material settings.

Default Material Properties

The Default Material supports the following properties:

• Metallic
• Roughness
• Emissive

These values are edited per object in the Inspector and affect all voxels, pixels, or texels on that object that use the Default Material.

Editing the Default Material

To change the Default Material for an object:

1. Select the object in the scene or hierarchy.
2. Open the Inspector.
3. Locate the Default Material settings.
4. Adjust the Metallic, Roughness, and Emissive values.

The changes apply to all elements on that object that are assigned to the Default Material.

Animation

Because the Default Material properties belong to the object, they can also be animated.

This makes it possible to keyframe changes such as surface smoothness, metallic response, or emissive intensity over time.

Important Notes

• The Default Material is always located at slot 0.
• It cannot be deleted.
• It can be assigned like any other material.
• Its properties are controlled per object, not in the Material Set.
• Its Alpha value is always 1, so it is always fully opaque.