# Basic materials

Basic material properties define how a surface looks and reacts to light. These properties control essential aspects like color, reflectivity, transparency, and surface details. Each property can be manually adjusted or assigned a texture to create more complex and realistic materials.

<table><thead><tr><th width="154.2109375">Property</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/lrzf93E0kKdyGUcVPNd7">/pages/lrzf93E0kKdyGUcVPNd7</a></td><td>Determines the base color of a material</td></tr><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/qhWbMs0kjddJcRGXoQsO">/pages/qhWbMs0kjddJcRGXoQsO</a></td><td>Controls how glossy or rough a surface appears</td></tr><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/nNyCS0Wx8PTjfwwL6YuV">/pages/nNyCS0Wx8PTjfwwL6YuV</a></td><td>Defines whether a material behaves like a metal or a non-metal</td></tr><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/hGoBnYbcnS53u2lHa9aQ">/pages/hGoBnYbcnS53u2lHa9aQ</a></td><td>Adjusts the transparency of a material</td></tr><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/DIJvu49LpYWjtSemH41A">/pages/DIJvu49LpYWjtSemH41A</a></td><td>Makes a material emit light, allowing it to glow regardless of the scene’s lighting</td></tr><tr><td><a data-mention href="/pages/bfP6H7az5YoDsOAzTXNx">/pages/bfP6H7az5YoDsOAzTXNx</a></td><td>Simulates surface details by affecting how light interacts with the material without changing its actual geometry</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czgoIgrmuEQ>" %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.vectary.com/documentation/design-process/materials-and-textures/basic-materials.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.