Convert V-Ray Materials to Arnold in 3ds Max: Easy Guide

Issue:

How to convert V-Ray materials to Arnold-compatible materials in 3ds Max.

Solution:

The 3ds Max Scene Convert feature currently lacks a preset for converting V-Ray materials to Arnold-compatible materials like the Physical or Standard Surface material types.

For optimal compatibility across renderers, it is recommended to convert V-Ray materials to the 3ds Max Physical Material type. While the Arnold Standard Surface material is exclusive to Arnold, Physical Materials offer broader support:

• Scanline
• Autodesk Raytracer (ART)
• Arnold
• Nvidia mental ray (3ds Max 2018 and earlier)
• V-Ray

Converting Materials Manually

You can manually convert V-Ray materials to Arnold-compatible materials by following these steps:

1. Create new Physical Materials in the 3ds Max Material Editor, using the same names as the existing V-Ray materials.
2. Replicate or approximate the V-Ray material settings (Glossiness, Metalness, etc.) in the corresponding Physical Material slots. Using existing Physical Materials presets, such as Satin Wood, Metals and so on can speed up this process.
3. Copy the necessary map files from the V-Ray material slots (Diffuse Color, etc.) to their corresponding slots in the Physical Materials.
4. Apply the new materials to the relevant objects in your scene.
5. Ensure Legacy 3ds Max Map support is enabled in Rendering > Render Setup > Arnold > System menu.

Converting Materials Automatically

A third-party Universal Material Converter can convert VRay materials to the Autodesk Physical material type, which can then be rendered in Arnold. The V-Ray to ART preset in this plug-in is recommended for best results.

Final Rendering

Before rendering with Arnold, you might need to replace other V-Ray-specific elements, such as lights, with their Arnold counterparts and adjust their settings to match the original look achieved with V-Ray.