\n💎 IOR Material List<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"ior](\"https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/ior_list_13_min.png\")
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>To make it easy to use, I added:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Smart search by name, synonyms, value, and category
\nYou can findsaltwater<\/f> by typing sea<\/f>, 1.34<\/f> or liquid<\/f><\/li>\n - A source link for each material
\nSo you can check exactly where the value came from<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n- \n
- One-click copy for any value<\/li>\n
- Labels with ★ for the 20 most common materials<\/li>\n
- CSV file with a full dataset of 120+ materials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To keep things accurate, I had to add one more feature:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Separate table for metals with complex IOR values<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
![\"ior](\"https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/ior_metals_03_min.png\")
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>To explain why I had to split the materials into two tables, let’s dive into the optics for a bit.<\/p>\n
What is IOR?<\/h2>\n
In 3D, we use index of refraction to control how strong the refraction looks. But physically speaking, it measures how much light slows down when entering a material.<\/p>\n
For example, water has an IOR of
1.33<\/f>. That means light travels about 25% slower in water than in a vacuum.<\/p>\n Here’s why:
\nWe use the speed of light in a vacuum as the baseline. It has an IOR of1<\/f>.
\nTo find how much light slows down, we divide1<\/f> by the material’s IOR.<\/p>\n - \n
1 \/ 1.33 ≈ 0.75<\/f>: light in water keeps only 75% of its speed<\/li>\n 1 − 0.75 = 0.25<\/f>: that’s 25% slower<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The higher the IOR, the slower the light, and the stronger the refraction.<\/p>\n
Why does light bend when it slows down?<\/h2>\n
Here’s an easy way to picture it.<\/p>\n
Imagine roller skating on smooth pavement. Suddenly, your right foot hits grass and slows down. But your left foot keeps rolling, and your whole body starts to turn.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/div>\nLight behaves the same way. When it hits a denser material at an angle, one side of the wave slows down first, causing it to change direction.<\/p>\n
Why can’t IOR be below 1?<\/h2>\n
IOR less than
1<\/f> would mean light goes faster than in vacuum when entering the material. That only happens in rare cases like x-rays or plasma, but not in everyday materials. That’s why:<\/p>\n \n
A single IOR value below 1 is never physically accurate for materials we use in 3D<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Of course, unrealistic material settings are totally fine when they support artistic vision, but they just don’t belong in a physically accurate list.<\/p>\n
Simple IOR for common materials<\/h2>\n
Most materials like glass or water interact with light in a simple way. Light just passes through with almost no absorption, and we only need to describe how much it bends.<\/p>\n
A single value is enough for that: the refractive index,
n<\/i><\/f>:<\/p>\n - \n
- Ice:
n<\/i> = 1.31<\/f>
\nLight slows slightly, minor refraction<\/li>\n- Diamond:
n<\/i> = 2.42<\/f>
\nLight slows more, stronger refraction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIn reality, red, green and blue wavelengths bend slightly differently. This effect is called dispersion. But since the difference is usually small, we typically use the
n<\/i><\/f> value only for green light, simply because it sits near the center of the visible spectrum.<\/p>\n Complex IOR for metals<\/h2>\n
Metals behave in a more complex way. Light doesn’t pass through them. Instead, most of it reflects, and the rest gets absorbed.<\/p>\n
To describe this behavior, a single IOR value is not enough. Instead, we use a complex IOR, made of two parts:
\nn<\/i><\/f> (real part) — controls brightness and color of reflections in combination with κ<\/i><\/f>
\nκ<\/i><\/f> (imaginary part) — controls how much light gets absorbed<\/p>\n Plus, metals reflect red, green, and blue light differently. That’s what gives them their color tint, like the yellow of gold. To capture this, we need a separate
n, κ<\/i><\/f> pair for each channel. That’s why it’s also called RGB IOR.<\/p>\n \n![\"complex](\"https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/complex_ior_gold_02.png\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>In metals, light doesn’t travel through the material, so
n<\/i><\/f> doesn’t describe speed inside the material. It only affects how the reflection looks. That’s why n<\/i><\/f> can be below 1<\/f> in metals, but only as part of a complex IOR with κ<\/i><\/f>.<\/p>\n Technically, we could also use complex IOR values for non-transparent materials like wood or plastic, since they also absorb light. But their absorption is so minimal that one IOR value is accurate enough.<\/p>\n
How to use complex IOR?<\/h2>\n
For most projects, RGB IOR is overkill. Usually it’s enough to set
Metalness<\/f> to 1<\/f> and pick the base and specular colors. For accurate colors, use values from Physically Based<\/a>.<\/p>\n But if you want to be precise:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Check how your renderer works with RGB IOR:\n
- \n
- Redshift: use the
IOR to Metal Tints<\/a><\/f> node<\/li>\n - Octane: set
Metallic Reflection Mode<\/f> to RGB IOR<\/a><\/f><\/li>\n - Cycles: in the
Metallic BSDF<\/f> shader, set Fresnel Type<\/f> to Physical Conductor<\/a><\/f><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n - Find a metal in the IOR list<\/li>\n
- Copy the RGB values for
n<\/i><\/f> and κ<\/i><\/f>, and paste them in the same order as shown in the table<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Conclusion<\/h2>\n
It’s surprising how much complexity hides behind a simple value we use so often. That’s exactly why I built this database and wrote this article. To simplify workflows and shed light on what IOR actually means.<\/p>\n
If you want to dive deeper into the optics, I recommend these great videos by 3Blue1Brown. I partly used them as sources for this article:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Visualizing Feynman’s lecture on the refractive index<\/a><\/li>\n
- Answering viewer questions about refraction<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you’d like to suggest materials to add, feel free to reach out. I’m always looking to improve the list.<\/p>\n", "date_published": "2025-07-04T11:40:44+02:00", "date_modified": "2025-07-06T15:23:18+02:00", "tags": [ "cinema 4d", "redshift", "tools" ], "image": "https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/ior_list_13_min.png", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Fri, 04 Jul 2025 11:40:44 +0200", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "16", "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/ior_list_13_min.png", "https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/ior_metals_03_min.png", "https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/complex_ior_gold_02.png" ] } }, { "id": "11", "url": "https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/all\/metronome\/", "title": "About Metronome & FPS to BPM Converter", "content_html": "
As a 3D artist, I often need tools that simply don’t exist. So I started creating my own!<\/p>\n
When I work on animation without music, I need a rhythm. To find it, I usually search “metronome 120 BPM” on YouTube, download the click track, and use it. After doing this over 10 times, it started to feel clunky.<\/p>\n
So I decided to build my own metronome, since I needed it regularly and it was relatively simple to make:
\n💓 Metronome & FPS to BPM Converter<\/a><\/p>\n - Answering viewer questions about refraction<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Octane: set
- Redshift: use the
- Diamond:
- Separate table for metals with complex IOR values<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- A source link for each material
![\"metronome](\"https:\/\/balyberdin.com\/library\/pictures\/metronome_04_min.png\")
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>