# add new material in maya Materials can be powerful and complicated in Maya. We will spend plenty of time working through the details. For now, though, here’s an easy way to add simple materials to your objects. **Right-click on an object to get the marking menu pop-up.** At the bottom of the tall vertical menu are the options to quickly add or change materials. ![[Pasted image 20220829150731.png]] ### add existing material If you already have a material you want to use in the existing scene, then you will be able to choose it here through **Assign Existing Material**. Just pick the material you want to use. It is that simple. ### add new material If you need to create a new material, you can choose to Assign New Material… to open the New Material menu. ![[Pasted image 20220829150928.png]] There are many options, but for now, make sure you are in the **Maya Surfaces** option on the left side and then pick of the following three choices: 1. **Lambert** - flat and dull material 2. **Blinn** - kind of shiny but still a bit dull 3. **Phong** - really shiny with strong highlight ### change material color By default, the materials are going to be a boring dull gray. That’s no fun. Fortunately, it is easy to change the color (and lots of other settings). You will use the Attribute Editor, which is usually found on the right side of the interface. ![[Pasted image 20220829151342.png]] To change the color, you simply click in the box for Color under the Common Material Attributes section of the Attribute Editor. A color picker will pop-up for you to choose the color you want to change your object. You should notice your object is now that color. ### change material name At the top of the Attribute Editor, above the sample ball showing the material preview, is the name of the material. It is usually something simple like _Blinn: Blinn1_. Get in the habit of renaming your materials to something appropriate, even if it is something like Green or Red. --- tags: #3d #maya #resources home: [[! 3d modeling- maya]]