How to use A23D PBR Textures in Corona Renderer

This guide explains how to configure A23D PBR texture maps inside Corona Physical Material in 3ds Max and Cinema 4D.

1. Download and Extract the Texture Set

Sign in to your A23D account.
Browse to the texture you want to use.
Click Download, save the .zip, and extract (unzip) the archive. You will find maps such as:

A23DTEX_Albedo.png - Base color
A23DTEX_Normal.png - Tangent-space normal map
A23DTEX_Roughness.png - Surface roughness
A23DTEX_Metalness.png - Metallic values
A23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.png - Ambient occlusion
A23DTEX_Height.png - Height / displacement
A23DTEX_Opacity.png - Opacity where applicable
A23DTEX_Emissive.png - Emission where applicable

2. Create a Corona Physical Material

In 3ds Max

Open the Slate Material Editor.
Right-click in the node area and create Materials > Corona > Corona Physical Material.
Assign the material to the target object.

In Cinema 4D

Open Corona > Node Material Editor.
Create a new Corona Physical Material.
Assign the material to the target object.

3. Load A23D Maps into Corona Physical Material

Use the roughness workflow for A23D maps. Corona supports both roughness and glossiness modes, but A23D roughness maps should be used as roughness, not inverted as glossiness.

Corona Physical Material Channel	A23D Map	Notes
Base Color	`A23DTEX_Albedo.png`	Load as color / sRGB data. This is the main surface color.
Roughness	`A23DTEX_Roughness.png`	Load as linear data. White = rough, black = smooth.
Metalness	`A23DTEX_Metalness.png`	Load as linear data. White = metal, black = non-metal.
Base Bump	`A23DTEX_Normal.png` through Corona Normal Map	Do not connect the normal map directly. Put it into Corona Normal Map, then connect that node to Base Bump.
Displacement	`A23DTEX_Height.png`	Use for true render-time surface relief. Tune displacement amount to scene scale.
Opacity	`A23DTEX_Opacity.png`	Use for cutouts, transparent decals, foliage, mesh screens, or patterned transparency.
Self-Illumination	`A23DTEX_Emissive.png`	Use for visible glow. Use Corona Light Material when the surface should emit meaningful light.

4. Add Ambient Occlusion

Corona calculates realistic contact shadows through its lighting and global illumination, so the AO map is optional.

Use the A23D Ambient Occlusion map when you want extra baked contact detail:

Create a composite / layer / multiply node in the host material editor.
Put A23DTEX_Albedo.png in the base input.
Put A23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.png in the multiply input.
Connect the result to Base Color.

Keep the AO effect subtle so it does not fight Corona's physically calculated lighting.

5. Use Corona Normal Map for Normals

Chaos recommends routing normal maps through Corona Normal Map before connecting them to the material's Base Bump input.

Create a Corona Normal Map node.
Load A23DTEX_Normal.png into the Corona Normal Map node.
Connect Corona Normal Map to the Base Bump slot of the Corona Physical Material.
If the surface detail appears inverted, check the normal orientation options in the Corona Normal Map node.

6. Use Height Maps for Displacement

Use displacement when the surface silhouette or close-up relief matters.

In 3ds Max

In the Corona Physical Material's Maps section, load A23DTEX_Height.png into Displacement.
Adjust displacement amount in scene units.
For object-level control, use a Corona displacement modifier where appropriate.

In Cinema 4D

In the Corona material, enable Displacement in the material's Basic settings.
Open the Displacement tab.
Load A23DTEX_Height.png into the displacement texture slot.
Adjust displacement amount and render a close-up test.

7. Color Space and Gamma

Use standard PBR color handling:

Albedo / Base Color: sRGB / color data
Normal, Roughness, Metalness, AO, Height, Opacity: Linear / non-color data

Incorrect color space on roughness, metalness, normal, or height maps can make materials look too glossy, too flat, or physically wrong.

Additional Resources

Chaos Help - Corona Physical Material maps
Chaos Help - Displacement in Corona