How to use A23D PBR Textures in KeyShot

This guide explains how to apply A23D PBR texture maps to materials in KeyShot using the Material Editor.

1. Download and Extract the Texture Set

  1. Sign in to your A23D account.
  2. Browse to the texture you want to use.
  3. In the Software dropdown on the asset page, select KeyShot. A23D automatically delivers the PBR texture set in the format best suited to KeyShot (PNG maps) - no manual format selection required.
  4. Click Download, save the .zip, and extract (unzip) the archive. You will find:
  • A23DTEX_Albedo.png - Base color
  • A23DTEX_Normal.png - Tangent-space normal map
  • A23DTEX_Roughness.png - Surface roughness (white = rough, black = smooth)
  • A23DTEX_Metalness.png - Metallic values (white = metal, black = non-metal)
  • A23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.png - Ambient occlusion
  • A23DTEX_Height.png - Height / displacement

2. Open the Material Editor

  1. In the KeyShot viewport, double-click on the object or part you want to texture. The Material Editor opens on the right side of the screen.
  2. Alternatively, go to the Materials panel in the Project tab, find the material, and double-click it.

3. Set the Material Type to Metalness

For A23D's PBR metalness workflow, use the Metalness material type in KeyShot:

  1. In the Material Editor, click the Material Type dropdown at the top.
  2. Select Metalness from the list. This enables the dedicated Base Color, Roughness, Metalness, Normal, and AO slots that match A23D's texture set.

    Tip: If your material is a simple uniform color (non-textured), you can also use Plastic, Metal, or Paint material types with manually set roughness and reflection values.

4. Assign A23D PBR Texture Maps

For each channel in the Material Editor, click the texture icon (the small chequered square icon, or the "+" button) next to the property to open the file browser.


KeyShot Material ChannelA23D Map to UseNotes
Base Color / ColorA23DTEX_Albedo.pngLoad as the diffuse base color. This is the primary color information of the surface.
RoughnessA23DTEX_Roughness.pngLoad as the roughness map. White = fully rough/matte; Black = perfectly smooth/specular.
MetalnessA23DTEX_Metalness.pngLoad as the metalness map. White = fully metallic conductor; Black = non-metallic dielectric.
NormalA23DTEX_Normal.pngLoad into the Bump slot. In the texture properties, set the Type to Normal Map (Tangent Space) to ensure correct tangent-space decoding.
Ambient OcclusionA23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.pngLoad into the Ambient Occlusion slot if available in the Metalness material type, or use it as a multiplied input on the Base Color channel.
Height (Displacement)A23DTEX_Height.pngLoad into the Displacement slot (available in KeyShot Pro via the Material Graph). Adjust the displacement scale to control depth.

Normal Map Type: When loading A23DTEX_Normal.png into the Bump slot, click the gear icon or properties button on the texture thumbnail and confirm the type is set to Normal Map (not Bump Map / greyscale). A23D normal maps are in tangent space, which KeyShot decodes correctly with this setting.

5. Use the Material Graph for Advanced Setup (KeyShot Pro)

KeyShot Pro includes a Material Graph node editor for more complex setups:

  1. In the Material Editor, click the Material Graph button (node graph icon at the top of the editor).
  2. The graph shows the current material as a set of connected nodes.
  3. Add a Texture Map node (Right-click > Add Node > Texture > Texture Map) and load the A23D texture file.
  4. Connect the Texture Map node's output to the appropriate material input:
  • Texture Map (Albedo) -> Base Color input
  • Texture Map (Roughness) -> Roughness input
  • Texture Map (Metalness) -> Metalness input
  • Texture Map (Normal) -> Normal input (ensure the Map Type property of the node is set to Normal Map)
  • Texture Map (AO) -> Ambient Occlusion input (or connect to a Multiply node between Albedo and Color)
  • Texture Map (Height) -> Displacement input (requires Displacement node and Tessellation settings)
  1. Use additional nodes (Color Correct, Multiply, Mix) to blend, adjust, or composite multiple textures.

6. Adjust Texture Scale and Mapping

  1. In the Texture properties for each loaded map, you can set the Tiling (U and V repeat counts) to control how many times the texture repeats across the surface:
  • Increase tiling if the texture appears too large on the surface.
  • Decrease tiling if the texture appears stretched or too small.
  1. You can also set a UV Offset to shift the texture position on the surface.
  2. For most A23D models, the UV maps are pre-set to a 1:1 scale at the model's real-world dimensions - adjust tiling to match your intended material scale.

7. Save to the Material Library

After configuring an A23D PBR material setup in KeyShot:

  1. In the Materials panel, right-click the material and choose Add to Library.
  2. Give the material a descriptive name and choose a folder in your library.
  3. The material is saved to your local KeyShot Material Library and available in all future projects via drag-and-drop.

Additional Resources

KeyShot Manual - Editing Materials
KeyShot Manual - Textures
KeyShot Manual - Texture Map
KeyShot Manual - Material Graph

Need some help?

Contact our team at support@a23d.co