How to use A23D PBR Textures in Nuke

This guide explains how to apply A23D PBR texture maps to geometry in Foundry Nuke using either the modern USD/MaterialX 3D workflow or the classic Texture, PrincipledBRDF, and ApplyMaterial nodes.

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 Nuke.
  • A23D automatically delivers the texture set in the format best suited to Nuke (JPG maps) - no manual format selection required.
  1. Click Download and save the .zip to a known location on your computer.
  2. Extract (unzip) the archive. You will find:
  • A23DTEX_Albedo.jpg - Base color
  • A23DTEX_Normal.jpg - Tangent-space normal map
  • A23DTEX_Roughness.jpg - Surface roughness
  • A23DTEX_Metalness.jpg - Metallic values
  • A23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.jpg - Ambient occlusion

2. Create a Shader Network

For current USD-based Nuke workflows, use MtlXStandardSurface and bind it to imported geometry with the USD material-binding workflow. Connect A23D maps to Base Color, Specular Roughness, Metalness, Normal, and Emission inputs as needed.

For classic Nuke 3D workflows:

  1. In the Node Graph, create a PrincipledBRDF shader node (3D > Shader > PrincipledBRDF).

    Note: For Nuke versions without PrincipledBRDF, use a Phong shader node (3D > Shader > Phong) and connect diffuse + specular maps. The Principled BRDF gives a more physically accurate PBR result.

  2. This shader node will receive the A23D texture inputs and output a PBR-style material for Nuke's classic 3D system.

3. Load A23D PBR Texture Maps

For each texture channel, create a Texture node (3D > Shader > Texture), point its file field to the corresponding A23D map, and connect its output to the shader:


Nuke Shader InputA23D Map to UseNotes
base color / diffuseA23DTEX_Albedo.jpgConnect a Texture node (sRGB) to the base color/diffuse input.
roughnessA23DTEX_Roughness.jpgConnect a Texture node (linear). White = rough, Black = smooth.
metallicA23DTEX_Metalness.jpgConnect a Texture node (linear). White = metal, Black = non-metal.
normalA23DTEX_Normal.jpgConnect a Texture node (linear). Set the Texture node's vector type to Tangent Space Normal.
ambient occlusionA23DTEX_AmbientOcclusion.jpgMultiply with the Albedo via a Merge (multiply) node before connecting to diffuse.

4. Apply the Material to Geometry

  1. Add an ApplyMaterial node (3D > Shader > ApplyMaterial) between your ReadGeo (or other geometry source) and the Scene node.
  2. Connect the PrincipledBRDF shader node's output to the material input of the ApplyMaterial node.
  3. Connect the ReadGeo output to the geometry input of the ApplyMaterial node.
  4. Connect the ApplyMaterial output to the Scene node.

5. Preview in the 3D Viewer

  1. Connect a Viewer node to the Scene node and switch it to the 3D viewport (press S or click the 3D mode button).
  2. Nuke's classic 3D viewer uses OpenGL for interactive display, so the shading is a preview approximation. The newer USD/Hydra viewer and MaterialX nodes provide a more modern material preview, but final render behavior still depends on the renderer used in the comp.
  3. Adjust texture connections or shader values and see the result updated in the viewer.

Additional Resources

For more details on Nuke's 3D shading system, refer to Foundry's official documentation:
Nuke Reference Guide - ApplyMaterial
Nuke Reference Guide - Phong

Need some help?

Contact our team at support@a23d.co