Apply a preset material

A quick way to give your 3D text a naturalistic texture is to apply one of the preset materials built into Motion.

Examples of some of the many preset 3D materials available in Motion include:

Canvas showing four different material styles (Chrome, Bamboo, Soap Bubble, and Drawing Paper)

Apply a preset material from the Library

Do one of the following:

  • In the Library, select Materials in the left column, select a category from the right column, then drag a material from the stack to a 3D text object in the Layers list, Timeline, or Canvas.

    Before you drag the material into your project, a rotating preview appears at the top of the Library.

    Library showing selected Soap Bubbble material
  • In the Layers list, Timeline, or Canvas, select a 3D text object, then in the Library, select Materials, select a category, select a material from the stack, then click Apply.

    Before you apply the material, a rotating preview appears at the top of the Library.

The preset 3D material is applied to the text object.

You can modify any of the preset materials or add new material layers to create custom textures. See Modify material layers and Add, remove, or rearrange material layers.

Apply a preset material from the Text Inspector

  1. In the Layers list, Timeline, or Canvas, select a 3D object, then in the Text Inspector’s Appearance pane, click the preview thumbnail in the Material area.

    Options listed when you click the Material preview thumbnail in the Appearance pane of the Text Inspector

    A pop-up menu showing the material presets categories appears.

  2. Choose a category from the pop-up menu, then choose a material preset from the submenu that appears.

    Inspector showing Material preset pop-up menu

The preset 3D material is applied to the text object.

You can modify any of the preset materials or add new material layers to create custom textures. See Modify material layers and Add, remove, or rearrange material layers.

Note: The preset 3D materials are not same as the preset 3D text styles. Whereas preset materials apply a ready-made texture to 3D text, preset text styles apply a complete “look,” including a specific font, depth, texture, and other attributes. For more information, see Apply a preset 3D text style.