This high-quality procedural clay shader is designed to give your 3D models a realistic dry-surface appearance without relying on any image textures. Crafted entirely in Blender using a physically accurate shader node setup, this material replicates the subtle surface properties of sculpting clay — including dry smudges, micro-cracks, patchy roughness, and tone variations — making it ideal for stylized renders, sculpting presentations, educational illustrations, and visual development.

Developed with Blender v4.2.2 and optimized for the Cycles Render Engine, this shader setup provides high realism while maintaining full viewport performance. The node group is fully organized and labeled for intuitive tweaking. Artists can easily modify roughness, bump effects, tone variations, and more using the Clay Controls interface included inside the shader group.

This shader does not use any external image textures and is completely procedural. This ensures infinite resolution scalability, clean asset portability, and quick scene loading.

• Vertices: 31,685
• Polygons: 31,681
• Geometry Type: Polygon mesh
• UV Mapping: Yes
• File Formats: .blend (native), .fbx, .obj
• Render Engine: Cycles
• Shader Type: Fully procedural (no images)
• Compatible Blender Versions: 3.0 and above (tested on 4.2.2)
• Includes: Organized .blend file, FBX/OBJ exports, lighting preview setup, HDRI environment

This procedural shader replicates the tactile, hand-made feel of real-world clay. It simulates the tiny imperfections found in traditional sculpture clay such as:

• Clay smudges and dry edges
• Tone patches and subtle discoloration
• Micro-cracks and fine noise
• Surface wear and irregularities
• Custom roughness and highlight control
• Optional sheen for rim-light response

All these features are exposed via an organized Clay Controls node group, which enables:

• Adjusting surface dryness and tone
• Enabling/disabling micro surface imperfections
• Modifying bump strength and scale
• Fine-tuning color tint and diffuse balance
• Scene-specific realism controls without needing any textures

The material includes an HDRI environment for fast preview rendering inside Blender. It is pre-configured and ready to use. This ensures you can instantly test lighting behavior and shading without needing to set up a separate environment.

The download package includes:

• Procedural clay material setup (.blend)
• FBX and OBJ mesh versions with clay material group
• HDRI environment file included for scene testing
• All shader groups clearly labeled for customization
• Preview scene as shown in renders
• No external textures or images used
• ZIP archive with clean folder structure

This procedural shader is perfect for:

• Stylized sculpting renders
• Educational visuals for modeling/digital clay workflows
• Concept prototypes and material previews
• Clay-style short film assets
• Texturing-free rendering workflows
• Product visualization of hand-crafted items
• Portfolio shots for digital sculptors
• Fast rendering of dry-surface materials

1. Open the .blend file in Blender v4.2.2 or newer.
2. Assign the material to any object in your scene.
3. Go to Shader Editor and open the “Clay Controls” node group.
4. Use the available sliders and toggles to tweak bump intensity, dryness, color tint, and surface behavior.

You can export and reuse this shader in any project. FBX and OBJ formats include baked shader group placement and are compatible with third-party renderers (note: procedural logic only works inside Blender).

This shader is royalty-free and licensed for use in both commercial and personal projects, including:

• Games and interactive experiences
• Animated films and VFX
• 3D printed concept art
• AR/VR prototypes
• Academic and portfolio work

Shader resale or unaltered redistribution is not permitted. You may modify and use it within your own projects freely.

• 100% Procedural: No image textures — infinite resolution, cleaner pipelines, and faster loading.
• Professional Quality: Built with physically accurate shading for real-world clay aesthetics.
• Artist-Friendly Controls: Simple to tweak, no cluttered node mess — organized “Clay Controls” group.
• Versatile Use Cases: Ideal for sculptors, educators, animators, and shader developers.
• Ready to Render: HDRI and lighting setup included — just open the file and start rendering.
• No External Dependencies: No image files, no linked textures, fully self-contained.
• Optimized for Cycles: Clean results in both still renders and animations.
• Cross-Format Support: Includes .blend, .fbx, and .obj for maximum compatibility.
• Professional Packaging: Clear folders, clean naming, well-structured layout for easy navigation.

If you're looking to present your sculpted models, illustrations, or stylized scenes with realistic dry clay materials, this shader delivers consistent, customizable, and production-ready results — without the hassle of managing image textures.