How do I get PBR maps from a photo for 3ds Max with V-Ray or Corona?
Use Matelume, a Windows app. It exports maps named and packed for 3ds Max with V-Ray or Corona: add a flat photo, scan or catalogue image, pick 3ds Max + V-Ray or 3ds Max + Corona under Your software, build the material and export Color, NormalDX, Roughness and Displacement maps, a .json of the real size and a how-to sheet.
For Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2025 or later, with V-Ray® or Corona. We don’t claim renderer-specific test results for V-Ray or for Corona, and we show no 3ds Max render as proof. Wood in 3ds Max has not been verified for this release.
What is in the export
- Color, in sRGB.
- NormalDX: the DirectX normal map, used as it is, with no flip.
- Roughness, as data at gamma 1.0.
- Displacement: the height, 16-bit, with its range in millimetres in the .json.
- Metalness, when the material has metal.
- A .json with
real_world_size_mm: the width and height of one tile. USE_IN_MAX_VRAY.mdorUSE_IN_MAX_CORONA.md: which file goes in which slot, and the displacement numbers.
Maps of one real material, the Zigzag ikat cloth from our room. An export for 3ds Max carries the DirectX normal map; the OpenGL version is shown here. No 3ds Max render is shown on this page.
Using the maps in 3ds Max
By hand: open the how-to sheet in the export folder. Set the bitmap’s real-world size to the width and height in the .json. V-Ray’s displacement modifier takes range_mm as its amount and black_mm as its shift; Corona takes a minimum and a maximum, black_mm and white_mm.
With the Matelume 3ds Max package 0.1.2: it is a .mzp file on the Download page. Under Make it for, pick V-Ray or Corona; each makes its own material, never a mix. Apply to selected keeps an object’s own UVs and measures them, and an object without UVs gets a 1 m box UVW Map. The 3ds Max guide has the steps.
Check the map connections, the normal direction, the real-world size and the rendered result in your own scene.
Other programs
| You pick | Maps in the export | Getting it into your scene |
|---|---|---|
| Blender | Color, NormalGL, Roughness, Displacement | Send to Blender with the Matelume add-on 0.2.2, for Blender 4.2 or later. The add-on builds the material at real size. |
| 3ds Max + V-Ray | Color, NormalDX, Roughness, Displacement | Maps named and packed for 3ds Max with V-Ray, with the sheet USE_IN_MAX_VRAY.md. The Matelume 3ds Max package 0.1.2 can set the material up for you. |
| 3ds Max + Corona | Color, NormalDX, Roughness, Displacement | Maps named and packed for 3ds Max with Corona, with the sheet USE_IN_MAX_CORONA.md. The same package can set the material up for you. |
| Cinema 4D (Redshift) | Color, NormalGL, Roughness, Displacement | Set it up by hand from USE_IN_C4D.md. |
| Unreal Engine 5 | Color, NormalDX, Displacement and a packed ORM map | Set it up by hand from USE_IN_UNREAL.md. |
| Other software | All eight standard maps | SketchUp, Enscape, D5 Render, Twinmotion, Lumion, Unity and the rest: set it up by hand with the .json. |
Know the limits
- 3ds Max: For Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2025 or later, with V-Ray® or Corona. We don’t claim renderer-specific test results for V-Ray or for Corona, and we show no 3ds Max render as proof. Wood in 3ds Max has not been verified for this release.
- Matelume is made for flat images, not phone or camera photos. Perspective, folds, glare and uneven light get in the way.
- Cinema 4D and Unreal Engine: the map sets follow each program’s standard slots, but we have not tested them inside those programs yet.
- Matelume and its 3ds Max package are not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by Autodesk or Chaos.
Blender is a trademark of the Blender Foundation. Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. V-Ray and Corona are trademarks of Chaos. Matelume is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Related questions
Does Matelume work with 3ds Max, V-Ray or Corona?
Matelume exports maps named and packed for 3ds Max with V-Ray or Corona. For Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2025 or later, with V-Ray® or Corona. The Matelume 3ds Max package can set the material up on your objects, or you can follow the how-to sheet in the export. We don’t claim renderer-specific test results for V-Ray or for Corona, and we show no 3ds Max render as proof. Wood in 3ds Max has not been verified for this release.
Which programs can I export for?
The Your software step offers six choices: Blender; 3ds Max + V-Ray; 3ds Max + Corona; Cinema 4D (Redshift); Unreal Engine 5, with a packed ORM map; and Other software. Unity, SketchUp, Enscape, D5 Render, Twinmotion and Lumion take the standard set of eight maps under Other software. The Cinema 4D and Unreal sets have not been tested inside those programs yet.
Try it with your own image
Matelume runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. The 14-day free trial includes every Pro tool, full-size exports and no watermark, and it does not start a paid subscription. An account and an internet connection are required.