How To Create Subtle Hairline Scratches in KeyShot

So, you’re in need of some scratches. Not just any old scratch though – subtle, hairline scratches. As you see in the pool ball example here, a small amount of wear can add an incredible amount of realism. With KeyShot, you can create these scratch effects quite easily. We’ll go over how to do it and include two KeyShot example scenes for you to download a learn from.

Subtle Hairline Scratches in KeyShot

The process to create subtle hairline scratches in KeyShot is very simple. You just need a very fine scratch texture with good random strokes and an environment with lights that pick up those subtle details. Let’s look at both individually.

1. Add the Scratches
The Scratches procedural texture in KeyShot works great for added a specific amount of wear to your model. To add them, double-click the part you would like to add the scratches to, select the Textures tab, select the Bump channel, then select Scratches from the Texture dropdown.

You can fine tune this for the size of your model, but you’ll want to set your bump height very, very low – this is what helps makes those scratches so subtle when the light from the environment hits them. For the pool ball, here are the Procedural Scratch settings:

Scale: 0.02
Bump Height: -0.01
Density: 5
Size: 1 (Expland to set – Thinness: 7 – Falloff: 0.5)
Directional Noise: 1 (Expand to set – Direction Field: Normal)
Noise: 0 (Expand to set  – Noise Scale: 1)
Levels: 5 (Expand to set – Level Scale: 1.25)

You can learn more about these settings in the Texture Types – Scratches section of the KeyShot Manual. Adjust them yourself to see how different scratch effects can be acheived.

2. Add/Create the Environment
The examples scenes below contain a custom HDRI (download it here). It uses small, bright lights (i.e. called Pins in KeyShot HDRI Editor) to help generate the “circular halos” you see on the pool ball. Altogether, there are eight different lights that make up the HDRI environment for this scene. Edit these to add color or change size. Note: The KeyShot HDRI Editor is available with KeyShot Pro and allows you to edit or create your own HDRI.

Download Scene – Single Pool Ball

 

Download Scene – Pool Ball Set

 

Download the scenes above to see how each was set up. We would love to see how you use scratches or other procedural textures in KeyShot. Please visit and share your work on the KeyShot Forum!