Erik Selin writes:
This guide is about getting started with Blenders material nodes. We start from the beginning by explaining what node systems are and where we can find them.
Node systems pop up like mushrooms these days and are definitely here to stay. Therefore it is a good idea to learn the basics of node systems in general and Blender materials are a great place to start.
We go over where we might find node systems and what they are used for. Then we jump into Blenders shader nodes. Starting with the interface and how materials are organized in Blender.
The interface can sometimes be tricky when you are starting out, but as you continue to work with nodes it will soon become much clearer.
There are many nodes in any node system. To get started we continue by picking out a set of nodes that very likely will be your most used nodes for as long as you work with Cycles and Eevee.
When we know what nodes we should focus on, we zoom in on a specific node to look at the anatomy of a node and learn how it works.
From here we set up a node tree based on a PBR texture material. We take a brief look at the PBR workflow and what goes into it. This method will help us get something good-looking going in a quick way.
As the last step, we take an introductory look at vectors and what they are before we wrap up.
In the end you will have a better understanding of nodes as a whole and you will have created an image based material in Blenders node system that is compatible with both Cycles and Eevee.
The complete beginners guide to Blender nodes, Eevee, Cycles and PBR
