Adding transparency to a material in Unreal Engine primarily involves changing its Blend Mode property to a translucent setting. This tells the engine how to render the material, allowing light to pass through it.
Here's a breakdown of how to achieve transparency, incorporating the specific steps from the provided reference:
Steps to Create a Transparent Material
To make a material transparent in Unreal Engine, you need to modify its properties within the Material Editor.
- Name Your Material: Begin by creating a new material in your Content Browser. As per the reference, name this material Transparency_Material.
- Open the Material: Use the Left Mouse Button and Double-Click on the Transparency_Material asset in the Content Browser to open the Material Editor.
- Access Material Details: With the Material Editor open, locate the Details panel. This panel displays all the properties of the selected node (in this case, the main Material node, often called the Result node).
- Change the Blend Mode: In the Details panel, look under the Material section. Find the Blend Mode property. By default, most materials are set to Opaque. To enable transparency, you need to change this property.
- Set the Blend Mode from Opaque to Translucent.
| Property | Default Value | Value for Transparency | Location in Details Panel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blend Mode | Opaque | Translucent | Material Section |
Setting the Blend Mode to Translucent unlocks inputs like Opacity or Pixel Depth Offset on the main material node, which you can then connect textures or calculations to control the degree of transparency across the surface.
Understanding Blend Modes
The Blend Mode determines how the material's color is combined with the color behind it.
- Opaque: The material completely blocks anything behind it. No transparency is possible.
- Masked: Allows for hard-edged transparency based on a mask texture. Pixels are either fully opaque or fully transparent (useful for leaves, fences, etc.).
- Translucent: Allows for soft or partial transparency, where the material color is blended with the background color based on its opacity (useful for glass, water, effects).
- Additive: Adds the material's color to the background (useful for glowing effects).
- Modulate: Multiplies the material's color with the background.
By changing the Blend Mode to Translucent, you enable the material to render with varying levels of transparency, allowing you to create effects like clear glass, frosted windows, or misty surfaces using the Opacity input.
