PBR Assistant

A Raycast extension that helps 3D artists quickly find physically accurate PBR (Physically Based Rendering) diffuse colors and IOR (Index of Refraction) values for use in 3D rendering and material workflows.

Features

IOR Values

Search through a comprehensive database of Index of Refraction values for common materials including:

• Liquids: Water, ice, milk, alcohol, beer, cooking oil, honey, ketchup
• Glass & Crystals: Generic glass, flint glass, diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald, quartz
• Plastics: Acrylic, polycarbonate, polystyrene, rubber
• Metals: Aluminum, copper, gold, iron, titanium (scalar values for artistic use)
• Organic Materials: Human skin, eye (cornea, lens, sclera), wood, paper, cotton/wool
• Building Materials: Concrete, brick, ceramic, marble, granite
• Food & Beverages: Milk, alcohol, beer, cooking oil, honey, ketchup
• Other: Air, salt, silicon, pearl, and more

PBR Diffuse Colors

Browse and copy PBR diffuse color values for various materials. All values are PBR Safe (clamped between sRGB 30-240) to ensure physical validity in rendering engines.

Features:

• PBR Safe Values: All colors are clamped to the 30-240 sRGB range to avoid unrealistic albedo values.
• Gray Tones: Includes value-calibrated gray tones in 10% increments (mapped to the safe 30-240 range).
• Accurate Data: sourced from physicallybased.info.

Categories:

• Metals: Aluminum, brass, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, silver, platinum, titanium, and more
• Organic Materials: Multiple skin tones (I-VI), bone, blood, eye components
• Natural Materials: Marble, sand, salt, snow, ice, water
• Common Objects: Coffee, chocolate, ketchup, banana, carrot, lemon
• Special Materials: MIT Black, Musou Black, gray card, whiteboard, blackboard

Platform Support

✅ macOS - Fully supported
✅ Windows - Fully supported

This extension uses only cross-platform Raycast APIs and has no platform-specific dependencies, making it compatible with both macOS and Windows.

Usage

1. Open Raycast and search for "Find PBR/IOR Value" or "PBR Assistant"
2. Switch between views using the dropdown menu:
   • PBR Diffuse Colors: Visual grid view with color swatches
   • IOR Values: List view for easy searching and reading
3. Search for materials by typing in the search bar
4. Select a material and use the action panel:
   • Press Enter or click Copy to Clipboard to copy the Hex value
   • Press Opt+C to copy the PBR Safe sRGB value (e.g., "240, 240, 240")
   • Press Cmd+V (macOS) or Ctrl+V (Windows) to paste the value directly into your application

Use Cases

• 3D Artists: Quickly reference accurate IOR and PBR color values while working in Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, or other 3D software
• Game Developers: Get physically accurate material values for Unreal Engine, Unity, or other game engines
• VFX Artists: Reference correct material properties for realistic rendering
• Material Designers: Access a curated database of real-world material properties

Technical Details

• IOR Values: Index of Refraction values are essential for realistic material rendering and light interaction
• PBR Colors: Physically Based Rendering diffuse colors represent the base color of materials, ready to use in popular 3D software
• All values are based on real-world material properties and industry-standard references

Requirements

• Raycast application installed on macOS or Windows
• No additional setup or API keys required