Using the Material Tool
Change materials on specific surfaces without modifying the rest of the design.
What is the Material Tool?
The Material tool allows you to change the material of specific components within an image without modifying the rest of the design. Instead of regenerating the entire image, you can select a precise area of the render and apply a new material to that region while keeping the surrounding architecture unchanged. This is useful when you want to experiment with different façade materials, surface finishes, or textures while preserving the original composition.
Understanding the interface
Material Panel Overview
When you select an image and activate the Material tool, the contextual toolbar activates the material panel as well as tools relevant to the material workflow on the canvas.
- **Material reference** – upload or select a texture image
- **Strength** – control how strong the material effect is
- **Description** – describe the material you want to apply
- **Enhance prompt** – auto-improves your description
- **Design adherence** – control how closely it follows the original image
- **Generate** – apply material to the selected area
On the Canvas
- **Selection tools** – select area using polygon or lasso
- **Selected area** – highlighted region where material is applied
- **Undo** – remove or adjust selection
Step by Step
Select the image and open the Material panel
Select any rendered image on the canvas to begin — you can also upload an image from elsewhere. When you select an image, the contextual toolbar appears. Click **Edit Material** from the toolbar to open the Material settings panel.
Use the selection tools to mark the area
Use the **Polygon Tool** for architectural elements with clean, straight edges (façade panels, windows, walls) or the **Lasso Tool** for irregular or organic shapes. Use **Add to Selection** to expand your mask and **Subtract from Selection** to refine it. You can zoom in to select smaller elements and use **⌘Z** to undo your selections too.
Describe and add a reference for the new material
Enter a description of the material you want applied — for example: 'Concrete, grey colour, matte finish, subtle aggregate texture.' Adding a **Material Reference Image** is highly recommended to guide texture, tone, colour, and finish for more precise results. You can also adjust the material strength using the **Strength** slider to control how strongly the effect is applied.
Generate and compare
Hit **Generate** and the selected region will be updated while the rest of the image remains unchanged. Each generation produces two outputs — once generation is complete, hit the **+** button to add the output to the canvas and compare. Your material workflow is now complete — you can keep changing materials, go back to the rendered image, and apply a different material to see alternative options.
Get Better Results
Use the Polygon Tool for architectural elements with clean, straight edges.
Use the Lasso Tool for organic or irregular shapes like landscaping.
Upload a material reference image to guide texture, tone, and finish.
Use Add and Subtract selection modes to refine your mask precisely.
Generate multiple variations to compare different material options side by side.
