Content Browser
Thea for Rhino comes with ready to use materials and models organized in categories. To open Content Browser click on the folder icon on the Thea Toolbar. You can access Materials, Models and Asset Management from the tabs in the left sidebar.
MATERIALS TAB
Local Materials
A list of all the local materials that can be found in the 'Thea Data' folder.
Online Repository
The Online Repository gives you access to thousands of Thea materials from Thea Render's online database. Double-click on any thumbnail to download a copy on your machine and import it in the scene. Downloaded materials have a hard-disk icon at the top-left corner of the preview.
Custom Folders
It is also possible to define custom folders with Thea Materials on your hard drive. Right click on the Custom Folder title and select 'Add'. This will prompt you to select the folder in which you have your Thea Materials collection. To remove a custom folder, right click on its name and select Delete.
Adding Materials in the Materials panel
There are two ways to add a material in the material panel.
- Double clicking on a thumbnail will load the selected material in the material panel.
- Select the material and then click on the Add button.
MODELS TAB
The Models tab gives access to all the local Thea Models of the Thea Data folder at the left side of the window. If you want to add your own folders with Thea Models, right click on the 'Custom Folders' text and then Add.
Display as:
Bounding Box: Imports the selected Thea Proxy as a bounding box.
Original Mesh: Imports the selected Thea Proxy using the original mesh of the model.
Reduced Mesh: Imports the selected Thea Proxy using the orginal mesh but with a reduced number of polygons based on the percentage value. Higher values will generate proxies with less polygon count.
Create Bounding Box: Tick this option to generate a bounding box for the Original Mesh and Reduced Mesh options.
Import as:
Proxy: Use this option to import the Thea Proxy based on the options above (Bounding Box, Original and Reduced Mesh)
Full Model: This option will import the original mesh of the model but will also import the associated materials for further editing of the Thea model.
RESOURCES
The resources tab is an asset manager that lists all the textures and models of the current scene.
Right click on an entry to either replace or reload it.
(1) Refresh: Click on the refresh button to get the latest changes of the current scene.
(2) Archive: Create an archive of the current scene in .zip format that can be used for backup or collaboration. The .zip file contains a copy of the Rhino scene along with all the assets.
(3) Import: Use this option to load textures and models currently missing from the scene by selecting a folder.