Material Folders
Copernicus Painter reads materials, smart materials, and brushes/alphas from folders on disk. The paths are configured in the Settings tab.
Folder Structure
The tool supports multiple levels of folder nesting. In Settings you can choose the Library Depth — this controls how many folder levels the browser expects before it reaches an actual material.
The deepest folder (the one containing texture files) is treated as a material. Any folders above it act as groups for organization. Make sure your folder structure matches the depth you set — if you set depth to 3 but a material only has one level of subfolders above it, the browser will show an empty group.
Example with depth 2 (one group level, then materials):
MaterialLibrary/
├── Metal/ ← group
│ ├── iron_01/ ← material
│ │ ├── basecolor.png
│ │ ├── roughness.png
│ │ ├── normal.png
│ │ └── thumb.png ← thumbnail (optional)
│ └── steel_brushed/ ← material
│ └── ...
├── Fabric/ ← group
│ └── ...
└── Wood/ ← group
└── ...
Example with depth 3 (two group levels, then materials):
MaterialLibrary/
├── Metal/ ← group
│ ├── Painted/ ← subgroup
│ │ ├── painted_metal_01/ ← material
│ │ └── ...
│ └── Raw/ ← subgroup
│ └── ...
Smart materials and smart masks are single .cpio files — no nesting needed:
SmartMaterials/
├── RustedMetal.cpio
├── WornLeather.cpio
└── ...
Brushes/
├── grunge_01.png
├── scratches_02.png
└── ...
Configuring Paths
Go to Settings and set:
| Field | What to point to |
|---|---|
| Materials Path | Root folder containing your material subfolders |
| Smart Materials Path | Folder containing .cpio smart material files |
| Brushes/Alphas Path | Folder containing alpha/brush image files |
| Library Depth | How many folder levels deep before materials appear |
After setting paths, click the Refresh button (↻) in the Materials panel to reload the library.
Icon Size
Use the size toggle buttons in the top-right of the Materials panel to switch between large and small icon display modes. The setting is saved automatically.
Navigating Groups
When Library Depth is greater than 1, the browser shows group folders first. Click a group to enter it and see the materials inside. Use the < Back button to return to the group list.