Updated for Blender Version: 3.1
To the Point
- Make sure Node Wrangler is turned on (Edit > Preferences > Add-ons. Search for Node Wrangler)
- Select the object.
- Click the Material Properties tab
- Click + New to add a new material.
- Open the Shader Editor and select the Principled BSDF shader.
- With the Principled BSDF Shader selected, press Ctrl+Shift+T to bring up the import window.
- Ctrl+Click to select all the textures to import for that material (color/albedo, displacement, roughness, and normal).
- Click the “Principled Texture Setup” to complete
The Details
Texturing objects in Blender is an extremely important step towards achieving the desired look for your scene. As important as this is, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t tedious at times. It can be very time-consuming to import each separate image file, add any extra nodes and then connect everything correctly to reach the final look of your material. Luckily, Blender comes with a great add-on that makes this step quick and easy.
Activate Node Wrangler
The first step to this process is to make sure that the Node Wrangler add-on has been activated. Go to Edit > Preferences and click the “Add Ons” button on the left hand side of the window. In the search bar along the top right, search for “node wrangler” and ensure that the add-on is checked on.
Save Time by Quickly Importing Texture Images
Once Node Wrangler has been activated, head back to your 3D viewport and select the object you want to add a material to. In the Material Properties tab , press the “+ New” button to add a new material. Rename it if you wish. Check out our in-depth look at adding materials to objects for more information.
With a new material added, open up the Shader Editor and select the Principled BSDF node that was created when you added the new material.
With the Principled BSDF shader selected, press Ctrl+Shift+T to open up the import window. Find the image files to use for the object (the color/albedo, roughness, displacement, and normal images). You can find a great selection of free, high-quality textures here at Polyhaven. Select all the images at once by using Ctrl+Click and then click the “Principled Texture Setup” button in the lower right to complete the setup. Node Wrangler is able to import all the selected images all at once, determine which map is which, and connect everything to your Principled BSDF shader node along with all the extra nodes needed for things like normal maps, displacement, and texture coordinate mapping.