Materials & ShadingSurface Detail
Cavity Layer
The Cavity Layer shades an object according to the curvature of its surface: raised edges get one treatment, recessed areas another. It's what makes carved detail, panel gaps and sculpted forms legible instead of flattening out under even lighting.
Useful on sculpted meshes, imported CAD parts and anything with fine surface detail that isn't reading clearly.
Adding the layer
Select an object, then in the Material section of the inspector click + and choose Cavity.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ridge | How strongly raised edges and convex areas are picked out |
| Valley | How strongly recesses, creases and concave areas are darkened |
Both can be used on their own. Valley alone reads as accumulated grime or ambient shadow in the recesses; Ridge alone catches the light on the edges, like wear on a raised lip.
Tips
- Start with Valley. Darkening recesses does more for readability than brightening ridges, and it's closer to how real surfaces age.
- Keep it subtle. High values on both look like an outline filter rather than surface shading.
- It reads shape, not lighting. The effect stays consistent as you move lights around, which makes it a dependable way to keep detail visible in a dim scene.
- Pairs well with the Dust Layer — dust on the upward faces, grime in the recesses.