Note: I'm using Studio Production Style menu configuration in both Layout and Modeler, which is why things may look different from what you are used to. It's naturally a matter of personal preference, but I'd recommend dumping the default configuration. To do so, go to Edit > Edit Menu Layout (Alt+F10) and simply pick Studio Production Style from the the presets. This works both in Layout and Modeler.

 

To get started, we are going to need an object of some kind to apply our textures on. Doesn't really matter what the object is, I settled for a highly complex 3m x 3m x 3m box. Give it a surface (q), save with whatever name you want to give to it and bring the masterpiece of modeling to Layout.

 

 

We dont really need any fancy setups in Layout, but for the kicks I've changed the default Distant Light to an Area Light and turned on Background Radiosity. Not really relevant for this tutorial though.

 

Open up Surface Editor (F5) and select the only surface you should have there. No need to do much on the main panel, I just gave a small 20% value to both Specularity and Glossiness. Make sure the Edit Nodes checkbox is active and enter the Node Editor.

 

The image below is what you should end up with by the end of this walkthrough. Sure, I could just upload the preset somewhere and save you the trouble of having to set up everything by yourself, but what would you learn if I did that?

 

 

(1) Let's start to go through the nodes from left to right. On the top left corner is an Add Node button and clicking it gives you a dropdown menu. Pick IFW2 Textures > Tiles > IFW2_Bricks. The only really relevant part here is the percentage values on the alpha channels. If you take a look at the nodetree above, you can see this node's alpha controlling the height of the bump on the first Granite node. In this case, it makes sure that the bump only appears on the actual tiles and not on the mortar.

 

Use settings like these:

 

 

 

(2) Next up is the Fresnel waveform node which uses the default settings (Add Node > IFW2 Textures > Waveforms > IFW2_Fresenel). I used it here mostly to control the bump of two Granite nodes, you can play around with the settings or other waverforms and see what you end up with.

 

(3) First of the three Granite nodes (IFW2 Textures > Noise > GraniteI), this is the node that controls the texture pattern and bump on the tiles themselves.

 

 

 

(4) The second Granite node, just copy and paste the first one and change the settings to match the ones below. The bump in this node breaks up the tiles a bit, making them look rougher at the edges.

 

 

 

(5) The third Granite node is easy as well, again copy the first Granite and change the colors to something darker, like below. This controls how dark the mortar in between the tiles is.

 

 

(6) The next node is a cool one. Connected to the second Brick node, it randomizes the diffuse values of the tiles, giving them a nice non-uniform look. You can find the node in IFW2 Textures > Regional > IFW2_RegionAlphaSW.

 

 

(7) The second Brick node. Just copy the first one, no need to change anything. This node is meant to just collect everything together.

 

(8) Simple Add node that combines the normals from Granite and Brick nodes. Found under Math > Vector > Add.

 

(9) Almost done, now we just need to give a bit of color to our bricks. I like to use color gradients based on incidence angle, so pick Gradient > Gradient and make it look something like this:

 

 

(10) The final node (Tools > Mixer) blends the color channels from the second Brick node and the gradient. Change the Blending to Multiply, nothing else needed.

 

 

That's it for the nodes, make sure they are connected as they are on the above image and you are good to go.

 

If you hit F9 and render the awesome cube, you should have something like this on your screen:

 

 

It should be noted that since the surface uses small high frequence procedurals, it tends to create lots of noise. If you are planning on doing any animations, I highly recommend baking the surface into a texture map.