Create Assets

April 12, 2026 · View on GitHub

Source: src/mpfb/ui/create_assets/makeskin/

Parent panel: MPFB_PT_Create_Panel ("Create assets")

Overview

MakeSkin is the tool for creating and exporting MakeHuman material files (.mhmat). A MakeSkin material is a node-based Blender material structured so that it maps directly to the MakeHuman material format. Each texture slot (diffuse, normal map, roughness, etc.) corresponds to a specific node in the material's node tree.

The typical workflow is:

Create an empty material — choose which texture slots you need and the resolution for placeholder images. MPFB creates the node tree automatically with the appropriate nodes and empty image textures.
Paint or assign textures — work in Blender's texture paint mode or assign existing images to the texture slots.
Set material properties — fill in metadata (name, license, author, etc.) and configure MakeHuman-specific rendering flags.
Export — save the .mhmat file to disk or store it directly in the user's local asset library.

The panel is only drawn when the active object is a mesh. If the mesh already has a material, the "Create empty material" and "Import" boxes are hidden and only the configuration and export boxes are shown.

Panel

MPFB_PT_MakeSkin_Panel ("MakeSkin")

Attribute	Value
`bl_label`	"MakeSkin"
`bl_category`	`MATERIALSCATEGORY`
`bl_parent_id`	`MPFB_PT_Create_Panel`
`bl_options`	`DEFAULT_CLOSED`
Base class	`Abstract_Panel`
Properties prefix	`"MS_"`

The panel draws the following collapsible boxes:

Create empty material — shown when the active mesh has no material. Checkboxes for each texture slot, a resolution field, and the "Create material" button.
Import — shown when the active mesh has no material. Button to import an existing .mhmat file.
Material properties — shown when the active mesh has a material. Fields for asset metadata (name, description, tag, license, author, homepage).
MakeHuman specific — rendering flags that control how MakeHuman's own renderer handles the material (backface culling, shadow casting/receiving, transparency, subsurface scattering, litsphere, etc.).
Path management — the textures property specifying the relative path to the texture directory.
Save file — button to export to a .mhmat file via a file browser.
Store in library — buttons to store the material as an alternate or as the primary skin in the user's local asset library.

Operators

MPFB_OT_CreateMaterialOperator

Attribute	Value
`bl_idname`	`mpfb.create_makeskin_material`
`bl_label`	"Create material"
Poll	`ANY_MESH_OBJECT_ACTIVE`

Creates a new MakeSkin node-based material on the active mesh. Only called when the mesh has no existing material. The material node tree is built to match the selected texture slots; blank image textures are created for each enabled slot at the chosen resolution. The material is also set up with the correct MakeSkin node layout so it can be recognised and exported later.

MPFB_OT_ImportMakeSkinMaterialOperator

Attribute	Value
`bl_idname`	`mpfb.import_makeskin_material`
`bl_label`	"Import material"

Opens a file browser and imports an existing .mhmat file onto the active mesh, recreating the node tree and loading the referenced textures.

MPFB_OT_WriteMakeSkinMaterialOperator

Attribute	Value
`bl_idname`	`mpfb.write_makeskin_material`
`bl_label`	"Save as MHMAT"

Opens a file browser and writes the current material to a .mhmat file at the chosen location. The material on the active mesh must be a MakeSkin or Game Engine material; other material types are not supported.

MPFB_OT_WriteAlternateMaterialOperator

Attribute	Value
`bl_idname`	`mpfb.write_alternate`
`bl_label`	"Store as alternate"

Saves the current material into the user's local asset library as an alternate skin. Alternate skins are variations of a primary skin that the user can switch between without replacing the base material entirely.

MPFB_OT_WriteMakeSkinToLibraryOperator

Attribute	Value
`bl_idname`	`mpfb.write_makeskin_to_library`
`bl_label`	"Store as skin"

Saves the current material into the user's local asset library as a primary skin. Once stored, the skin will appear in the Apply Assets panel and can be loaded onto any character.

Properties

Scene properties (prefix `"MS_"`)

These are loaded from the JSON files in makeskin/properties/:

Property	Type	Description
`create_diffuse`	boolean	Create a diffuse colour texture slot.
`create_normalmap`	boolean	Create a normal map texture slot.
`create_bumpmap`	boolean	Create a bump map texture slot.
`create_aomap`	boolean	Create an ambient occlusion map texture slot.
`create_displacementmap`	boolean	Create a displacement map texture slot.
`create_emissionColorMap`	boolean	Create an emission colour map texture slot.
`create_emissionStrengthMap`	boolean	Create an emission strength map texture slot.
`create_metallicmap`	boolean	Create a metallic map texture slot.
`create_opacitymap`	boolean	Create an opacity/alpha map texture slot.
`create_roughnessmap`	boolean	Create a roughness map texture slot.
`create_specularmap`	boolean	Create a specular map texture slot.
`create_subsurfaceStrengthMap`	boolean	Create a subsurface strength map texture slot.
`create_transmissionmap`	boolean	Create a transmission (glass/transparency) map texture slot.
`resolution`	integer/enum	Resolution (pixels) for the blank placeholder images created in each slot.

Object properties (stored per object, via `MakeSkinObjectProperties`)

These are defined in makeskin/objectproperties/:

Property	Description
`name`	Asset name embedded in the `.mhmat` file.
`description`	Short description of the material.
`tag`	Tag string for categorisation.
`license`	License string (e.g. `CC0`).
`author`	Author name.
`homepage`	URL for the author's homepage or portfolio.
`textures`	Relative path to the directory containing the material's texture files.
`backface_culling`	Enable backface culling in MakeHuman's renderer.
`cast_shadows`	Whether the material casts shadows.
`receive_shadows`	Whether the material receives shadows.
`alpha_to_coverage`	Enable alpha-to-coverage transparency mode.
`shadeless`	Render the material without lighting (shadeless).
`wireframe`	Render the mesh as a wireframe.
`transparent`	Enable transparency for this material.
`depthless`	Render the material without depth testing.
`sss_enable`	Enable subsurface scattering.
`auto_blend`	Automatically determine the blending mode.
`use_litsphere`	Use a litsphere texture for lighting.
`litsphere`	Name of the litsphere texture file to use.

MakeClothes — embeds a MakeSkin material when exporting clothes
MakeUp — adds ink/makeup overlay layers on top of a MakeSkin material
MaterialService — the service underlying material creation and identification