Introduction
In this article we see how to set up the Principled BSDF Shader to make transparent objects in Blender, this solution works for the EEVEE engine. To clarify some physics related issues, with “transparent” I mean that the material allows to see what is behind of the object, the effect is useful to quickly set up a basic glass material to apply for example to a window.
Prepare the scene – Elements to be used
To show how to make transparent objects in Blender, I am going to use the objects shown in figure 1. They are three spheres of different colors and the object in front is the one we are going to make transparent. Figure 2 shows the camera view, as you can see, it is completely obstructed by the object.
Download a Blender file with the transparent shader already applied.
Create a transparent object in Blender Eevee step by step
First we go to the rendering properties and activate the option “Screen Space Reflections” and inside this option we activate the “Refraction” checkbox, as shown in figures 3 and 4.
Select the object to make transparent and go to the material configuration, if it does not have any material assigned create a new material. In “Surface” choose “Principled BSDF”, as shown in figure 5.
3. In the material properties we scroll until we reach the “Settings” part, activate the “Screen Space Refraction” option (figure 6) and write a value for the “Refraction Depth” parameter (figure 7), this value is used to calculate the path of the light inside the material.
4. In the “Principled BSDF” Shader properties we increase the value of the transmission parameter.
Results
By following these steps we make the object transparent, as shown in Figure 9.
To make the material more translucent we can decrease the value of the “Roughness” parameter.
That way the objects behind are not so distorted, in figure 11 you can see the result. You could also use a texture to give it roughness.
