One of the recurring challenges in molecular visualization is achieving the right balance between clarity and realism. While many modeling tools offer static images or predefined styles, they often fall short when it comes to flexibility in appearance—especially if you’re preparing figures for a presentation, article, or teaching material. With SAMSON’s integration of the Cycles Renderer, you can now go beyond simple structure displays and give your molecules a visually rich, tangible feel by customizing materials.
Whether you’re trying to simulate the subtle glow of a fluorescent tag, make a protein surface look metallic, or visualize how light passes through a lipid bilayer, SAMSON makes it possible with just a few clicks. Here’s how to make the most of material customization.
Why materials matter
In molecular modeling, a transparent ligand versus a metallic surface can immediately signal different properties or roles. Carefully chosen materials don’t just look good—they help communicate scientific ideas more effectively. With Cycles in SAMSON, you can assign materials that affect how light interacts with molecular surfaces, mimicking real-life materials such as glass, gold, plastic, or even glowing labels.
A palette of possibilities
SAMSON’s Inspector lets you quickly access and tweak material settings. But if you’re looking for speed, start with the built-in Appearance presets.
Material presets are grouped into several categories:
- Metallic: copper, silver, gold, etc.
- Semi-metallic: brass, bronze, pearl
- Smooth: plastic, latex, satin
- Rough: wood, velvet, concrete
- Emissive: glowing or fluorescent effects
- Transparent: ice, glass, water
With just a click, a protein can look like polished marble or a receptor surface can reflect light like brushed steel.
Adjusting material parameters
After choosing a preset, you can adjust individual parameters via the Inspector. For example:
- Roughness controls how diffuse or shiny the surface appears.
- Emission strength changes how strongly the object glows.
- Transparency allows partial visibility of structures beneath the surface.
You’re not limited to biochemistry. You can even mix in imported 3D geometry to simulate realistic lab environments or experimental scenes.
Seeing the difference
Below are some examples of how different materials can transform your renderings:
Applications and use cases
Material control can be useful in many scenarios:
- Creating visuals for scientific publications or posters
- Building educational animations that emphasize structure-function relationships
- Generating media for grant proposals or public science communication
Next time you need to explain molecular function at a glance or make your model stand out in a talk, consider using realistic materials to enhance your message.
To explore additional material settings and details, you can visit the full documentation page here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/rendering/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.