Layer Type · Reference
Reuse one layer’s pattern as the source for others — each with its own blend, opacity, mask and channel routing. It’s how you build a reusable smart material in Blender, with no baking.
One chip mask, referenced into base colour, roughness and bump at once.
A reference layer doesn’t generate its own pattern — it borrows another layer’s. The shape is shared, but the reference keeps its own blend mode, opacity, mask and PBR routing, so the same source can behave differently in each place it’s used.
Build a wear/chip mask once, then reference it to expose bare metal on Metallic, raise Roughness and add relief on Bump. Edit the source later and every layer that references it updates live — the “smart material” idea, without a bake step.
Why it matters
Point at any layer and share its shape — no duplicated patterns to keep in sync.
Each reference has its own blend, opacity and mask.
One driver can feed colour, metallic, roughness and bump separately.
Change the source and everything referencing it follows, live.
In practice