Applying Materials

To open the materials panel, use the Edit / Shading Pro menu command.

Materials can be used to make text or vector shapes look like they are three-dimensional and made of some stuff.

The program has a collection of materials. Custom materials can be created in the Editor of Materials. Double click on a material icon to open the material in the editor.
To create a new material, select New Custom in the Category drop-down list.

The shape of the text or image is controlled by the Depth value and the Shape switch.
The lower the Depth is, the flatter the picture looks.
Shape allows to choose whether the picture has rounded top or has edges (flat top).

The Light control sets from where the light falls.
Materials may have several sources of light. The control will move all of them at once.

The Color slider changes color of the applied material. Colors change according to the Color Wheel. For example, if you move the Color slider by one third counterclockwise on the Color Wheel, the new color will be 1/3 of the circle away from the original one.
The brightness will stay unchanged. White color will stay white, black will stay black.