---
title: "Best Practices - PxrSurface"
canonical: "https://rmanwiki-27.pixar.com/space/RU/608796697/Best%20Practices%20-%20PxrSurface"
format: markdown
---
# Understanding the basic design of PxrSurface.
The primary material used for making objects, props, and characters in RenderMan is the [PxrSurface](https://rmanwiki-26.pixar.com/space/REN26/19661415) material.
This is a single (and therefore "monolithic") material used for all kinds of shading jobs. Each section of the material represents a particular "lobe" of the material.
A few examples of these lobes are:
- Diffuse
- Specular
- Rough Specular
- Sub-Surface
- etc.
Each of these has its own set of controls for defining the look and how they combine with the other lobes through gain or weighting.
> ℹ️ Why is it called a "lobe"?
> ℹ️
> ℹ️ You can visualize how a material reflects or transmits light based on its distribution function; these are usually visualized as a lobe (an elongated shape showing sharpness, power, and direction) in 2D or 3D. You can find out more on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidirectional_scattering_distribution_function).
---
### Next Steps
So, now you have a basic understanding of the monolithic shader's design, the mighty PxrSurface, let’s learn the basics of textures in the next lesson.
---
