---
title: "Reference"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/html/COM_REDSHIFT3D_REDSHIFT4C4D_NODE_REFERENCE.html"
section_path: "The Node Editor > Redshift Nodes > Redshift Utility Nodes > Reference"
element_id: "COM_REDSHIFT3D_REDSHIFT4C4D_NODE_REFERENCE"
description: "This page describes the Reference node of the Redshift renderer in Cinema 4D. It imports an existing material's Surface, Displacement, Environment or …"
---

# Reference

> **Note:** **What is it about?**
>
> This page describes the **Reference node** of the Redshift renderer in **Cinema 4D**. It imports an existing material's Surface, Displacement, Environment or Contour into another graph — reusing finished materials as building blocks, for example inside a Material Blender.

This node lets you reference an existing Redshift material and read out its *Surface*, *Displacement*, *Environment*, or *Contour* and to make this information available for any other Redshift material.

## Example

In the image below, on the right side we have two materials in the *Material Manager*, a Redshift *Car Material* and a basic Redshift *Material*.

We open up the basic material in the *Node Editor* and add the *Reference* node to the setup. By dragging the *Car Paint* material from the *Material Manager* to the **Material** slot of the *Reference* node, we gain access to that material and can reference it for use with the *Material Blender*.

The advantage of such a structure is that you can use one material and make other dependent materials from it.

![Image: Reference_Shader_1.png](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/_REDSHIFT_/Resources/Images/Reference_Shader_1.png)

The Reference node can also be used to bring Redshift material networks created in the old XPresso *Shader Graph* into the new Redshift *Node Editor*. This makes it possible to use both shading graph types in the same scene.\
![Image: C4D_Expresso_Reference.png](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/_REDSHIFT_/Resources/Images/C4D_Expresso_Reference.png)