| Experimenting
with the Material Editor in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3DS MAX ) - Tutorial |
Let's now deal with the other
relevant properties of a Material
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ).
In real world, every material
be it a cloth, plastic, metal
etc has got its own unique visibility
properties. Cloth has got a
non reflecting surface with
less specular whereas metal
gives sharp highlights and moderate
reflection. In 3D Studio MAX
( 3DS MAX ) we can define such
properties for materials. Look
at the parameters Specular Level,
Glossiness, Anisotropy etc present
inside the 'Anisotropic Basic
Parameters' in Material Editor.
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Specular
Level: It defines how
bright the highlight on a surface
will be. It has a value of 90
by default. Change the value to
30 and see the change in the material
slot. The highlight has got much
subtle. Increasing the value makes
the highlights brighter in 3D
Studio MAX ( 3ds max )
Glossiness:
It defines how sharp
the highlight will be in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). Increasing the
value reduces the size of the
specular spot on the material.
Experiment with the values but
dont forget to set it back to
the default 40.
Anisotropy:
In non anisotropic materials,
the specular highlight will be
a symmetrical circle. But in anisotropic
surfaces, the specular will have
slightly modified shape. Increasing
the value of Anisotropy makes
the specular spot less symmetric
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).
Try with different values. Default
is 50
Orientation:
It is nothing but the
angle of orientation of the anisotropic
specular in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds
max ). Try different values for
this too. |
Download
the 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds
max ) Training Video which
demonstrates the Material
Editor in 3D Studio MAX
here |
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The
download is a RAR file which
contains the training video
file compressed using MPEG-4
codec. Click
here for instructions
on viewing the video. |
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Opacity:
This is not a
specular property, but
a general property of
the material in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). Increasing
the value of this field
makes the material more
opaque whereas decreasing
the value makes it more
transparent in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). |
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Displaying
the Material in the viewport |
So far we were having
a limitation that we
had no idea how the
material would look
on our teapot. We had
to experiment on the
Material slot (spheres).
In 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS
MAX ) we have the provision
for displaying the materials
in the viewport. But
we cannot display the
whole Material which
may be a combination
of several maps (like
ambient, diffuse, reflection
etc). Instead from among
the material we choose
one map and make it
displayed in the viewport.
Got it?
Now its time to see
what all properties
3D Studio MAX ( 3ds
max ) materials have
other than Diffuse,
Specular etc. Just pan
the Material Editor
down by click-dragging
an empty space inside
it. At the bottom of
it, you will see a rollout
by name 'Maps'. Unroll
it if its not already
unrolled. There you
will see all the properties
that a material has
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS
MAX ). Near the end
of the properties, we
have the Reflection
property.
Just to its right, there
is a text field having
value 100. It says that
Reflection map is applied
with 100% effect on
the material. To its
right, we have a long
button having a name
written on it (Map #19
Chromic.jpg). It says
that the file Chromic.jpg
is used as the Reflection
Map. Actually that image
is the one that we see
as the chrome wave pattern.
Now click on that Map
button (Map #19 Chromic.jpg).
It takes you one level
down the Material Hierarchy.
Now the Material Editor
displays not the top
level of the Material,
but a sub-map (Reflection
map) with its various
parameters. The materials
are a collection of
maps in 3D Studio MAX
( 3DS MAX ). Each map
can have sub-maps and
the hierarchy moves
down like that. The
current attributes displayed
in the Material editor
are those dealing with
how the Chromic.jpg
is mapped on the Reflection
Map property. Let's
not bother about the
details now. We are
in the Reflection Map
sub-level now. I told
you already that we
can display only a map
in the viewports. So
we are going to make
the Reflection map as
the one to be displayed
in the viewport for
this material.
To do that just click
on the Show
Map in Viewport button
located among the row
of buttons just below
the spherical slots.
By now the texture should
be visible in the 3D
Studio MAX ( 3ds max
) viewport on our teapot.
Cool. No?
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Got
confused with all
the complications?
Don't worry. We
stop the Material
Editor lessons here.
We will go into
furthur details
only in the advanced
tutorials. Refresh
all that you learned
about the Material
Editor. Just go
back if you are
in some doubt. Also
dont forget to save
the work by the
name ' level3-mat-edit.max'.
Take a break and
continue
to the next page
to render our work
so far into a realistic
looking image. |
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