8

Using Maps to Enhance a Material 1247
Usi ng Ma ps to E nhance a M ater ia l
Maps provide images, patterns, color adjustments,
and other effects you can apply to the visua l/optica l
components of a material. Without maps, material
design in 3ds Max is limited. Maps give the
Material Editor its full flexibility, and can give you
dramatic results.
Spheres with various ma ps applied to them (as well as a
reflection map applied to the surface beneath them)
The simplest use of a map is to assign a pattern
to a material’s Diffuse color.
Diffuse mapping
(page 2–1339)
is also known as "texture mapping."
It applies an image or pattern to geometry the
material is applied to.
Example of designing a mapped material:
1. Choose a sample slot.
2. Increase the highlight.
3. Apply a checker m ap to the material’s diffuse component.
4. Apply a bump map to give the material ridges.
5. The checker map displays in viewports, but the bump
map does not.
6. Rendering the material shows the full effect of mapping.
Wa rn in g: When you change the shading type (page
2–1242)
of a standa rd material, you lose the settings
(including map assignments) for any parameters that the
new shader does not support. If you want to experiment
with different shaders for a material with the same
general parameters, copy the material to a different
sample slot (page 2–1264) before you change its shading
type. That way, you can still use the original material if
the new shader doesn’t give you the effect you want.