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1250 Chapter 16: Material Editor, Materials, and Maps
space, as opposed to the XYZ coordinates that
describe the scene as a whole.
Most renderable objects have a Generate Mapping
Coordinates parameter. If you don’t turn this on,
but apply a mapped material to the object, you get
a warning when you try to render.
Some objects, such as editable meshes, don’t have
automatic mapping coordinates. For these types
of objects, you can assign coordinates by apply ing
a
UVW Map modifier (page 1–905) .
If the material appears the way you w ant it with
the default mapping, you don’t need to adjust the
mapping. If you need to adjust it, use the map’s
Coordinatesrollout.Therearetwotypicalsetsof
coordinates parameters: one for 2D maps such as
Bitmaps (page 2–1441) , and another for 3D maps
such as
Noise (page 2–1484) .See Coordinates
Rollout (2D) (page 2–1434)
and Coordinates
Rollout (3D) (page 2–1472)
.
Note: The UVW Remove utility (page 2–1252)
provides a way to remove mapping coordinates or
an entire material from selected objects.
Mapping coordinates shown as U and V axes local to a
sur face.
Note: Mapping coordinates are local to each object,
so they are termed
UV or UV W coordinates (page
3–1122)
, as opposed to the XYZ coordinates of the
scene as a w hole.
Saving a Material
WhileamaterialisintheMaterialEditoror
applied to an object, it is part of the scene, and is
saved with the scene. However, for complicated
scenes it is inconvenient to have all materials active
in the Material Editor. You can also save a material
by putting it into a material library. Some libraries
are provided in the
\matlibs subdirectory. The file
3dsmax.mat is the default library. You can add
your material to this library, or create y our own
libraries.
Procedure
To save a material in a librar y:
This stores a material in the cur rent material
library. To use a different library, first open it using
the
Materia l/Map Browser (page 2–1256) .
1. In the Material Editor, click the sample sphere
for the material to save.
2. On the Material Editor toolbar, click Put
to Librar y (page 2–1287)
.
A
Put to Library dialog (page 2–1298) is
displayed. Either change the material name or
leave it as is, and then click OK.
3. Choose Rendering > Material/Map
Browser , or, on the Material Editor toolbar,
click
Get Mater ia l (page 2–1283) .
The
Material/Map Browser (page 2–1256)
opens.
4. In the Browser > Browse From group, choose
Mtl Library, if necessary.
The stored material appears in the list.
5. In the Browser > File group, click Save to save
the library with the current name (if any) or
Save As to save it as a different file.