8
1330 Chapter 16: Material Editor, Materials, and Maps
Mono spinner —
When Color is off, the diff use
componentisusedastheself-illumination
color,andthisspinnerletsyouadjustthe
amount of self-illumination. A t 0, there is no
self-illumination. At 100, the diff use color takes
over from the ambient color .
Clickthemapbuttontoassignamap
to the self-illumination component. See
Self-Illumination Mapping (page 2–1343)
.
This button is a shortcut: you can also assign
self-illumination mapping in the
Maps rollout
(page 2–1315)
.
Opacity
Material Editor > Standard material > Anisotropic, Blinn,
Metal, Multi-Layer, Oren-Nayar-Blinn, or Phong Basic
Parameters rollout > Opacity group (unlabeled)
Opacity controls whether a material is opaque,
transparent, or translucent. (A more physical ly
accurate way to generate translucency is to use the
Translucent shader (page 2–1326)
.)
Controlling opacit y using the Opacity setting (left) or an
opacity map (right).
Procedure
To reduce a material’ s opacity:
• Change Opacity to a value less than 100%.
The material becomes more transparent. An
object that is f ully transparent (0% Opacity) is
nearly invisible except for the light it reflects
(the specular hig hlights).
To preview transparency in the sample slots,
view the sample object against a backg round.
Click the checkered
Background button (page
2–1277)
totherightofthesampleslots.
Transparent materials render more realistically
when you tur n on 2-Sided in the material’s
Shader Basic Parameters (page 2–1310)
.
Interfa ce
Opacit y —Sets the opacity/transparency of the
material as a percentage. The effect is best
previewed against a
pattern background (p age
2–1277)
inthesampleslot.Youcancontrol
opacity
falloff (page 3–1078)
in the Extended Parameters.
Clickthemapbuttontoassignamaptothe
opacity component. See
Opacity Mapping (page
2–1344)
.Thisbuttonisashortcut:youcanalso
assign opacity mapping in the
Maps rollout (page
2–1315)
.
Diffuse Level
Material Editor > Standard material > Anisotropic,
Multi-Layer, or Oren-Nayar-Blinn Basic Parameters ro llout
> Diffuse Level group (unla b eled) or Advanced Diffuse
group
DiffuseLevelcontrolsthebrightnessofthe
material’s diffuse component.
Note: TheBlinn,Metal,Phong,andStraussshaders
do not hav e Diffuse Level control.