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1494 Chapter 16: Material Editor, Materials, and Maps
gets smaller a nd the material appears shinier.
Default=25.
Clickthemapbuttontoassignamaptothe
glossiness component. See Glossiness Mapping
(page 2–1502). This button is a shortcut: you can
also assign specular level mapping in the Maps
rollout (page 2–1474).
Soften—Softens the effect of specular highlights,
especially those formed by glancing l ight. When
Specular Level is high and Glossiness is low, you
cangetharshbacklightsonsurfaces.Increasethe
valueofSoftentomitigatethiseffect.At0,there
is no softening. At 1.0, the maximum amount of
softening is applied. Default=0.1.
Note: The Soften control was a check bo x in
releases prior to 3ds Max 2.Whenyouloada
material created in an earlier version of 3ds Max,
if Soften was originally off, t he new Soften value
is 0.0. If Soften was originally on, the new Soften
value is 0.6.
Highli ght gra ph—Thiscurveshowstheeffect
of adjusting the values of Specular Level and
Glossiness. As you decrease Glossiness, the curve
grows wider; as you increase Specular Level, the
cur ve g rows taller.
Metal Highlights
Material Editor > Standard material > M etal Basic
Parameters rollout > Specular Highlight group
Material Editor > Raytrace m aterial > Raytrace Basic
Parameters rollout > Shading: Metal > Specular Highlight
group
Metal-shaded materials generate their own
specular color. Also, the highlight curve for the
Metal shader differs in shape from the curve for
Blinn Oren-N ayar-Blinn, and Phong highlights
(page 2–1493).
Note: For the Raytrace material (page 2–1512),the
Specular Color component appears in the Specular
Highlight g roup. Also, highlight controls that don’t
per tain to the cur rent shader are labeled “N/A.”
Procedures
To increase or decr ease the size and intensity of a
highlight:
• Change the Glossiness value.
The width of the Highlight curve and t he
highlights in the preview change. At 0%
glossiness, the curve is at its max imum width.
At 100% glossiness, the curve is extremely
narrow.
To increa se or decrease the s trengt h of a hi ghlight:
• Change the value of Specular Level.
The intensity of the Highlight curve and the
highlight in the preview change. At 0% specular
level, there is no highlight. At 100% specular
level, the curve is at its maximum height w ith no
overloading. At values g reater than 100%, the
curve is overloaded: it grows wider, and a wider
area is at the maximum highlight intensity.
Increasing the Specular Level also dims the
diffuse color.
TheshapeoftheHighlightcurveaffectsthe
blending between the specular and diffuse color
regions of the material. The steeper the curve,
the less blend ing there is and the sharper the
edge of specular and g lancing hig hlights.
Interfa ce
Specular Level—Affects the intensity of the
specular highlight. As you increase the value, the
highlight grows brighter and the diffuse color
grows dimmer. Default=5.