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1498 Chapter 16: Material Editor, Materials, and Maps
If you do want to apply a separate ambient map,
first click to turn off t he lock button to the right
of the long Map buttons in the Maps rollout
(page 2–1474).Thisunlocksambientanddiffuse
mapping. The Map button for ambient color
becomesavailable.Youcanthenclicktheambient
button to select a map.
Note: Ambient color mapping is not visible in
viewportsorrenderingsunlessthelevelofambient
lightisgreaterthandefaultvalueofblack.Choose
Rendering > Environment, then adjust the level of
ambient light using the Environment dialog (page
3–272).
Procedure
To map the ambient color:
1.
Make sure the ambient and diffuse
components have their maps unlocked. Click
to turn off the lock button. The Map button for
ambient color becomes available.
2. Click the Map button for Ambient color.
The Material/Map Browser (page 2–1447) is
displayed.
3. Choose from the list of map types, and then
click OK.
TheMaterialEditorisnowatthemaplevel,and
displays controls for t he m ap parameters.
4. Use the map controls to set up the map.
Diffuse Color Mapping
Material Editor > Stand ard material > Maps rollout >
Diffusebutton(orColorbuttonfortheStraussshader)
Applying a texture by mapping the diffuse color
Yo u c a n s e l e c t a b i t m a p f i l e o r procedural map (page
3–997) to assign a pattern or texture to a material’s
diffuse color (page 3–929).Thecolorsofthemap
replacethematerial’sdiffusecolorcomponent.
This is the most common kind of mapping.
Mapping the di ffuse color is like painting an im age
on the surface of the object. For example, if you
want a wall to be made out of brick, you can
choose a map with an image of bricks, such as
Bricks (page 2–1658).
By default, diffuse mapping applies the same map
to the ambient color (page 3–908) as well. You
seldom need to use a different map for diffuse and
ambient components.
It isn’t strictly necessary to lock the ambient and
diffuse maps. By turning the lock off and us ing
a different map for each component, you can
obtain interesting blend effects. But in general, the
purpose of diffuse mapping is to simulate a single
surfacethatismorecomplexthanabasicmaterial,
and for this purpose the lock should be on.