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Materials 1065
Materials
Spheres with variations of the standard material type (no
maps used):
Green sphere: High Glossiness
Red sphere: Constant shading
Blue sphere: 60% opacity
Yellow sphere: Wireframe mode, slight self-illumination
A material is data that you assign to the surface
or faces of an object so that it appears a certain
way when rendered. Materials affect the color of
objects, their glossiness, their opacity, and so on.
A standard material consists of ambient, diffuse,
and specular components. You can assign maps to
the v arious components of astandard material.
The standard material is the default material
in the six sample slots of the M aterial Editor.
However, you can change the t yp e of material
you’re working on by clicking the button labeled
Type below the sample slots. This displays the
Material/Map Browser, and lets you select from a
list of alternative material types.
You can also change the type of material you’re
working on by clicking the Get Material button
below the sample slots. This displays the
Material/Map Browser, and lets you select from a
list of alternative material types.
Matte Object
Matte object reveals part of the background, making the
hamburger geometry appear to be inside the oven.
A matte object is invisible but blocks any geometry
behind it. However, it does not block the
background.
For example, you might make a complex scene
for the background of your animation, render
it once, then assign the resulting bitmap as a
background using only a few animate d objects
during the rendering of the animation. If y ou
then needed one of your objects to appear from
behind some portion of the background, such as
a building, you would create a matte object that
matches the building. You then place t he animated
object behind it. The bitmap image of the building
appears, but the animated object is blocked until it
moves from behind t he matte object.
Matte objects, though invis ible, c an cast shadows.
Matte objects can also receive shadows. When the
Matte/Shadow material’s Affect Alpha check box is
set, shadows cast on the matte o bject are applied to
the alpha channel. This lets you render maps with
alpha shadows that you can composite later. To
properly generate shadows on a matte object, turn
off the Opaque Alpha check box and then set the
Affect Alpha check bo x.