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Table Of Contents
material node to define a bump map, as well as radiosity, reflection, or
refraction environment maps, depending on the shader type selected.
Textures are 2D images that can be wrapped around an object's surface, much
like a piece of paper wrapped around an object. The information displayed
on the object's surface depends on the type of texture map used. In bump
maps or normals maps, RGB or luminance values are used to give the surface
the illusion of peaks and valleys. In radiosity maps, the object appears to blend
in the source image's radiosity. This is useful for creating realistic lighting
effects without the high rendering cost associated with raytracing or radiosity.
Setting Material Properties
When you create a layer, a material is associated with it automatically. By
default, the material displays the source image on the layer surface using the
Standard shader, which gives you immediate access to the full range of
parameters in the Materials tab.
To access the Materials UI:
Do one of the following:
In the Layer Editor, select a layer and then select the Materials tab.
In the Schematic view, right-click the Reaction node and select Edit
Group to display the Group Schematic, and then click a material node
to select it.
The Materials UI displays the properties for the selected material node.
Materials UI
The Materials UI contains a comprehensive set of options and controls for
setting the shader type, blending mode, shading parameters, color factors,
and texture mapping and blending.
Shader Types
There are four shader types: Standard, Simple, Shadow Matte, and No Shade.
258 | Chapter 12 Multilayer Compositing and 3D Effects