Datasheet

4 Chapter 1: Texturing and Lighting a Product, Part 1
In this chapter, you’ll use the Light_Box cube to create large specular highlights and
reflections in the plastic and metal of the headphones. In Chapter 2, you’ll have the chance
to illuminate the scene by using the Light_Box cube’s material attributes and the Final
Gathering rendering option.
Material Types and Critical Attributes
Materials, sometimes referred to as shaders, are small programs that determine the surface
qualities of the geometry they are assigned to. In common terms, surfaces are described as
rough, smooth, shiny, dull, and so on. A material uses a shading model, which is a math-
ematical algorithm that simulates the interaction of light with a surface.
Working with Lambert, Blinn, Phong, Phong E, and Anisotropic Materials
The Lambert material is considered a “parent” material in Maya. That is, four other
Maya materials (Blinn, Phong, Phong E, and Anisotropic) inherit common attributes
from the corresponding Lambert node (see Figure 1.5).
Figure 1.4
(Top) The Light_Box
cube. (Bottom) A
real-world light box
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