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Note

Max ships with several different material libraries and several architecture material sets. You can find all these libraries in the matlibs directory. Some libraries are only available when the mental ray renderer is enabled.•

Save a layout with the current materials using the Material/Map Browser Options⇒Additional Options⇒Save Layout As. These files are saved as files with the .mpl extension.

Tip

Although materials can be saved out as libraries, perhaps the easiest ways to share materials between applications are using the Material XML Export utility or the Material⇒Export As XMSL File command. •

Tutorial: Loading a custom material library

To practice loading a material library, I've created a custom library of materials using various textures created with Kai's Power Tools.

To load a custom material library into the Slate Material Editor, follow these steps:

1. Choose Rendering⇒Material Editor (or press the M key) to open the Material Editor. Then make sure the Material/Map Browser is active or select the Tools⇒Material/Map Browser menu to open the Material/Map Browser.

2. Click the small down arrow icon to the left of the Search field at the top of the Material/Map Browser and select Open Material Library from the pop-up menu.

3. Select and open the KPT samples.mat file from the Chap 15 directory on the CD.

The library loads into the Material/Map Browser.

4. In the Search field (above the sample slot), type Bug to locate and select the bug eyes material.

Figure 15.7 shows the Material/Map Browser with the custom material library open.

FIGURE 15.7

The Material/Map Browser also lets you work with saved custom material libraries.

Using the Material Explorer

The Scene Explorer has been well received and has made working with scene objects much easier. So easy in fact that the Max team has looked for other places where a similar interface can be used, and the first stop is with materials. The result is the Material Explorer.

The Material Explorer, shown in Figure 15.8, lets you quickly view all the scene materials along with their hierarchies and all their properties in a single interface. It also lets you sort the materials by their various properties and even make changes to multiple materials at once. You can access the Material Explorer with the Rendering⇒Material Explorer command.

FIGURE 15.8

The Material Explorer shows the layered material as a hierarchy.

The Material Explorer works exactly like the Scene Explorer and has configurable columns. It is divided into two panels. The top panel shows all the materials in the current scene; the bottom panel shows the hierarchy of the selected material or submaterial.

In addition to the menus, several toolbar buttons run horizontally under the menus and several display buttons run vertically down the left side of the interface. These buttons are described in Tables 15.2 and 15.3.

Cross-Reference

To learn more about the Scene Explorer interface, see Chapter 6, “Selecting Objects and Setting Object Properties.” •

The Material Explorer lets you apply materials directly to scene objects by simply dragging and dropping the material thumbnail onto the object. You also can drag and drop maps onto other materials and channels. The Material Explorer also works with the Material Browser; for example, you can drag the material type and drop it on the Type column in the Material Explorer to change a material type.

Summary

Materials can add much to the realism of your models. Learning to use the Material Editor, the Material/Map Browser, and the Material/Map Navigator enables you to work with materials. This chapter covered the following topics:

• Understanding various material properties

• Working with the Material Editor buttons and material nodes

• Using the Material/Map Browser and material libraries

• Using the Material Explorer to quickly see all materials in a scene

The next chapter delves more into the topic of material, including the standard material and all its settings.