3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [223]
The available maps in the Maps rollout depend on the type of material and the Shader that you are using. Raytrace materials have many more available maps than the standard material. Some of the common mapping types found in the Maps rollout are discussed in Table 17.1.
FIGURE 17.35
The Maps rollout can turn maps on or off.
Tutorial: Aging objects for realism
I don't know whether your toolbox is well worn like mine—it must be the hostile environment that it is always in (or all the things I keep dropping in and on it). Rendering a toolbox with nice specular highlights just doesn't feel right. This tutorial shows a few ways to age an object so that it looks older and worn.
To add maps to make an object look old, follow these steps:
1. Open the Toolbox.max file from the Chap 17 directory on the CD.
This file contains a simple toolbox mesh created using extruded splines.
2. Press the M key to open the Slate Material Editor. Locate and double-click the Standard material in the Material/Map Browser, and then select the Metal shader from the drop-down list in the Shader Basic Parameters rollout. In the Metal Basic Parameters rollout, set the Diffuse color to a nice, shiny red and increase the Specular Level to 97 and the Glossiness value to 59. Name the material Toolbox.
3. In the Maps rollout of the Material/Map Browser, double-click the option for the Splat map and connect this node to the Glossiness parameter. In the Splat Parameters rollout, set the Size value to 100 and change Color #1 to a rust color and Color #2 to white.
4. Double-click the Dent option in the Material/Map Browser and connect its node to the Bump parameter. Select the Dent map node and in the Dent Parameters rollout, set the Size value to 200, Color #1 to black, and Color #2 to white.
5. Create another standard material node and name it Hinge. Select the Metal shader from the Shader Basic Parameters rollout for this material also, and increase the Specular Level in the Metal Basic Parameters rollout to 26 and the Glossiness value to 71. Also change the Diffuse color to a light gray. Click the map button next to the Glossiness value, and double-click the Noise map in the Material/Map Browser. In the Noise Parameters rollout, set the Noise map to Fractal with a Size of 10.
6. Drag the output socket for the “Toolbox” material to the toolbox object and the “Hinge” material to the hinge and the handle.
Note
Bump and glossiness mappings are not visible until the scene is rendered. To see the material's results, choose Rendering⇒Render and click the Render button. •
Figure 17.36 shows the well-used toolbox.
FIGURE 17.36
This toolbox shows its age with Glossiness and Bump mappings.
Using the Map Path Utility
After you have all your maps in place, losing them can really make life troublesome. However, Max includes a utility that helps you determine which maps are missing and lets you edit the path to them to quickly and easily locate them. The Bitmap/Photometric Path Editor utility is available in the Utility panel. To find it, click the More button and select Bitmap/Photometric Path Editor from the list of utilities.
Cross-Reference
This utility is used for bitmaps as well as photometric lights. You can learn about photometric lights in Chapter 20, “Using Lights and Basic Lighting Techniques.” •
When opened, the Path Editor rollout includes the Edit Resources button that opens the Bitmap/Photometric Path Editor window, shown in Figure 17.37. The rollout also includes two options for displaying the Materials Editor and Material Library bitmap paths. The Close button closes the rollout.
The Info button in the Bitmap/Photometric Path Editor