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By Root 1999 0

hair to scene objects. Using the parameters found in the various rollouts, you can define the type of hair that is created. The Cloth modifier enables a cloth dynamic system that can simulate the complex motion of cloth as it interacts with objects and forces in the scene.

Specifically, this chapter covered the following topics:

• Growing hair and setting hair parameters

• Styling hair and using the hair presets

• Understanding how cloth systems work

• Using the Garment Maker modifier

• Creating cloth objects from geometry objects using the Cloth modifier

Part VII, “Advanced Materials,” is next. The first chapter in this part shows off all the cool specialized material types.

Part VII: Advanced Materials

IN THIS PART

Chapter 30

Using Specialized Material Types

Chapter 31

Working with Procedural Substance Textures

Chapter 32

Painting in the Viewport Canvas and Rendering Surface Maps

Chapter 33

Unwrapping UVs and Mapping Textures

Chapter 34

Creating Baked Textures and Normal Maps

Chapter 30: Using Specialized Material Types

IN THIS CHAPTER

Using matte/shadow materials

Using Ink 'n' Paint materials

Using the architectural materials

Using the DirectX Shader material

Using the specialized mental ray materials

You probably noticed back in the chapter on compound materials that a number of intriguing material types listed in the Material/Map Browser were not discussed. These material types are important, but they can't be classified as compound materials.

These specialized materials are sort of like your waffle iron. They're meant to be pulled out of your arsenal when you have a specific need. You wouldn't cook eggs on a waffle iron, would you?

The specialized materials include the Matte/Shadow material, the Ink 'n' Paint material, the Architectural materials, and the DirectX Shader material. These materials let you hide things in the scene, render the scene as a cartoon, use building materials, and view objects as they'll be seen in a game.

Even more special material types are listed after you enable the mental ray renderer. These materials are so specialized that they require a change in the rendering engine. These mental ray materials include an updated set of architectural materials, a Car Paint material, and several subsurface scattering materials.

With these specialized materials, you can create some really advanced, realistic results. Unfortunately, they don't make waffles.

Using the Matte/Shadow Material

You can apply matte/shadow materials to objects to make portions of the model invisible. This lets any objects behind the object or in the background show through. This material is also helpful for compositing 3D objects into a photographic background. Objects with matte/shadow materials applied can also cast and receive shadows. The effect of these materials is visible only when the object is rendered.

Note

The Matte/Shadow material type is unavailable if the mental ray renderer is enabled. •

Matte/Shadow Basic Parameters rollout

You can apply a matte/shadow material by double-clicking Matte/Shadow from the Material/Map Browser. Matte/shadow materials include only a single rollout: the Matte/Shadow Basic Parameters.

The Opaque Alpha option causes the matte material to appear in an alpha channel. This essentially is a switch for turning Matte objects on and off.

You can apply atmospheric effects such as fog and volume light to Matte materials. The At Background Depth option applies the fog to the background image. The At Object Depth option applies the fog as if the object were rendered.

Cross-Reference

Find out about Atmospheric effects in Chapter 46, “Using Atmospheric and Render Effects.” •

The Receive Shadows section enables shadows to be cast on a Matte object. You can also specify the Shadow Brightness and color. Increasing Shadow Brightness values makes the shadow more transparent. The Affect Alpha option makes the shadows part of the alpha channel.

Matte objects can also have reflections. The Amount spinner controls how much reflection