Materials and editor used in 3d Max step by step ( Lesson # 6 )

3d Max Materials and Material Editor (Material Editor)

In this lesson we will begin to familiarize themselves with the materials in 3d max. To begin with not a lot of study material editor (Material Editor), learn its basic tools and functions. Particularly focused on the concept of texture and the mechanism of texture. Well, finish the creation of simple materials to some lessons from past projects. Perhaps this lesson may seem boring, as it will be more theoretical lesson, but it is extremely important for the development of the subsequent material.
So, what materials and what are they for? Proceedings of a set of different visual properties of an object, such as color, transparency, texture, reflection and refraction properties of light, etc. How likely it is clear from the description of the materials needed to make it more realistic targets. To work with the materials in 3ds max there is a special module called Material Editor (Material Editor).
Start 3ds max, if you have not already done so. Now you have to open the Material Editor. The easiest way to do this press the «M» at the keyboard, but you can from the main menu - Rendering → Material Editor ... should open a window here:

At the top of the editor you can see the six gray ball. This is a sample of materials, by default, they are gray in color. To change the material must select a cell with this material, this should click the left mouse button on the cell. Selected cell has a white border, in the above figure dressed upper-left cell.
If you right-click on the selected material will open a context menu:

It has the following features:
Drag / Copy - Copy of the material to another cell;
Drag / Rotation - rotation of the material in the cell;
Reset Rotation - produced by removal of the rotation;
Render Map - allows you to visualize the texture map which is based on the material;
Options - opens the window Material Editor Options, where you can assign a different setting of the material editor;
Magnify - opens the selected material in a separate window when the window stretched the material is stretched, too, so this tool can be viewed as a tool to increase the sample material;
Select by Material - allows you to select all objects in the scene using the currently active material (duplicates one of the tools described below).
3 X 2/5 X 3/6 X 4 Sample Windows - changes the amount of visible material. By default, the editor shows six samples of materials (2 rows by 3 columns), it can be exchanged for 15 samples (5 X 3) or 24 (6 X 4).
Under the cells and the right of them are tools for working with materials. The following is a description of these tools, some of them may not seem obvious, do not worry, many of these tools will become clearer in the process of learning the following lessons.

Sample Type - allows you to change the type of sample material. That is, instead of the ball can be placed in the cell cylinder or cube. Yet usually more convenient to use the ball.

Backlight - allows you to toggle on and off the light source behind the material. By default, the light is turned

Background - change the cell background. The default background color of the cell dark gray, but if you click on this button to turn the background to the checkered black and white background. This tool is often used when creating a transparent material.

Make Preview - allows you to view animation sketch material.

Options - opens the Material Editor Options, where you can adjust the parameters of the material editor.

Select by Material - allows you to select all objects in the scene using the currently active material.

Material / Map Navigator - opens the Material / Map Navigator, showing what materials and texture maps used in the scene.

Get Material - allows you to open the finished material from the library materials, or create a new

Put Material to Scene - allows you to make changes to the material objects in the scene, to which the material is applied.

Assign Material to Selection - allows you to use the current material to all selected objects of the scene.

Reset Map / Mtl to Default Settings - resets all the settings of the material, putting all the defaults.

Make Material Copy - after clicking on the button changes the parameters of this material does not cause changes in material objects in the scene. To apply the changes, press the button Put Material to Scene.

Put to Library - puts the material in the library materials.

Material Effects Channel - allows you to associate the material with one of the 16 channels of image effects used in video editing.

Show Map in Viewport - allows you to see how the vygledyat objects with texture in the viewport.

Show End Result - shows the final form of composite material.

Go to Parent - allows us to go to change the subobject level to a higher level to edit a parent object.

Go to Sibling - allows you to move to a change in the next sub-object, not rising to the level of the parent object.
Next is a tool Pick Material from Object (pipette in common):

It allows you to load in the current cell taken from a sample of the material object in the scene. To do this, after selecting this tool click on the desired object scene.
Next to the pipette is a dropdown list with the names of materials:

in this list, you can change the name of the current to do this, simply click on it and type a new name.
And finally, the right pipette and the name of the material to be key to the type of material, the default type of material Standard:

Clicking this button opens a window Material / Map Browser:

In which you can select the type of new material (in this box, you can not do only that, but in this case we are interested in a new type of material). All new types of materials are marked with blue balls in the picture, a description of each type would take too much time and will likely require a separate lesson. Therefore, to describe them is not going to, and focus on the most frequently used type Standard.
The following types of materials under the button to be a roll:

It deserves the most attention the way a shader, you can choose from the drop down list, such as how to do shading Metal surface of an object more like a metal.
Depending on which mode is selected shading change the scroll below, here's what it will look for ways to shading Phong:

There are the following:
Ambient - determines the color of light, or as they say around the light.
Diffuse - defines a diffuse or scattered light coming from the material. By default, a change in one of these two colors is the change of the second, to avoid this, you should click on the button next to the names of colors:

Specular - determines the color of the light reflected from it you can set the color of the highlight.
Specular Level - specifies the "strength" of the flare, ie, on how much the surface reflects light.
Glossiness - will determine the "gloss" of the object, or the size of the flare, generally smoother than the material should be, the more and smaller patches on it.
Soften - determines the fuzziness of the material.
Self-Illumination - determines the level of self-illumination of the material, if the tick Color, then we can determine the color of light emitted.
Opacity - defines the transparency of the material, 100 (opaque) to 0 (fully transparent).
In the simplest embodiment, each of the parameters is controlled only by what is in one color, but this is often not enough. Sometimes you want to use the more complex the variation of the parameter, this close to so many parameters are such buttons, boxes:

After clicking on these boxes opens a window Material / Map Browser, where you can set a procedural map that will determine a law to display this parameter. For example what happens if you set the diffuse color map of the procedural Gradient:

After such an appointment on a square next to Diffuse gets an «M»:

When you click on that you can configure the procedural map (in this case the gradient).
Consider the same roll of Maps:

It describes all of the cards that can be used in this material. As you can see there are repeated many of the parameters described above. In fact it is just a duplication of those buttons, tiles, if not more options, such as Bump, Reflection, Refraction, etc., which in the Basic Parameters rollout, no. For these parameters can also be assigned its own procedural maps.
There are many kinds of procedural maps:

All of their paint no sense, many of them can be understood by the name, or simply applying to the material and change some settings. Some of these cards will be further discussed in the following lessons. Now let us consider the most important in my view a map that is used in one way or another if not all, in many materials.This is a Bitmap. It allows you to download and use as a card image file in any supported 3d max format (eg, png, jpg, gif, etc.).
If you apply a map to the diffuse color of a particular form of get this card, called a texture. That is, after applying the texture of the object as it painted a picture of the structure of this
For example, here the piano without the texture of the tree:

And with the texture of the tree:

As you can see, the texture can greatly change the perception of the object, which is why it is so important.
But here there is a small problem like a flat image of the object put on the volume? To come up with this so-called texture coordinates. Now try to explain the principle of their action.
As you probably remember all the objects in 3d max consist of triangles, each triangle has three vertices, each vertex has its own three-dimensional coordinates - X, Y, Z, and even texture coordinates - U, V (sometimes used more and W). Thus, any triangle can be with these two coordinates can be transferred from the three-dimensional coordinate system in two-dimensional coordinate system.
Each downloadable card is placed here in a coordinate system

In the same coordinate system placed the triangles of the object, since each vertex is also assigned to these coordinates:

As a result, each triangle has the ability to place inside a piece of the image defined by the texture coordinates of its vertices:

Most often, the texture coordinates of the vertices lie in the interval between 0 and 1, but sometimes they do more than one. In this case, the texture on these triangles starts to repeat itself, or as they say, "talitsya."
That's probably all I wanted to tell you about the materials. Perhaps it is understandable that is represented here only general information about the materials in more depth, we consider this topic in coming days. And now let's try to practice some of the knowledge, and create material for the wood table set up on the second lesson. Open the file with a table set up, if for some reason you do not have this file, you can download it at the end of the second lesson.
Pressing the "M", open the Material Editor.
Select one of the cells, leave the type of material Standard, Blinn shading method, and assign the values ​​as shown:

Now click on the button-box next to Diffuse and in the window Material / Map Browser select Bitmap. Next 3d max propose to choose a picture, we need an image texture of the tree, I will choose the standard texture 3d max BUBING_2.GIF, which is located in the folder C: \ Program Files \ Autodesk \ 3ds Max 2009 \ maps \ Wood (if you put 3d max folder by default).
In the window that appears, locate the Tiling and put out there so these values:

It will not stretch much texture (due to its double repetition of the coordinate V) on the table, making it not much more natural if you use a different texture, maybe you will have other values, you can of course do not change this setting and leave there is one.
Now click on Go to Parent:

to return to the parent material. Select all the objects that make up the table and click the Assign Material to Selection:

to apply the material to set up our table.
To see the changes in the viewport have to click on Show Map in Viewport:

It should be borne in mind that in the viewport, all materials presented in a simplified way to see how they will look at the scene really necessary to "render" by selecting the appropriate perspective to the table and press F9, then the scene will be "rendered" with default settings. The resulting image can be saved to your hard drive and use at their discretion. The default background color in render black, I usually put a white (for some reason I prefer, and use the image more easily.) The background color can be changed by pressing "8" key on your keyboard or by selecting the main menu Rendering → Environment. In the window that appears, change the setting Background.
The result is a "colored" table:

Some of you may be wondering - how to put texture 3d max, because we did not assign texture coordinates for the vertices of the table? The answer is quite simple.
The fact that the table consists of the standard primitives, and all the standard primitives texture coordinates are assigned by default, it is enough to tick Generate Mapping Coords (always installed by default) to create such an object:

Oh and lastly, create a material made of metal for the last lesson on the fork.
Similarly, open the file with a fork (it can also be downloaded at the end of the previous lesson). Open the Material Editor. Create a Standard material with the type of shading Metal. Prostavte values ​​as shown:

Note that the diffuse color of light gray, but with no large bluish, metallic sheen that will make more natural.
Next, go to the Maps rollout and click on next to Reflection (reflection) in the window that appears, select the card Reflect / Refract, the value next to the set 60 (which means that this option will operate at 60%),

Assign the resulting material of the plug, the plug is turned with a metallic luster:

Well, that's probably it. All objects with used materials and textures as usual can be downloaded from the end of the lesson.

how to do the plug in 3d max Lesson #5

Lesson # 5 - doing the plug in 3d max

Today we continue our study of the instrument Loft, a look at some features of this tool, as well as repeat and consider more fully what was discussed at the last lesson.Another look at tools such as Boolean and FDD 2x2x2. Well, we will study all this by creating a regular table fork.

First, create a foundation that's Fork in the form of a spline (left side):

The total length of the fork should be about 20

In the last tutorial we used to create the Loft-one section of the object, but in this tutorial we'll create an object using two sections. The first section of the handle for the plug looks like this (front view):

Once again always short the spline. The size of this cross-section of about 0.3 in height and 1.1 in width.Note that this object is symmetric and can create one first half, and reflecting it to get the other half. Then it is necessary to "glue" (this was discussed at the last tutorial, by creating a pen).

Now we have to create a second section for the teeth of the fork, copy the first section and remove the bend:

Now we need to highlight the first guide spline, and go to the tab Create, select the Geometry, the drop-down list, Compound Objects, click on the button Loft:

Then click on the button Get Shape:

And click on the first section, with the result I got this:

It did not quite what we expected to see. To fix this go to the tab Modify, then in the Loft-subobjects of the object and select the Shape:

With the Select and Rotate tool, select the section (in the previous figure in green) and rotate 90 degrees so that the object looked like a fork:

Now you need to add a second section, so go back to the list to edit all sub Loft-object:

And open the scroll Path Parameters:

Put a check mark next to «On» and smoothly changing the parameter Path, until you get to the yellow cross was approximately as shown:

Then again, click Get Shape and click on the first section. Then there's not much, move the yellow cross:

Click the Get Shape and click on the second section, you should get a result like this:

As you can see an object that the two sections with a smooth transition between them. If the addition of new sections you are having difficulties with their wrong location, correct this by editing the sub (as well as with the first section)

Now go to the scroll of Deformations

Here are five tools to deform objects using loft:

Scale - the scale, the most commonly applicable tool. Allows you to scale the object along different axes in its various parts.
Twist - twist
Teeter - pitching
Bevel - Bevel
Fit - fit

We will use the scale, click Scale, This window will appear:

This graph shows the scale of the object of all of its length. By changing the location of the X-axis points in the percentage from 0 to 100. Y-axis scale is deposited a specific point on the graph. By default, the scale of each object point 100% which corresponds to a straight horizontal line at 100%. Also, the chart shows the vertical dashed lines represent the location of the tench, they guide vertex spline.

At the top is a menu that allows you to change the schedule. Consider some of his tools.

Make Symmetrical - changes the scale of both the X and Y axis

Display X Axis - displays a graph of the change of scale on the X axis

Display Y Axis - displays a graph of the change of scale on the Y axis

Display XY Axis - displays a graph of the change of scale on both X and Y axes

Move Control Point - moves the control points on the graph

Insert Corner Point - adds a new control point on the graph

Delete Control Point - removes a breakpoint

Below is a menu that allows you to take a closer look of some piece of the graph. To examine the tools of the menu will not, I hope they are so clear.

Before continuing, go to the sub-object level and make sure that the guide Path is exactly in the center of the object, if it does not then please go to the level of Shape and move all the sections so that the guide was right in the center of the object. Otherwise, change the scale of the object will be not entirely correct.

Before that change is off the symmetric change of schedules in the X and Y, by clicking on Make Symmetrical.Now add a few vertices and change the schedule as follows:

During the creation of points change their style so that the schedule smoothly pass through these points:

As a result, our object was more like a plug:

Now we have to cut the teeth of the fork. That is what we now do. Click on the Create Geometry more drop-down list, select Extended Primitives and object ChamferBox

And create a box where a blank space must be:

Then copy the object of two times, and put up a position in the emerging window Instance, it will allow changing the original object to modify the same and a copy thereof:

Place received a copy so that the teeth came out the same:

Now select one of the boxes and click the Modify tab and in the drop-down list locate the modifier Modifier List FFD 2x2x2, it is located in Object-Space Modifier. This modifier adds a box that's the object of control vertices:

The list of modifiers next to the FDD 2x2x2 are still FDD 3x3x3 and FDD 4x4x4 in their impact on the object they are very similar and differ only in the number of control vertices, for our purposes is suitable modifier with the smallest number of vertices, namely FDD 2x2x2.

By moving these vertices can be suitably modified object. Now select the four vertices on one side of the box:

To select these vertices
-Choose our box (I chose the first created), stood out all the rest, because They have linked.
Right-find our menu with sub-objects, where you can select the Control Points, and only then select the top:

And with the tool Select and Uniform Scale is not much reduce this end of the box along the axis of X:

Similarly, we can not increase a lot the other end of the box

Please note that copies of the deformed box as well as the original box.

Now recheck the same whether the teeth are obtained, if necessary move the boxes are not a lot. After that, select the plug and go to the Create subtab Geometry drop-down list Compound Objects, click on the button Boolean:

Then click Pick Operand B

And click on one of the boxes. As a result, you should see a spike here

Repeat the same procedure with the other boxes as a result of the fork tines appeared:

As you can see the tool allows you to do Boolean Boolean subtraction of one object from another, as if by making a "hole" in the object.

Well, that's probably it.