Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Textures for Visualization
With your scene properly modeled, textures are the next order of business. Just as with other parts of a 3D
workflow, texture work has the potential of creating truly inspiring art or ruining the hard work done in other
areas of the design process. In this chapter, you will narrow texture work down to look at materials that are
appropriate for visualization. This chapter covers the following:
• Setting up a test environment and lighting
• Creating customized materials from presets
• Creating organic UV maps
• Building materials from scratch
Setting Up a Test Environment
To properly see textures the way they will appear in final renders (with a fully custom light rig), you need
to set up a proxy. Using a preset environment and some simple Global Illumination settings will allow the
objects, material colors, reflections, and transparency to be seen in their best light without spending a lot of
time setting up a detailed light rig and environment. Best of all, with the adjustment of a few settings, this can
be customized to help you decide what the final scene will look like. For the most part, you will stay in the
Render interface tab for the majority of your texturing and lighting work.
Before editing anything in a scene, lighting will appear harsh and flat. Without fill lighting, all detail in
shadow areas will be lost. Additionally, the hard-edged shadows of a standard Directional Light are not suit-
able for simulating indoor lighting (see
Figure 6-1
). The existence of Ambient Intensity also washes out the
scene to detract from the realism.
Figure 6-1:
Scene with standard lighting
