Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Creating Textures in 3D
To create believable 3D textures, you will start by looking at the basic settings available for a simple materi-
al. To set a new material, press the M key. This applies a new material to any selected polygons (in Polygon
mode) or objects (if in Object mode). If nothing is selected, the material will be applied to everything in the
current mesh layer. A field appears in the resulting pop-up window, enabling you to name the new material
or to choose a material that already exists in the scene (by using the arrow to the right of the Name field).
From this window, you can also set a basic color and other attributes. We will discuss Diffuse, Specular, and
Smoothing settings shortly. The final check box sets the current texture as the default. When this texture is
set, that material will be attached to any new object that is created.
After a material is set, you can adjust a wide variety of parameters from the material's Properties tab in
the lower-right corner of the screen. However, editing materials is best handled in the Render tab. From this
tab, you will have control of all texture attributes, access to material presets, a view of the scene, and a high-
quality preview of the final render (see
Figure 3-4
)
.
Figure 3-4:
Render tab
