Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
4.14 The Application of Materials and Material Slots
To simplify the understanding of the application of materials in Blender, it may be easier to
think of materials as colors. The color of an object in a Blender scene is set by values entered
using a color picker, typing RGB values, or moving sliders. A Blender scene may have mul-
tiple materials, and these materials are stored in a cache for use by any of the objects that
are introduced to the scene or any object in any scene in the Blender file. A Blender file may
contain multiple scenes.
To demonstrate the application of materials in Blender, set the screen to include the 3D
view and the properties window with the “Material” tab active. When a new Blender scene
is opened, the 3D view displays a cube mesh object, which has a dull gray color. The proper-
ties window opens with the “Render” button active. Change the properties window to set
the “Material” button active (Figure 4.31).
With the “Material” button active, you can see that:
Beginners
should skip
this section.
• a preview pane shows a dull gray color on a sphere,
• there is a material named “Material” in the unique data block ID name, and
• there is one material slot active showing the material named “Material.”
3D view
Properties window
Unique data block ID name
“Material” button
Material slot
Browse material
Preview
Figure 4.31
