Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
4.3 Material Buttons
The material panel is used to change some of the physical properties of the object's ap-
pearance (Figure 4.2). If you plan on using just straight color and no texture, this is where
you set the object's color. This panel is also where you set other properties such as shading,
transparency, glossy or flat, reflective, halo effect, etc. A brief example of setting a material
will follow.
4.4 Material Colors
Each material can exhibit three colors:
• the basic diffuse overall color, which is seen when a surface reflects light,
• the specular color, which gives a surface highlights or a shiny appearance, and
• the mirror color, which is the color used to fake mirror reflections.
It is important to remember that the material color is only one element in the rendering
process. The rendered color of an object is a product of the material color and the emitting
light color. An object may have a yellow material color, but put it under a blue light or a red
light and you'll see something else altogether.
4.5 Adding a New Material
I will demonstrate the basics of adding a material by the following exam-
ple. Start a new Blender scene and add a monkey object. Monkey always
enters the scene lying on his back, so, with him selected, press the R key
+ X + 90 (to rotate him about the x -axis 90 degrees) (Figure 4.3). Hit
the number pad + key and zoom in a bit. Go to the tool shelf and under
“Shading” click on “Smooth.” Make sure the monkey is selected then go
to the properties window “Material” button (Figure 4.4).
Click on the “New” button to display the material properties buttons.
When the monkey is added to the scene, Blender assigns it the proper-
ties for the gray color even though the material properties are not dis-
played. After clicking “New,” you can modify the properties to achieve
the look you want.
Figure 4.3
Note: We selected the smooth option from
the tool shelf to better display the modifi-
cations to the material. Some of the effects
are very subtle, so a nice smooth surface is
best for this demonstration.
Properties window -
“Material” button
Click on the “New” button.
Figure 4.4
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search