Introduction to Materials

Materials play a large part in what makes your models look real. Applying a material can be a simple as adding a colour (or diffuse in Max terms) to the model.

Materials are broken down into two basic areas:




ShadersThis is the base of any material think of it as primer on top of which you would apply a paint. It can be matt or shiny depending on the desired look of the overall material.


The 'Paint'
This is not the official name for the top layer of the material, in fat there isn't a name for it as such. This can be thought of as the paint which is applyed to the primer (Shader). The top layer an be anything from a simple colour to an image or even video.

To access the material editor, simply press 'M' you can then select a channel and edit the settings. To apply a material, simply drap it on to the desired object.