Representing Natural Materials

Most natural materials have a matte surface with little or no specular color. For natural materials use the following guidelines:

1.  Ambient color: The ambient color depends on whether the scene is indoors or outdoors.

2.  Diffuse color: Choose a color found in nature. It is best to use the observed color of the object itself, or a similar object.

3.  Specular color: Make the specular color the same hue as the diffuse, but with a highter va lue and a lower saturation.

4.  Shininess: Set the shininess to a low value.

Some foliage, bird feathers, fish scales, and so on, are shiny. For materials such as these, set th e shininess and shininess strength to higher values. You might also want to change the specular co lor so it's closer to the lighting color than the surface's diffuse color.

Water is reflective, and is best modeled by a color component in combination with a reflection map r a water map.

While metal is a natural material, its special visual characteristics are most apparent when it has been polished. Standard material represents this by using a special shading type.

Working with and for a client the directions are made clear

The term "material map" is sometimes used to describe a map assigned in the material editor. A material map applies a color or pattern to a surface. This is different from maps used for displacement mapping with the Displace modifier, environment mapping for backgrounds, or projection mapping from lights.

The term "texture map" is sometimes used as well. It is interchangeable with "diffuse map"; that is, with a map that applies colors to geometry, as opposed to a map that create reflections, bumps, and so on.

In the Material/Map Browser, maps are categorized according to how the map software functions.

The categories are:

2D maps

A bitmap is the prototypical 2D map. 2D maps apply pictures and patterns to the surface of objects.

3D maps

3D maps are generated procedurally. 3D maps apply patterns throughout an object's geometry.

Compositors

Compositors combine other maps.

Color Modifiers

Color modifiers are usually composited with another map to adjust its color. The Vertex Color map is a special case that displays the colors you assign to vertices in a mesh.

"Other" maps include maps that simulate reflection or refraction.

The names of individual map types describe the pattern or effect they create, such as Checker map, Bitmap, Gradient, Flat Reflection, and so on.

Note: In some cases the user interface also uses "map" to describe not the map type, but the visual component being mapped. For example, a "diffuse map" means a map of any type applied to a material's diffuse component. This is an ambiguity in the use of "map" that can be a bit confusing when you first encounter it.