We’re on the Move! Part 1

Earlier Days of 3D Programs and Materials

You see, in earlier days when 3D programs users produced renderings, they had little to work with in the way of Random maps. Sure, there were many plug-ins (called IPAS) that attempted to simulate various Random effects; but there never was a “catch-all” map that could perform well in almost any Map type within a material.

Splat Map in the 3D Materials

Imagine a bored painter. One day, the painter just dips the paintbrush into the can and shakes it violently around the room. The end result (besides a mess) is little paint splats all around the room. This is exactly what the Splat map does-except you are the painter.

Use the Real World As a Starting Point For 3D Materials

The real world is chock full of great ideas for fictional materials. How many times have you stared at a cloud’s shape and thought about what it resembled? Look around you.

In Practice – Designing Man-Made 3D Materials

Rough things up. Very few objects in the world are perfectly smooth and clean. Taking the time to rough up each object or its material will go a long way to adding realism to your scenes. Use the procedural maps such as Noise, Smoke, Cellular, and Dents to add subtle and not so-subtle surface perturbations for a more worn look.

Designing Fictional and Special Effects 3D Materials

Whether you have been working with your 3D application for a few weeks or since the early days of 3D programs, you have already created at least one fictional material-or at least tried to. Fictional and special effects materials are the most taxing to create for one simple reason-they stretch our creative thinking to the limits.