Chapter 10

Introduction to Materials: Red Rocket

A material defines an object’s look—its color, tactile texture, transparency, luminescence, glow, and so on. Mapping is the term used to describe how the materials are wrapped or projected onto the geometry (for example, adding wood grain to a wooden object). After you create your objects, 3ds Max assigns a simple color to them, as you’ve already seen.

You define a material in 3ds Max by setting values for its parameters or by applying textures or maps. These parameters define the way an object will look when rendered. Much of an object’s appearance when rendered also depends on the lighting. In this chapter and in Chapter 14, “Introduction to Lighting: Red Rocket,” you will discover that materials and lights work closely together.