Top 5 Max Concepts
Wallpaper 101: The Difference Between a Material and a Map
When using the Material/Map Browser, you are either creating a
new material or map or getting an existing material or map. But
in order to understand the Browser, and the Material Editor in general,
you must know the difference between a map and a material.
Material
Think of a material as if it were blank wallpaper with no patterns
or anything else on itjust plain white paper. For the most
part, this basic form of paper will do for your needs. Occasionally
though, you need a very specific type of papermaybe a very
shiny paper, or a paper that shows other paper beneath it.
MAX provides you with ten different types of special papers
to start from. The most common is a Standard type, great for everyday
use. Blank paper can have any color or pattern applied to it to
make it look like anything you want. All you need to do is decide
what kind of color, patterns, and qualities you want, and MAX will
apply those settings to your wallpaper as if it were a huge, virtual
printing press!
Maps
If materials are the underlying paper, then maps are
the patterns applied to the paper. Here, the choices are much greater
than just the number of papers. You can have photographs, patterns,
colors, and even bumpy textures applied to your paper.
In the Material Editor, you create a material and, optionally,
apply a map to it. You can start with a simply material and apply
a complex map; start with a complicated material and go without
a map at all; or make both material and map as involved as you like
in developing your wallpaper. When you are done creating
your paper, you stick it onto any object you want.
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