Autodesk LIGHTSCAPE, Manual

Page: 120 / 362

Using Materials 7
112
Lightscape
•
Adjust the material’s transparency, shininess, and
refractive index to control specular reflections and
highlights.
• Select a texture map that provides a “picture” of the
material. If you do not use a texture map, select a col-
or.
• If required, adjust the Reflectance and Color Bleed
to control the amount and color of the diffuse light
reflected from a surface.
•
Use other features such as self-illumination and
procedural textures to create specific effects.
Using the Material Properties Dialog
You define or modify material properties in the
Material Properties dialog.
To display the Material Properties dialog:
In the Materials table, double-click a material or
right-click a material, then choose Edit Properties.
The Material Properties dialog appears. The selected
material appears in the material preview, which
updates as you edit the material’s properties. To
customize the material preview, right-click the
preview and adjust the size of the sample sphere, or
turn the background and reflection images on or off.
For more information, see “Customizing Material
Previews” on page 106.
Setting Physical Properties
Use the Physics panel to determine how a material
interacts with the light in your scene. The properties
that control how specular light is absorbed, trans-
mitted, or reflected are:
• Transparency
• Shininess
• Refractive Index.
Transparency determines the amount of light that
passes through a material. Transparency ranges
from 0 to 1, where 0 is completely opaque and 1 is
completely transparent.
Refractive index and shininess determine how shiny
a material is. For more information, see “About
Material Properties” on page 103.
To set a material’s physical properties:
1.
In the Material Properties dialog, click the Phys-
ics tab.
2.
In the Template list, select a template that most
closely resembles the material that you want to cre-
ate.
On each property slider, the valid range of values for
the selected template is highlighted in green.
3.
Adjust the material’s transparency, shininess,
and refractive index within the given range. For
more information on these properties, see “About
Material Properties” on page 103.
4.
Define the material’s color or texture. See “Using
a Texture Map” on page 114, and “Setting a Materi-
al’s Color” on page 118.
Valid range indicator