Inquiry: 3-D Studio Max 2012 - Rendering - Materials

[Harb]

Hello,

I would appreciate some advice on making realistic materials for objects in 3-D Studio Max 2012 Edition.

I would like to make materials such as platinum, marble, granite, etcetera. A simple tutorial for creating a 1" thick granite slab, for instance, would be very helpful.

What is the best way to do this so that my final 3-D rendering looks as realistic as possible? Which parameters are key?

Thanks!
Harb

[Cad64]

So you want to create procedural materials instead of using image based textures?

Take a look at this tutorial for making platinum: http://www.creativecrash.com/tutoria...ass-and-bronze

For marble and granite I just use tileable photo images.

[Harb]

Thank you, Cad64, for your help.

The polished metals look beautiful! This is exactly the type of information that I was looking for.

Which method, procedural or image based, renders the most realistic 3-D textures? Which method is fastest, in any? Does one method produce better animations than the other?

Finally, how do I create marble and granite using tileable photo images?

Thanks!
Harb

[Cad64]

Pros and Cons of Procedurals vs. Bitmaps. Copied from a reply on another forum:

Procedurals:
Advantages:
- Unlimited Resolution
- Easy To Create Pattern Fast
- Easy to change some features like overall size of pattern
- takes up less memory than large bitmaps

Disadvantages:
- Difficult to get a complex look without layering lots of procedurals together, or programming your own.
- Sometimes slower to compute than a bitmap due to extra calculations
- Generally more difficult to anti-alias than a bitmap, which means potentially longer render times or sparkling
- Very difficult to place specific details exactly where you want them


Bitmaps:
Advantages:
- You can get a pattern to look exactly how you want
- sometimes faster to calculate, since the final color is read from a bitmap rather than calculating a complex algorithm
- easier to anti-alias than a procedural

Disadvantages:
- Creating a bitmap takes time. If a painted bitmap, it takes time to paint it. If a Photomanipulation, takes time to clean up artifacts.
- Resolution is not unlimited, you have to pick a res and then stick with it. Getting closer than the bitmap allows to your object requires repainting, or rephotographing the reference.
- large bitmaps take up more memory than many procedurals

There are lots of tutorials online that can teach you how to create and use tileable textures: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....0.Yl7GeQsPQU4