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30 BodyPaint 3D R13 Standalone Quickstart
4. Quick Tutorial – Materials
A well-modeled object can make a mediocre impression if the right textures aren’t used. Textures give a model
color, highlights, structure and other important surface properties. A texture placed into the bump channel,
for example, gives the object’s surface an uneven, bumpy look without actually altering the geometric
structure. This effect can be used to imitate skin wrinkles, scars or the surface of an orange. The displacement
channel works in a similar fashion, only that it actually does change an object’s geometric structure. Using
the luminance channel you can give an object’s surface a self-illuminating property or integrate a Subsurface
Scattering effect (SSS) which lends the surface a slight translucent / reflective look, like human skin or candle
wax, for example. In short: Textures have the same significance as the outer shape of an object because they
are necessary for achieving the desired atmosphere, coloring and surface structure.
We will begin with a brief introduction to the individual material channels:
Color: This is where the material’s color or the base color for the texture is set.
Diffusion: This channel makes your texture “irregular“. Through the application of a noise shader or a texture
your object receives a dirty or dusty look. If desired it can also influence the specular, reflection and luminance
channels respectively.
• Luminance: The material is given an illuminative property which is also taken into account in the radiosity
Global Illumination calculation.
• Transparency: This is where you determine the material’s opacity.
• Reection: Gives the material a reective characteristics.
• Environment: A material is used to simulate an environment reection.
• Fog: This channel lets you apply a fog or cloud property to a material.
• Bump: Uses an optical trick to translate light and dark elements of a texture or a shader to simulate the
height and depth of an uneven surface. Scars, wrinkles or scratches can be simulated using this channel.
• Normal: This channel is meant for use with “normal textures”. Normals give a low-res polygon object a
hires look when RGB textures containing the required properties are applied. This lets a hi-res polygon
object be replaced by a low-res object, thus saving a lot of render time and offering the same visual result.
• Alpha: A texture’s transparency is determined by a material’s light and dark areas. Black equals a
transparency of 100% and white makes it opaque.
• Specular: This determines a material’s specular properties.
• Specular Color: This determines the color of the material’s specularity and can be inuenced bya texture.
• Glow: Gives the object a self-emitting glow.
• Displacement: Deforms an object using light and dark values (calculates differences in height).
Do not confuse this with the relief channel which only imitates an uneven surface.