You can define the following properties for materials on the Appearances tab in the Material Editor panel of the Material Browser dialog. In general, use a generic material when other types of rendering shaders do not provide the desired properties or controls.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Color of the render appearance for the material. This color affects the diffuse reflection as well as the transmittance of light in the material. See Specifying a Render Appearance Color. |
| Image |
Controls the base diffuse color map of the material. The diffuse color is the color that an object reflects when illuminated by direct daylight or artificial light. |
| Image Fade |
Controls the composite between the base color and the diffuse image. The image fade property is only editable if an image is used. |
| Glossiness | Measurement of the glossy quality of the surface (or its roughness), which affects both reflectivity and transparency. Enter a value between 0 (dull) and 1.0 (a perfect mirror). By changing the glossiness, you can change the size and intensity of highlights. Reduce glossiness to create matte surfaces or frosted glass. |
| Reflectivity | |
| Direct | Measurement of how much light the material reflects when the surface is directly facing the camera. Enter a value between 0 (no reflections) and 1 (maximum reflections). |
| Oblique | Measurement of how much light the material reflects when the surface is at an angle to the camera. Enter a value between 0 (no reflections) and 1 (maximum reflections). |
| Transparency | |
| Transparency | Measurement of how much light passes through the material. Enter a value between 0 (completely opaque) and 1 (completely transparent). When Transparency is 0, Translucency and Index of Refraction are not available. See Transparency and Translucency. |
| Translucency | Measurement of how much of the Transparency light is scattered by the material, so that objects behind the material cannot be seen clearly. Enter a value between 0 (not translucent) and 1 (completely translucent, such as frosted glass). See Transparency and Translucency. |
| Index of Refraction | Measurement of how much a ray of light bends when it passes through the material. Select a predefined index, or select Custom to specify an index number between 0 (no refraction) and 5 (most refraction). |
| Cut-outs/Perforations | |
| Cutouts | Shapes cut into the surface of the material. Select a shape, or select Custom to define cut-outs using a black-and-white image, leaving holes where the black areas occur. See Specifying a Render Appearance Color. |
| Self-Illumination | |
| Luminance (cd/m^2) | Brightness of the light emitted by the material, measured in candelas per square meter. Select a predefined value, or select Custom to enter a value. |
| Color Temperature (Kelvin) | Color temperature (warmth or coolness) of the light emitted by the material, described in terms of degrees Kelvin (K). This is useful for describing color values that are close to white. Select a predefined value, or select Custom to enter a value. |
| Filter Color | Color transmitted through a transparent or semi-transparent material, such as glass. See Specifying a Render Appearance Color. |
| Bump | |
| Bump Pattern | Bump pattern to use on the finished surface. A bump pattern defines raised and lowered areas based on dark and light areas of an image file. Select a predefined image, or, to define a custom bump pattern, select Custom. See Specifying a Render Appearance Color. |
| Amount | Relative height or depth of the specified bump pattern. Enter 0 to make the surface flat. Enter higher decimal values (up to 1.0) to increase the depth of the surface irregularities. |