About Map Channels and Types

Map Channels

Map channels assign a texture to a material's color. The colors of the map replace the material's diffuse color when a map channel is selected. For transparency, the texture is a multiplier.

After selecting a map channel you can use any image map, or one of the procedural maps, such as wood and marble. For example, if you want a wall to be made out of brick, you can choose a texture map with an image of bricks. This is the most common kind of mapping. You can also use a procedural map, such as tiles or wood. The procedural maps have properties you can adjust for the effect you want; for example, the tiling size and mortar spacing for a brick patterned material or the spacing of the grain in a wood material.

The map you add to a material can be scaled. The pattern can be tiled or rotated.

Maps are also available for other purposes. You can use more than one map for the same material and can create nested maps.

After you apply the map, you can adjust it to fit on the face or object by using material mapping.

Note: When Texture Compression is turned on, the amount of video memory required to open a drawing that contains materials with images is decreased. By using texture compression, the amount of video memory necessary to display the drawing is reduced, but the time it takes to load the images the first time that they are accessed is increased. Also, there is a reduction in the quality of the images when they are displayed in the viewport or plotted. When you create a rendering, there is no loss in image quality.

Map Types

Each map type has its own specific set of map controls. Within each map channel, you can control settings, such as disable a map, delete a map, or synchronize a map. The Nested Map Navigation display is quick reference for the nested maps assigned to a material. To display the nested maps, click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the material. After you apply a map type, you can adjust it to fit on a face or object using material mapping.