Applies the selected bitmapped image as a texture map.
A bitmap is an image produced by a fixed matrix of colored pixels, like a mosaic. Bitmaps are useful for creating many kinds of materials, from wood grains and wall surfaces to skin and feathers. You can also use an animation or video file instead of a bitmap to create an animated material.
Bitmaps shown in Material Editor sample slots
When you assign the Bitmap map, the Select Bitmap Image File dialog opens automatically. Use this dialog to specify a file or sequence as the bitmap image. See Image File Formats for a list of the supported bitmap types and their controls.
You can create a Bitmap by dragging a supported bitmap file from Windows Explorer into the Slate Material Editor. 3ds Max creates a Bitmap node with the file loaded into it.
The Bitmap map can synchronize the frames of a bitmap sequence to the age of particles to which the map is applied. With this effect, each particle displays the complete sequence when it is born, starting at the first frame, rather than being assigned whichever frame is current. You accomplish this by doing the following:
For more details and a procedure, see Material Dynamic Operator.
To crop an image:
A frame window appears, displaying the image surrounded by a region outline (a dashed line at the outer edges of the image, with handles on the sides and corners).
To place an image:
A frame window appears, displaying the image surrounded by a region outline (a dashed line at the outer edges of the image, with handles on the sides and corners).
The reduced image becomes a "decal": The Diffuse color is visible around the image.
To use the alpha channel that is part of the bitmap:
(You can assign a copy or instance of this map to other components, such as Diffuse, as well.)
This option is not available if the bitmap does not have an alpha channel.
This option is not available if the bitmap does not have an alpha channel.
Now the bitmapped material will have the transparency specified by the alpha channel. This will appear in production renderings. Transparency does not appear in viewports or ActiveShade renderings.
To create an alpha channel based on intensity:
3ds Max creates an alpha channel. Full-intensity areas of the image are opaque, zero-intensity areas are transparent, and intermediate colors become partially transparent.
To use a completely opaque bitmap:
3ds Max ignores the bitmap's alpha channel, if one is present, and does not create a new one.
Clicking reload for any instance of the map updates the map in all sample slots and in the scene.
Filtering options let you select the method of pixel averaging used in antialiasing the bitmap.
Some parameters, such as opacity or specular level, are a single value as opposed to a material's three-value color components. Controls in this group determine the source of the Output mono channel in terms of the input bitmap.
The RGB Channel Output determines where the output RGB part comes from. The controls in this group affect only maps for material components that display color: Ambient, Diffuse, Specular, Filter Color, Reflection, and Refraction.
The controls in this group let you crop the bitmap or reduce its size for custom placement. Cropping a bitmap means to reduce it to a smaller rectangular area than it originally had. Cropping doesn't change the scale of the bitmap.
Placing a bitmap lets you scale the map and place it anywhere within its tile. Placing can change the bitmap's scale, but shows the entire bitmap. The four values that specify the placement and size of the cropping or placement region are all animatable.
Cropping and placement settings affect the bitmap only as it's used for this map and any instances of the map. They have no effect on the bitmap file itself.
To see the results of editing the region, turn on Apply (see preceding). This shows changes in the region as you make them.
The bitmap window has U/V and W/H (width/height) controls on its toolbar. Use these to adjust the location and size the image or crop area.
When Place is chosen, dragging the region area handles changes the scale of the bitmap (hold down Ctrl to preserve the bitmap's aspect ratio), and dragging the image changes its location within the tile area.
The UV/XY button at the right of the window toolbar lets you switch between using UV or XY coordinates in the toolbar spinners (Default=UV). .
When Place is turned on, the size and position specified by the spinners or editing window are ignored. 3ds Max then chooses a random size and tile position for the image.
Controls in this group determine the source of the Output alpha channel in terms of the input bitmap.
These controls let you change the start time and speed of animation (AVI or MOV) files used as animated texture maps. They make it easier to use sequences of images as maps in scenes, because you can control the timing very precisely
Specifies the frame where the playback of the animated map will begin.
Lets you speed up and slow down the rate that the animation is applied to the map (for example, 1.0 is normal speed, 2.0 is twice as fast, .333 is 1/3 as fast).
When on, 3ds Max synchronizes the frames of a bitmap sequence to the age of particles to which the map is applied. With this effect, each particle displays the sequence from the start when it is born, rather than being assigned whichever frame is current. Default=off.
When using Particle Flow, assign the material containing the Bitmap map to a Material Dynamic operator. For more details and a procedure, see Material Dynamic Operator.
Determines what happens after the last frame of the bitmap animation if the animation is shorter than the scene.