Diffuse Color Map

You can use a bitmap file or procedural map to assign a pattern or texture to a material's diffuse color. The colors of the map replace the material's diffuse color component. This is the most common kind of map usage.

• Material Editor > Standard Material > Maps rollout > Diffuse button (or Color button for the Strauss shader)
• Material Editor > Raytrace Material > Maps rollout > Diffuse button
• Material Editor > Arch & Design Material > General Maps rollout > Main Maps group > Diffuse Color button
• Material Editor > Other materials that have a Diffuse Color component

Adding a diffuse color map to a Standard material

Using a map for the diffuse color is like painting an image on the surface of the object. For example, if you want a brick wall in your scene, you can use a bitmap with an image of bricks as the diffuse map in the material applied to the wall object.

Applying a texture with a diffuse color map

Note: By default, in a Standard material the diffuse map also applies to the ambient color. It isn't strictly necessary to lock the two, though; by turning the lock off and using a different map for each component, you can obtain interesting blend effects. But in general, the purpose of the diffuse map is to simulate a single surface that is more complex than a basic material, and for this purpose you can leave the lock on.

Procedures

To use a Diffuse color map:

1. Click the map button for Diffuse.

   3ds Max opens the Material/Map Browser.

2. Choose a map from the Maps group, and then click OK.

   (If you choose Bitmap as the map type, 3ds Max opens a file dialog that lets you choose the image file.)

3. Use the map controls to set up the map.

Alternatively, you can use the Slate Material Editor to wire a map node to the Diffuse Color component.