Opacity controls whether a material is opaque, transparent, or translucent. (A more physically accurate way to generate translucency is to use the Translucent shader.)
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Material Editor > Standard Material > Basic Parameters Rollout (Standard Material) for the Anisotropic Shader, Blinn Shader, Metal Shader, Multi-Layer Shader, Oren-Nayar-Blinn Shader, or Phong Shader shader > Opacity group (unlabeled)
Controlling opacity using the Opacity setting (left) or an opacity map (right).
Procedures
To reduce a material's opacity:
- Change Opacity to a value less than 100%.
The material becomes more transparent. A fully transparent object (0% Opacity) is nearly invisible except for the light it reflects (the specular highlights).
To preview transparency in the sample slots, view the sample object against a background. Click the checkered Background button to the right of the sample slots.
Transparent materials render more realistically when you turn on 2-Sided in the material's Shader Basic Parameters.
Interface
- Opacity
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Sets the opacity/transparency of the material as a percentage. The effect is best previewed against a pattern background in the sample slot. You can control opacity falloff in the Extended Parameters.
Click the map button to assign an Opacity map. This button is a shortcut: You can also assign an Opacity map on the Maps rollout.