Page 562 - Kitab3DsMax

Part IV: Materials, Cameras, and Lighting Basics

FIGURE 18.5
A rendered image of a surfboard with the Top/Bottom compound material applied

Applying Multiple Materials

Most complex models are divided into multiple parts, each distinguished by the material type that is
applied to it. For example, a car model would be separated into windows, tires, and the body, so that each
part can have a unique material applied to it.

Using material IDs
Sometimes you may want to apply multiple materials to a single part. Selecting subobject areas and using
material IDs can help you accomplish this task.
Many of the standard primitives have material IDs automatically assigned: Spheres get a single material ID,
boxes get six (one for each side), and cylinders get three (one for the cylinder and one for each end cap). In
addition to the standard primitives, you can assign material IDs to Editable Mesh objects. You also can
assign these material IDs to any object or subobject using the Material modifier. These material IDs corre-
spond to the various materials specified in the Multi/Sub-Object material.

Note
Don’t confuse these material IDs with the material effect IDs, which are selected using the Material Effect flyout but-
tons under the sample slots. Material IDs are used only with the Multi/Sub-Object material type, whereas the effect
IDs are used with the Render Effects and Video Post dialog boxes for adding effects such as glows to a material. n

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