adding a matte finish to a mapped image

[leigh]

You should make a specular map for it, and add that into the shader.

[soulburn3d]

If the vehicles is camoflaged with paint, then you wouldn't expect to see a shiny metal effect ontop of the paint, you'd expect to see the reflectivity of the paint (as Leigh mentionned). Can you post a photo of the effect you're trying to achieve?

- Neil

[Enigma]

Hi Neil,

What a coincidence, I was looking at some of your tutorials before posting on CG. Thanks
for responding. I'm attaching a photo showing the matte finish that i'm trying to create.
The vehicle will be camoflaged with a little less of a matte finish than is showing. I know
how to apply reflection and refraction maps to non-mapped surface....just can't figure out
how to get the effect when a map is already applied to a surface. I agree with you and Leigh
that is a good idea concerning paint reflectivity. Leigh, when you mention specular map in
the shader do you mean translucent shader?

[rosewalt151]

when you mention specular map in
the shader do you mean translucent shader?

specular map should be in specular color (maya) i hope it's the same in 3D Studio max too:rolleyes:..
correct me if i am wrong.

[soulburn3d]

Enigma, that is a pretty straight forward reflective surface.

What renderer do you plan on using?

If the scanline that ships with max, apply a raytrace material to the object, put your camo map in the diffuse, make a wide and not too tall specular highlight, add maybe a noise map or a custom bitmap in the specular level map channel so your highlight isn't perfect. Then in the reflect slot place a falloff map, set to fersnel, maybe the ior of the map to 2 or 3. Then in the Environment slot, place an environment image to reflect, like maybe an hdri image. Blur the image to simulate the effect of the material blurring the reflection.

If you actually want to blur the reflection, you'll probably need to use a different renderer, like mentalray, or you could buy a renderer like Brazil or vray which can all do glossy reflections (blurry reflections).

Hope that helps.

- Neil

[soulburn3d]

specular map should be in specular color (maya) i hope it's the same in 3D Studio max too:rolleyes:..correct me if i am wrong.

In max, you usually affect the specular level map (which is the strength of your highlight) and the Glossiness (which is how large your highlight is on the surface). There's Specular as well, but that's a color and is usually reserved for color instead of strength (although obviously if you make the color darker, internally you're actually affecting its strength.)

Maya's controls are very different and named differently, but will generally get you the same thing.

- Neil

[rosewalt151]

Ya... well its been long time since i used max :D.Thanks for refreshing my memory Neil.

[Enigma]

Hi Neil,

Sorry for the late response. Thanks for the info, I will give it a try. I will be using
the renderer that ships with Max.

Thanks again,

Enigma

[Dtox]

I know
how to apply reflection and refraction maps to non-mapped surface....just can't figure out
how to get the effect when a map is already applied to a surface.
Isn't it done exactly the same way?
Load an image into the color channel, then set the specular and/or reflection in their respective channels?
Since the camo image is to be the color, it's independent of the other channels so the process should be the same as if the surface wasn't mapped at all.
Unless you're putting the specular into the image itself.
In most cases that's not the way to go about it.

Unless I'm misunderstanding the point here?
Which is very possible since I'm on no sleep.

Just an FYI, but translucency is when light travels THROUGH a surface, not when it spreads across it.
Also, a "matte" finish is a dull surface not a reflective one.
If you're after a matte finish the specular should be very low.

There should be a primer as a sticky that explains what all the material channels do in relation to their names as to avoid confusion like we have here.
There seems to be alot of confusion about material terminology and the effects they produce.
I see people getting it mixed up in this section of the forum all the time, and sometimes I'll start 2nd guessing my own understanding of it all when trying to explain it or wrap my mind around what someone is asking.
Which often turns out to be that someone doesn't understand what the terminology is referring to.

I'll try to find one, but I don't want to write one.

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