I can use the interface of rendering engines (mental ray and cycles) but my materials are still poor. How do I know what to put as my shader values ( how glossy, how much transparrency, etc)
I am looking at the book
Blender cycles cookbook
Will this book help me for other applications?
How do I know what to put as my shader values ( how glossy, how much transparrency, etc)
How would we know if we don’t see anything?
Provide examples of your work, ask specific question, provide detailed information(software, renderer, lighting setup etc).
Your question is rather vague. If you want to learn about the concepts of materials, don´t try to learn them for a specific render-engine.
One book i would highly recommend to everyone starting out is “Digital Lighting and Rendering” by Jeremy Birn. It teaches skills and concepts that can be applied in any 3D rendering package. (The 3rd edition is coming out in a few days)
Another great book is “Digital Texturing and Painting” by Owen Demers. It is an older book, but the principles it teaches are still viable. It´s almost more of an art book than a CG book. It shows you how to really see and understand materials in the real world and then teaches you how to apply the new acquired knowledge to digital art.
Both books are well-worth the investment and i recommend them greatly.
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