5

Materials
in Depth

Figure 5-1  Whirlygig Box.

Y
ou’ve already been working with the Materials Manager and Material Editor
and have some idea of the process that visually describes surfaces in 3D. In
the broader 3D world, these surfaces are often referred to as textures, but
CINEMA 4D uses the term material. A single material represented by a thumbnail
in the Material Manager will usually be the culmination of several properties that
combine to create a unique look for a surface. Each property in the visual mix can
be edited on a separate parameter page.
The vast combinations of material properties possible in CINEMA 4D could
fill many volumes. In the process of producing the diverse materials in these
projects, you’ll gain an understanding of the different types of materials available
in CINEMA 4D and the general process of how they can be crafted. Exploring
all the infinite combinations will take a lifetime.

Figure 5-2  Whirlygig Box Materials in the

Material Manager.

101

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 102   CINEMA 4D: The Artist’s Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Figure 5-3  Cylinders.

Picture a cylindrical primitive. Then see it as a bubbly glass bead, a grungy

gray pipe, a decorative box, or a column of wood. The material is critical in
forming the visual identity of the 3D object and indispensable when photoreal-
ism is your goal.
By choosing File>New Material from the Material Manager, you can create
an integrated “stack” of properties. These properties work together to create the
look of the material, but reside in separate channels. As you work through this
chapter, you’ll learn how each type of channel affects a specific characteristic
of the material. Each channel used in a material can be defined by choosing
mathematically calculated textures called 2D shaders (sometimes called proce-
dural textures) or by importing photographic imagery or art (created digitally or
manually). This type of material lies on the object surface and must be mapped
onto the surface appropriately.
If you create your material by going to File>Shader in the Material Manager,
you’ll utilize complex and powerful engines to build 3D shaders. These thinking
shaders calculate the look of the material based on other factors in the scene. The

Figure 5-4  2D Shaders (Left Four) and

Image Maps (Right Four).

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 5  Materials in Depth   103

Figure 5-5  Volumetric 3D Shaders.

serious 3D artist will avoid the temptation to use these inherently beautiful shad-
ers with clip art ease, but rather will want to spend hours exploring the power of
these engines for unique looks. 3D shaders apply to the object volumetrically.

Editing Material Properties

Figure 5-6  Material
Thumbnails. Double-click on a thumbnail in the Material Manager to edit
properties in the Material Editor. In the Material Editor, select
the property you want to work with (the gray band denotes
selection) and edit the values and sliders on its page. When
a thumbnail is selected, you can also edit its properties in the
Figure 5-7  Material Editor, Color Property. Attributes Manager. Click the tab for the property you want
to edit at the top of the Attributes Manager.

Figure 5-8  Attributes Manager.

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 104   CINEMA 4D: The Artist’s Project Sourcebook, Second Edition

Image Maps vs. Shaders

Figure 5-11  (Left) Image Map; (Right)
What materials look like or where and to what degree they are active on a Procedural Shader, Close-up.
surface may be defined by images. These flat images are placed into a single
property (channel) of a material. For example, photographs, illus­trations, hand-
drawn textures, or movies placed into the color channel function as the actual
image of the surface. But an image placed in other channels, like Bump or
Reflection, uses differences in value (black>grays>white) to define where the
particular characteristic is fully active and where it isn’t. Image maps are highly
effective in capturing photographic detail; however, the resolution of pixels
­becomes critical when a camera moves close to the image.

Figure 5-9  Image Maps.

Figure 5-10  (Left) Image Map; (Right)

Procedural Shader.

Figure 5-12
Texture Totem.

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