A material determines the appearance of the surface of a simulated material. It is described by one or several layers: the uniform level zero layer and a superposition of upper level layers (textures or mapping). The upper level layers may interact with the characteristics of the zero level layer.
The uniform level zero layer is described by the following characteristics: the ambient color, the diffuse color, the shininess, the transparency, the reflection, and the refraction.
A 3D texture algorithmically describes the structure of a pattern in three dimensions. An object to which you apply a 3D texture is “sculpted” in this material. You can modify the parameters defining this structure (scale, perturbation, octave, orientation, etc.). You can also define the colormap of a 3D texture.
A 2D texture algorithmically describes the structure of a pattern in two dimensions. You can map a 2D texture and modify the parameters defining its structure (scale, perturbation, grain, etc.). You can also define the colormap of a 2D texture.
mapping is the projection of an image or of a 2D texture onto the surface of an object. There are different mapping types depending on how the image is projected and on the interaction between the projection and the object’s surface. You can modify other parameters (scale, repetition, orientation, etc.).
The style defines a different way (“artistic rendering”) of drawing an object. It is characterized by a contour line and a fill color.
The catalog of materials stores material files that will be used later (e.g., oak wood, gnarled wood, blue marble, tile floor, etc.).
The Scene Manager is a tool used to manage the materials used in a scene (see chapter User Manual/Tools/Control Panel/Scene Manager/Classification by material).