Autodesk 12812-051462-9011 User Guide 3 - Page 141

Standard Color Components A surface of a "single" color usually reflects many colors. Standard materials typically use a four-color model to simulate this. (This can vary, depending on which shader on page 5397 you use.) ■ Ambient color on page 7906 is the color of the object in shadow. ■ Diffuse on page 7955 is the color of the object in direct, "good" lighting. ■ Specular on page 8133 is the color of shiny highlights. NOTE Some shaders generate the specular color procedurally, rather than letting you choose it. ■ Filter on page 7976 is the color transmitted by light shining through the object. The Filter color component isn't visible unless the material's Opacity is less than 100 percent. NOTE The Raytrace material on page 5490 uses a different, six-color model to simulate surfaces. Several components are similar to those in the Standard Material, but they behave differently in Raytrace. When we describe an object's color in conversation, usually we mean its diffuse color. The choice of an ambient color depends on the kind of lighting. For moderate indoor lighting, it can be a darker shade of the diffuse color, but for bright indoor lighting and for daylight, it should be the complement of the primary (key) light source. The specular color should be either the same color as the key light source, or a high-value, low-saturation version of the diffuse color. For more tips on choosing color components, see Choosing Colors for Realism on page 5270. WARNING When you change the shading type of a material, you lose the settings (including map assignments) for any parameters that the new shader does not support. If you want to experiment with different shaders for a material with the same general parameters, copy the material to a different sample slot on page 5304 before you change its shading type. That way, you can still use the original material if the new shader doesn't give you the effect you want. 5396 | Chapter 19 Material Editor, Materials, and Maps