Create Realistic Images and Graphics >

Materials and Textures

The Materials tool palettes gives you quick access to preset

materials selections.

Combined with lights, materials add another level of realism to the

model.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials

Textures > Materials Dashboard and Tool Palettes >
Materials Dashboard

Topics in this section

Overview of Materials
You can add materials to objects in your drawings to provide a
realistic effect.
Materials Dashboard and Tool Palettes
The Materials dashboard and tool palettes can be used to access
material commands and material tools.
Create Materials
A material is defined by a number of properties. The available
options depend on the material type selected.
Apply Materials to Objects and Faces
You can apply a material to individual faces and objects or to objects
on a layer.
Modify Materials
The properties of a material can be modified after they are created
and after they are applied.
Advanced Lighting Override
Sets parameters to affect the rendering of a material when it is lit by
indirect illumination from global illumination and/or final gather.
Using Maps for Added Realism
Mapping is a way of increasing the complexity of a material.
Converting Materials
Depending on the version of AutoCAD or other product converting
materials need to be considered.

Create Realistic Images

Textures >
Overview of Materials

and

Graphics > Materials

and

You can add materials to objects in your drawings to provide a

realistic effect.

and

The Materials dashboard gives you quick access to basic materials

functions.
The Materials dashboard normally is displayed in its collapsed state
when you first open a drawing. If the dashboard is not displayed,
click Tools menu>>Palettes>>Dashboard.
Materials and Textures
Clicking and holding down the first icon on the Materials dashboard
displays a drop-down menu of icons with the following options:
The first icon indicates that both Materials and Textures are turned
off.
The second icon indicates that Materials are turned on, but Textures
are turned off.
The third icon indicates that both Materials and Textures are turned
on.
Mapping
Clicking and holding down the second icon on the Materials
dashboard displays a drop down menu of icons with several options
for mapping. These icons allow you to adjust the orientation of the
material map on the objects or faces.
The first icon indicates Planar mapping.
The second icon indicates Box mapping.
The third icon indicates Cylindrical mapping.
The fourth icon indicates Spherical mapping.
Attach a Material by Layer

A materials settings create its physical properties. The Materials

tool palette in the Tool palettes window provides a large number of
materials already created for you. You use these material tools to
apply materials to objects in a scene. You can also create and modify
materials using the Materials window. The Materials window offers
many settings to modify properties of the material.

Clicking the third icon displays the Material Attachment Options

dialog box, where you can associate materials with layers. This
window can also be accessed with the MATERIALATTACH
command.
Materials Window

The use of mapping adds complexity and texture realism to the

material. For example, you can replicate a paved road with asphalt
by using a noise map and apply it to an object representing the road
in the scene. Use the tile map to replicate a brick and mortar pattern.
Use the Advanced Lighting Override to add properties to the
material that affect the rendered scene when lit by indirect
illumination from global illumination and/or final gather.

Clicking the fourth icon displays the Materials window, where you
can create, modify, and apply materials in your drawing. This
window can also be accessed with the MATERIALS command.
If you require more control, you can expand the Materials dashboard
by clicking the paintbrush icon.
Copy Mapping Coordinates

After maps are applied to a material and modified to your

preference, a map can be adjusted on the object using various tools
that are available from the Materials dashboard panel.

Clicking the first icon in the second row applies the mapping from
the original object or face to the selected objects.
Reset Mapping Coordinates

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials

Textures >
Materials Dashboard and Tool Palettes

and

Clicking the second icon in the second row resets the UV

coordinates to the default coordinates for the map.

The Materials dashboard and tool palettes can be used to access

material commands and material tools.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials

Textures > Materials Dashboard and Tool Palettes >
Materials Tool Palettes

Topics in this section

Materials Dashboard
The Materials dashboard gives you quick access to basic materials
functions.
Materials Tool Palettes

The Materials tool palettes gives you quick access to preset

materials selections.
Materials Library

and

A library of over 400 materials and textures is included with the

product. The materials are available on tool palettes after they are
installed and all are displayed on the palette with a checkered
underlay.
A typical installation installs less than 100 materials on Material tool
palettes. An additional 300 or more materials are available by
optionally installing the Materials Library. The library can be
accessed through the Configuration button on Add/Remove features
in the installer. By default, all of the materials tool palettes are
installed in the Tool Palettes File Locations path specified on the
Files tab of the Options dialog box. (See Texture Maps Search Path
on the Files tab for the location of texture maps.)
NoteThe materials library components are always installed to the
default location. If you change the paths before you install the
materials library, the new materials are not displayed on the tool
palettes and the texture maps are not referenced by the materials.
Either copy the newly installed files to the location you want, or
change the path back to the default.
Tool Palettes Window
The individual material palettes in the Tool Palettes window contain
materials that you can apply to objects in the scene.
The Tool Palettes window can be hidden.
While it is hidden, only the vertical title bar is displayed. You can
turn the visibility of the Tool Palettes window on and off as an open
window or a vertical bar from the shortcut menu. Right-click on the
title bar and use the shortcut menu to select the Auto-hide. If Autohide is active, the hidden Tool Palettes window appears when you
move your mouse over this bar. If Auto-hide is not active, the Tool
Palettes window is always visible.
You can apply materials in the individual tool palettes in the Tool
Palettes window to objects. You can also drag materials from the
individual tool palettes to the Materials window swatch display. You
can make changes to materials can be made in the Materials window.

You can create a new material in the Material window. The Material
window can be activated by selecting Tools from the pulldown
menu, Palettes, and Materials. The Material window is displayed.
Select the Create New Material button below the Available Materials
in Drawing panel and a new material will be created. In the Material
Editor section of the Materials window you can select a type of
material and a template to create your new material. After you set
these properties you can modify your new materials even more by
using maps, such as texture map or procedural maps, Advanced
Lighting Override, Material Scaling & Tiling, and Material Offset &
Preview settings.
In the Material Editor panel, you can set the following properties:
Realistic and Realistic Metal types. Materials based on physical
qualities. You can select a material template from a list of predefined
materials such as, Ceramic Tile, Glazed, Fabric, or Glass, and so on.
Advanced and Advanced Metal types. Materials with more options,
including properties that you can use to create special effects; for
example, simulated reflections. Advanced and Advanced Metal types
do not offer material templates.
One material is always available in a new drawing, GLOBAL; by
default, it uses the Realistic template. This material is applied to all
objects by default until the material is changed on an object. You can
use this material as a base for creating a new material.
Depending on the type of material you use, one or more of the
following properties may be available for you to refine your
material.
Color
The color of a material on an object is different in different areas of
the object. For example, when you look at a red sphere, it does not
appear to be uniformly red. The sides away from the light appear to
be a darker red than the sides facing the light. The reflection
highlight appears the lightest red. In fact, if the red sphere is very
shiny, its highlight may appear to be white.
You can set three types of colors for a material that uses the
Advanced or two colors for the Advanced Metal material type.

Tool Palette Shortcut Menus

By positioning the mouse over an empty area of the tool palette and
right-clicking a menu is displayed. These are standard tool palette
commands.

Diffuse. The main color of the material.

Ambient. The color that appears on faces lighted by ambient light
alone. The ambient color may be the same as the diffuse color.
Specular. The color of a highlight on a shiny material. The specular
color may be the same as the diffuse color.

Custom Tool Palettes

The Realistic and Realistic Metal templates use only Diffuse color.
You can create a custom palette to show the materials in your
workspace. This can save you time if you work with materials on a
regular basis.
By clicking the Tool Palettes window title bar and clicking New
Palette, you can create and name a new palette. The palette is
customizable. You can add material tools by copying and pasting
from other material palettes. The controls for doing so are on the
Tool Palette window shortcut menu.

Shininess
The reflective quality of the material defines the degree of shininess
or roughness. To simulate a shiny surface, the material has a small
highlight, and its specular color is lighter, perhaps even white. A
rougher material has a larger highlight that is closer to the main
color of the material.
Other Properties

Editing Materials and Saving Them

By making a copy of a material tool and pasting to the new palette,
the material properties can be edited. By right-clicking on the new
material tool and selecting Properties the Tool Properties is
displayed. The properties can be edited and saved by selecting OK.
Create Realistic
Textures >
Create Materials

Images

and

Graphics > Materials

and

A material is defined by a number of properties. The available

options depend on the material type selected.

The following properties can be used to create specific effects:

Opacity. A completely opaque object does not allow the passage of
light through its surface. An object with no opacity is transparent.
(Not available for metal material types).
Reflection. The reflection slider controls how reflective the material
is. When set to 100, the material is fully reflective and the
surrounding environment is reflected in the surface of any object to
which the material is applied. (Not available for metal material
types.)
Refraction. In translucent materials, light rays are bent as they pass
through the material and thus distort objects that are seen through
the material. For example, at 1.0, the object behind the transparent
object is not distorted. At 1.5, the object is distorted greatly, as if it
were seen through a glass marble. (Not available for metal material
types.)

MaterialIndex of Refraction
Vacuum 1.0 (exactly)
Air
1.0003
Water 1.3333
Glass
1.5 to 1.7
Diamond2.419
Translucency. A translucent object transmits light, but also scatters
some light within the object; for example, frosted glass. The
translucency value is a percentage: at 0.0, the material is not
translucent; at 100.0, the material is as translucent as possible. (Not
available for metal material types.)
Self-illumination. The object appears to be emitting its own light.
For example, to simulate neon without using a light source, you
could set a self-illumination value greater than zero. No light is cast
on other objects.
Luminance. Luminance causes a material to simulate being lit by a
photometric light source. How much light is emitted is a selected
value in photometric units. No light is cast on other objects.
Two Sided Material. Two Sided Material sets the property of the
material as two sided. Set this property if you want both sides of the
fabric to be rendered in the scene.
See Also
Use Map Channels for Added Realism
Understand Map Types
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials
Textures >
Apply Materials to Objects and Faces

and

You can apply a material to individual faces and objects or to objects

on a layer.
To apply a material to an object or a face (a triangular or
quadrilateral portion of a surface object), you can drag the material
from a tool palette onto the object. The material is added to the
drawing, and it is also displayed as watch in the Materials window.
When you create or modify a material in the Materials window, you
can
Drag the material swatch directly onto objects in your drawing.
Drag the material swatch onto the active tool palette to create a
material tool.
Apply a material to objects by layer (MATERIALATTACH). The
material is applied to all objects on the layer whose Material
property is set to BYLAYER (the default).
Assign a material to an object by clicking the Apply Materials to
object button in the Materials palette.
Create Realistic
Textures >
Modify Materials

Images

and

Graphics > Materials

and

The properties of a material can be modified after they are created

and after they are applied.
After a material has been created and applied, it can be modified in
the Materials window or, if the material has been assigned to a tool
palette, in the Material tool palette.
Materials Window
The material swatches that are available in the drawing are displayed
at the top of the Material window. By selecting each material swatch
the properties for each material becomes active in the Material
window sections.
The sections of the Material window display different property
settings.

Available Materials in Drawing. Displays material swatch previews

and tool buttons.
Nested Map Navigation. Displays the active material and the
materials in the mapping tree.
Material Editor. Displays the Material types, templates, and
properties.
Maps. Displays the Map channels, map type selection, tool buttons,
and provides access to procedural map controls.
Advanced Lighting Override. (Available under the Realistic and
Realistic Metal material type.) Sets parameters that will affect the
rendering of the material when it is lit by photometric lights.
Material Scaling & Tiling. Specifies a map channel or synchronizes
a scaling and tiling factor to be shared across all maps levels. This
section is used for 2D (Texture map, Checker, Tiles) maps and map
channels (diffuse, bump, opacity, reflection).
Material Offset & Preview. Specifies the Offset & Preview
properties of maps on materials.
The Material window is displayed. On the left, the panels are closed.
On the right, some of the panels are expanded.
As the settings are modified the settings are saved with the material
swatch. The changes will appear in the Material swatch preview.
When rendering the drawing again the changes occur to any objects
with the material that was changed.
The name of the material and the material preview shape can be
changed by selecting the preview swatch with the right-click and
selecting Edit Name and Description. By holding down the first
button below the swatch preview window, a set of fly out buttons
display different geometry options for the material preview.
After the changes are made in the Material window the Material
Tool Palette will have to be updated if the material has been placed
on the palette.
Material Tool Palette
Materials on the tool palette can be modified. Select a tool palette.
Right-click on a material and select Properties. The Tool Properties
window is displayed. Map Property Settings can be changed. The
changes do not automatically update the image on the tool palette.
Right-click on the changed material tool on the tool palette and
select update tool image.
See Also
Materials Dashboard and Tool Palettes
Create Realistic Images and
Textures >
Advanced Lighting Override

Graphics > Materials

and

Sets parameters to affect the rendering of a material when it is lit by

indirect illumination from global illumination and/or final gather.
The advanced lighting override provides controls to change the
properties of the material to affect the rendered scene. This control is
only available for Realistic and Realistic Metal material types.
Global illumination is an indirect illumination technique that allows
for effects such as color bleeding. As light hits a colored object in
the model, photons bounce to adjacent objects and tint them with the
color of the original object. Indirect illumination enhances the
realism of a scene by simulating radiosity, or the interreflection of
light between objects in a scene. More information on indirect
illumination, global illumination and final gather can be found under
the Advanced Rendering topic.
You can set the following parameters:
Color bleed scale. Increases or decreases the saturation of reflected
color.
Indirect bump scale. Scales the effect of the base materials bump
mapping in areas lit by indirect light.

Reflectance scale. Increases or decreases the amount of energy the

material reflects. Reflectance is the percentage of diffuse light
energy that is reflected from a material.
Transmittance scale. Increases or decreases the amount of energy the
material transmits. Transmittance is the amount of light energy
transmitted through a material. A completely opaque material has
0% transmittance.
Materials with a bright diffuse color or high shininess can be highly
reflective. This can lead to overexposed or washed-out indirect
illumination. In some situations, the controls in the Advanced
Lighting Override can improve the appearance of the indirect
illumination. Here are some examples of situations where the
material's settings can help include color bleeding and large dark
areas.
You might want to reduce Reflectance Scale or Color Bleed Scale
when a large area of color (for example, a red carpet in a room with
white walls) creates excessive color bleeding. This might be
physically accurate, but the eye adjusts for such effects, and the
indirect illumination result might look better with less reflectance or
less color bleeding.
You might want to increase Reflectance Scale when the scene
includes a large dark area (for example, a black floor). This can lead
to a very dark result. You can maintain the floor's color but increase
reflectance, giving the material the colors you want while increasing
its brightness.
When the material is transparent (like clear glass), the energy
transmitted is specular, and light passes directly through the material
(subject to refraction). The value of specular transmittance depends
on the material's Transparency setting. Usually, when a material has
high transmittance, it has low reflectance, and the other way around.

Create Realistic Images and

Textures >
Using Maps for Added Realism

Graphics > Materials

and

Mapping is a way of increasing the complexity of a material.

Mapping uses various levels of map settings and properties. The
hierarchy for maps are as follows:
Material type drives the map channels offered, such as Diffuse,
Reflection (only available on Advanced material types), Opacity,
and Bump.
Map Channel selections override the diffuse color assignment in the
Material editor.
Map types, such as, Texture Map or procedural maps such as
Checker, Marble, and so on, are selected under a map channel.
Texture Map does not have property settings other than at the top
material level, but allows you to select an image to map to an object
or face. Procedural maps have property settings at the next level.
Sub-procedural maps provide the ability to nest another texture map
or procedural map within a procedural map. It is only available if a
procedural map is selected at the top level.
For more information, see any of the following topics:
Topics in this section
Use Map Channels for Added Realism
Map channels add the realism of texture to a material.
Understand Map Types
Map types increase the complexity of a material.
Modify Map Properties
Map properties can be modified to create complex patterns by
changing the map settings.
Adjust Mapping on Objects and Faces
After you attach a material with texture, you can adjust the
orientation of the texture map on objects or faces.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials

Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism >
Use Map Channels for Added Realism

and

Map channels add the realism of texture to a material.

Maps channels assign a pattern or texture to a material's color. The
colors of the map replace the material's diffuse color when a map
channel is selected.
After selecting a map channel you can use any Texture Map, or one
of the Procedural Maps, such as wood and marble. For example, if
you want a wall to be made out of brick, you can choose a texture
map with an image of bricks. This is the most common kind of
mapping. You can also used a procedural map, such as tiles or wood.
The procedural maps have properties you can adjust for the effect
you want; for example, the tiling size and mortar spacing for a brick
patterned material or the spacing of the grain in a wood material.
The map you add to a material can be scaled or it can be fit to the
object. The pattern can be tiled or rotated.
Maps are also available for other purposes. You can use more than
one map for the same material and can create nested maps.
After you apply the map, you can adjust it to fit on the face or object
by using material mapping.
NoteWhen Texture Compression is turned on, the amount of video
memory required to open a drawing that contains materials with
images is decreased. By using texture compression, the amount of
video memory necessary to display the drawing is reduced, but the
time it takes to load the images the first time that they are accessed
is increased. Also, there is a reduction in the quality of the images
when they are displayed in the viewport or plotted. When you create
a rendering, there is no loss in image quality.
Topics in this section
Diffuse Map
Diffuse map provides a pattern of colors for a material.
Reflection Map
Reflection map simulate a scene reflected on the surface of a shiny
object.
Opacity Map
Opacity maps create the illusion of opacity and transparency.
Bump Map
A bump map simulates a bumpy or irregular surface.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Use Map Channels
for Added Realism >
Diffuse Map
Diffuse map provides a pattern of colors for a material.
You can select an image file as a texture map or a procedural map to
assign a pattern or texture to a materials diffuse color. The colors of
the map replace, or partially replace, the materials diffuse color
component in the Material Editor. This is the most common kind of
mapping.
Mapping the diffuse color is like painting an image on the surface of
the object. For example, if you want a wall to be made out of brick,
you can choose an image file with a photograph of bricks, or you
can use the procedural tiles map to simulate a brick pattern.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Use Map Channels
for Added Realism >
Reflection Map

Reflection map simulate a scene reflected on the surface of a shiny

object.
Use a reflection map to simulate a scene reflected on the surface of a
shiny object. For reflection maps to render well, the material should
be shiny, and the reflection image itself should have a high
resolution (at least 512 by 480 pixels). (Reflection maps are not
available for Realistic and Realistic Metal material types.)
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Use Map Channels
for Added Realism >
Opacity Map

Marble. Applies a stone color and vein color pattern.

Noise. Creates random perturbation of a surface based on the
interaction of two colors.
Speckle. Generates a speckled surface pattern.
Tiles. Applies a brick or stacked tiling of colors or material
mappings.
Waves. Creates a watery or wavy effect.
Wood. Creates the color and grain pattern of wood.
Each map type has its own specific set of map controls. Within each
Map Channel you can control settings, such as disable a map, delete
a map, or synchronize a map. You can select the Map Synchronize
toggle button to disable/enable the settings and value changes of the
map channel to be pushed and synchronized to all map channels. By
the default this toggle is set to enable. It is enabled when the icon is
combined. It is disabled if is separated

Opacity maps create the illusion of opacity and transparency.

You can specify areas of opacity and transparency by using the
opacity map channel. For example, when using a Realistic material
type, if your image is a white circle in the middle of a black
rectangle and you apply it as an opacity map, the surface appears to
have a hole in it where the circle maps onto the object. When using a
Realistic or Advanced material type, a black circle in the middle of a
white rectangle would appear to have a hole in it where the circle
maps onto the object. If the image is in color, the gray-scale value of
each color is used.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Use Map Channels
for Added Realism >
Bump Map

A bump map simulates a bumpy or irregular surface.

You can select an image file or procedural maps to use for bump
mapping. Bump mapping makes an object appear to have a bumpy
or irregular surface. When you render an object with a bumpmapped material, lighter (whiter) areas of the map appear to be
raised and darker (blacker) areas appear to be low. If the image is in
color, the gray-scale value of each color is used. Bump mapping
increases rendering time significantly but adds to the realism.
Bump mapping uses the intensity of the map to affect the surface of
the material. In this case, the intensity affects the apparent
bumpiness of the surface: white areas protrude, and black areas
recede.
Use Bump maps when you want to take the smoothness off a
surface, or to create an embossed look. Keep in mind, however, that
the depth effect of a Bump map is limited. If you want extreme
depth in a surface, you should use modeling techniques instead.
The Bump map slider adjusts the degree of bumpiness. Higher
values render as higher relief and low values render as low relief.
The bumps are a simulation created by perturbing face normals
before the object is rendered. Because of this, bumps do not appear
on the silhouette of bump-mapped objects.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism >
Understand Map Types

The Nested Map Navigation display will give a you quick reference
to the nested maps assigned to a material. You can select the drop
down arrow next to the name of the material and the nested maps
assigned will be displayed.
After you apply a map type, you can adjust it to fit on a face or
object by using material mapping.
NoteWhen Texture Compression is turned on, the amount of video
memory required to open a drawing that contains materials with
images is decreased. By using texture compression, the amount of
video memory necessary to display the drawing is reduced, but the
time that it takes to load the images the first time that they are
accessed is increased. Also, there is a reduction in the quality of the
images when they are displayed in the viewport or plotted. When
you create a rendering, there is no loss in image quality.
Topics in this section
Texture Map
Texture maps can be defined by an image from various file types.
Procedural Maps
Procedural maps add further realism to a material.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types >
Texture Map
Texture maps can be defined by an image from various file types.
Texture maps can be defined by an image. Images are useful for
creating many kinds of materials, such as wood grains and wall
surfaces.
You can used the following file types to create Texture Maps:
BMP (.bmp,.rle,.dib)
GIF (.gif)
JFIF (.jpg,.jpeg)
PCX (.pcx)
PNG (.png)
TGA (.tga)
TIFF (.tif)
Click the Click for Texture Map settings button. The Texture Map
Property Settings specific to Texture map are displayed.

and
After making changes to the property settings, at the top of the
properties settings window next to the Nested Map Navigation name
display, click the Up One Level to Parent Map button to return to the
top level map. You will return to the Materials top level window.

Map types increase the complexity of a material.

An example of the Texture map.
Within each map channel (Diffuse, Reflection, Opacity, and Bump).
You can select texture or procedural maps. Using map types can
increase the complexity of a material.
Map types include the following:
Texture Map. Uses an image file as a map.
Checker. Applies a two-color checkerboard pattern.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and

Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types >
Procedural Maps

Procedural maps add further realism to a material.

Unlike bitmap images, which are produced by a fixed matrix of
colored pixels like a mosaic, a procedural map is generated by a
mathematical algorithm. Consequently, the types of controls you
might find for a procedural map will vary depending on the
capabilities of the procedure. A procedural map can be generated in
two dimensions, or in three. You can also nest additional texture or
procedural maps within a procedural map to add to depth and
complexity to the material.
Examples of procedural maps with variations. Top row: Marble,
Checker, Speckle and Waves. Bottom row: Tiles, Noise and Wood.
Topics in this section
Checker
Checker applies a two-color checkerboard pattern to the material.
Marble
Applies a stone color and vein color pattern.
Noise
Creates random perturbation of a surface based on the interaction of
two colors, texture maps or combination.
Speckle
Generates a speckled surface pattern.
Tiles
Applies a brick or stacked tiling of colors or material mappings.
Waves
Simulates water or wave effects.
Wood
Creates the color and grain pattern of wood.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Checker
Checker applies a two-color checkerboard pattern to the material.
The default checker map is a pattern of black and white squares. The
component checks can be either colors or maps. This map can be
previewed in the swatch preview.
Click the Click for Checker settings button. The map property
settings specific to Checker are displayed. The description of the
settings can be found in the Checker Property Settings under the
MATERIALS command.

Creates random perturbation of a surface based on the interaction of

two colors, texture maps or combination.
This procedural map is often used to attenuate the repetitiveness
aspect of bitmap and tiles. The noise procedural map uses two
colors, sub-procedural maps or a combination of both to create a
random pattern.
Click the Click for Noise settings button. The map property settings
specific to Noise are displayed. The description of the controls can
be found in the Noise Property Settings under the MATERIALS
command.
An example of the Noise map.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Speckle
Generates a speckled surface pattern.
The Speckle map is useful for diffuse mapping and bump mapping
to create granite-like and other patterned surfaces.
Click the Click for Speckle settings button. The map property
settings specific to Speckle are displayed. The description of the
controls can be found in the Speckle Property Settings under the
MATERIALS command.
An example of the Speckle map.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Tiles
Applies a brick or stacked tiling of colors or material mappings.
The Tiles map can be used to design custom brick patterns. The
Materials Tool Palette provides commonly defined architectural
brick patterns. These can be selected and modified in the Materials
window.

An example of the Checker map is shown:

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Marble
Applies a stone color and vein color pattern.
The Marble map can specify two colors to the material. The first is
the Stone color and the second is the Vein color. The vein spacing
and vein width can be modified.
Click the Click for Marble settings button. The map property
settings specific to Marble are displayed. The description of the
settings can be found in the Marble Property Settings under the
MATERIALS command.
An example of the Marble map.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Noise

Click the Click for Tiles settings button. The map property settings
specific to Tiles are displayed. The description of the controls can be
found in the Tiles Property Settings under the MATERIALS
command.
An example of the Tiles map:
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Waves
Simulates water or wave effects.
The Waves map generates a number of spherical wave centers and
randomly distributes them over a sphere. It is often used as the
Bump map to simulate the surface of a body of water. You can
control the number of wave sets, the amplitude, and the speed of the
waves. This map works effectively as both a diffuse and bump map
at the same time. It can also be useful in combination with an
opacity map.
Click the Click for Waves settings button. The map property settings
specific to Waves are displayed. The description of the controls can
be found in the Waves Property Settings under the MATERIALS
command.

An example of the Waves map.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials and
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism > Understand Map
Types > Procedural Maps >
Wood
Creates the color and grain pattern of wood.
The Wood map creates the realistic color and grain properties of
wood.
Click the Click for Wood settings button. The map property settings
specific to Wood are displayed. The description of the controls can
be found in the Wood Property Settings under the MATERIALS
command.
An example of the Wood map.

and Z coordinates. If you look at a 2D map image, U is the

equivalent of X, and represents the horizontal direction of the map.
V is the equivalent of Y, and represents the vertical direction of the
map. W is the equivalent of Z and represents a direction
perpendicular to the UV plane of the map.
Tiling is the effect of applying an image and repeating the image as a
pattern. This effect is used to represent a tiled floor or fountain.
In default mapping, tiling is active, but because the map is scaled to
fit the object, you do not see the effect of tiling unless you offset the
UV coordinates or rotate the map. In this case, the portions of the
surface from which the image has moved away are filled by other
portions of the map. Tiling wraps the object with the map image.
An example of tiling a map.
Mirroring is an effect related to tiling. It doubles the map and flips
the doubled copy. As with tiling, you can mirror in the U dimension,
the V dimension, or both.
An example of mirroring a map.

Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials

Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism >
Modify Map Properties

and

Map properties can be modified to create complex patterns by

changing the map settings.
After you add a map channel and a map type to a material, you can
refine a material by modifying pertinent map properties. You can use
the map controls to adjust the properties for the map. By clicking the
Click for map type settings button a set of controls are displayed.
The map property settings that are displayed depend upon the map
type that you select.
Material Scaling & Tiling
This functionality for scaling and tiling is available at the top
material level. For the procedural map level this functionality is only
available on the 2D sub-procedural map types (Texture Map,
Checker and Tiles). This control specifies the scaling and tiling for
maps on materials. The details for the controls can be found in the
Material Scaling & Tiling and the Material Scaling & Tiling for Subprocedural Maps topics of the MATERIALS command.
Each map has its own scaling and tiling factors. You can synchronize
the scaling and tiling between all maps by selecting the synchronize
icon. When enabled, the settings and value changes of the map
channel are pushed and synchronized to all map channels. The icon
will have an appearance of being connected. When disabled, the
setting and value changes of the map channel are only relevant to the
current map channel. The icon will have the appearance of being
separated.
The following are settings available to control the material scaling
and tiling of a material:
Tile, Mirror, None. There is the option to Tile or Mirror a material to
create a pattern. There is also the selection of None for no
modification to the map pattern.
Scale Units. Specifies the units to use in scaling. Select None to use
a fixed scale. Select Fit to Gizmo to fit the image to the face or
object. Select the type of units to scale in real-world units.
UV Settings. As these settings are changed the preview of the change
and settings appears in the Material Offset & Preview panel. The UV
settings control the coordinates of the material on a swatch.
Synchronize Settings. You can synchronize the scaling and tiling
between all maps by selecting the synchronize button.

NoteUVW is the materials coordinate space. Used instead of XYZ

because that is usually reserved for the world coordinate system
(WCS). Most material maps are a 2D plane assigned to a 3D surface.
The U, V, and W coordinates parallel the relative directions of X, Y,

Material Offset & Preview

This functionality is available at all map levels. This specifies the
material offset and preview settings for the maps. The details for the
controls can be found in the Material Offset & Preview and the
Material Scaling & Tiling for Sub-procedural Maps topics of the
MATERIALS command.
Each map has its own material offset and preview factors. You can
synchronize the offset and preview between all maps by selecting
the synchronize button. When enabled, the settings and value
changes of the map channel are pushed and synchronized to all map
channels. The icon will have an appearance of being connected.
When disabled, the setting and value changes of the map channel are
only relevant or to the current map channel. The icon will have an
appearance of being separated.
The following are settings available to control the material offset and
preview of a material:
UV Settings. As these settings are changed the preview of the change
and settings appears in the preview. The UV settings control the
coordinates of the material on a swatch.
Rotation. Rotates the image around the W axis of the UVW
coordinate system. Use the command MATERIALMAP to display
the mapping gizmo that can rotate box, planar, spherical and
cylindrical maps.
Synchronize Settings. Each map has its own mapping and preview
factors. You can synchronize the scaling and tiling between all maps
by selecting the synchronize button. When enabled the settings and
value changes of the map channel are pushed and synchronized to all
map channels. When disabled the setting and value changes of the
map channel are only relevant to the current map channel.
An example of rotating a map.
Create Realistic Images and Graphics > Materials
Textures > Using Maps for Added Realism >
Adjust Mapping on Objects and Faces

and

After you attach a material with texture, you can adjust the
orientation of the texture map on objects or faces.
When materials are mapped, you can adjust the material to fit the
shape of the object. Applying the appropriate type of material
mapping to an object improves the fit.
Planar mapping. Maps the image onto the object as if you were
projecting it from a slide projector onto a 2D surface. The image is
not distorted, but the image is scaled to fit the object. This mapping
is most commonly used for faces.

Box mapping. Maps an image onto a boxlike solid. The image is

repeated on each side of the object.
Spherical mapping. Warps the image both horizontally and
vertically. The top edge of the map is compressed to a point at the
north pole of the sphere, as is the bottom edge at the south pole.
Cylindrical mapping. Maps an image onto a cylindrical object; the
horizontal edges are wrapped together but not the top and bottom
edges. The height of the image is scaled along the cylinders axis.
Mapping Gizmo
If you need to make further adjustments, you can use the mapping
gizmo that is displayed on the object to move or rotate the map on
the object.
The mapping gizmos are viewport icons that let you quickly choose
one or two axes when transforming a selection with the mouse. You
choose an axis by placing the mouse over any axis of the icon, then
drag the mouse to transform the selection along that axis. In
addition, when moving or scaling an object, you can use other areas
of the gizmo to perform transforms along any two axes
simultaneously. Using a gizmo lets you switch quickly and easily
between different transform axes and planes.
Create Realistic Images
Textures >
Converting Materials

and

Graphics > Materials

and

Depending on the version of AutoCAD or other product converting

materials need to be considered.
New materials with procedural settings created in AutoCAD 2008
will not be convertible to previous versions of AutoCAD, except for
the materials with procedural maps Marble and Wood. Marble and
Wood existed in AutoCAD 2007 and will convert properly.
Procedural maps that existed in AutoCAD 2007 (Marble and Wood)
are convertible from AutoCAD 2008 to AutoCAD 2007. When
opening a drawing with the new procedural maps offered in
AutoCAD 2008 with AutoCAD 2007, the objects will appear with
the AutoCAD 2008 material applied, but with default AutoCAD
2007 property settings in the Material window. If no changes are
made to the material in AutoCAD 2007, then the material
information will round trip back into AutoCAD 2008 with the
original AutoCAD 2008 material properties settings.
Converting materials from drawings prior to AutoCAD 2007
There is a conversion process required for drawings prior to
AutoCAD 2007. A system variable can be used to automatically
convert drawings with materials from previous versions to the
AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2008 materials format. The system
variable is 3DCONVERSIONMODE. There are three settings. If the
variable is set to 0, no conversion will take place. If it is set to a
value of 1, the default value, the conversion will take place
automatically. If the value is set to 2, then the user will be prompted
when materials need to be converted and will have the option to
convert or not to convert.
If the system variable 3DCONVERSIONMODE is set to 0, no
automatic conversion will take place. The command
CONVERTOLDMATERIALS can be used to convert the old
materials manually.