Corona for 3ds Max Physical Material Tutorial, Part 01 - Introduction

Summary

This video introduces a tutorial series on the new Physical Material in Corona Renderer 7. It explains the material’s more realistic, intuitive, and versatile properties compared to its predecessor. The series will cover the theory behind the material, demonstrate how to create common materials in 3ds Max, and explore useful features such as the new user interface, metalness workflow, built-in clear coat and sheen layers, and improved glass rendering. The tutorial aims to equip users with the tools to create physically accurate materials and enhance their rendering projects.

Takeaways

• 😀 The new physical material in Corona Renderer 7 is designed to be more realistic, intuitive, and easier to use than the previous version.
• 😀 One of the major improvements of the new material is its realistic light interaction, using an advanced 'A-nare diffuse PSDF' model.
• 😀 The new material is built from the ground up, offering better realism and making it easier to create physically plausible materials.
• 😀 The user interface (UI) of the new material is more efficient, allowing for better organization and faster workflow.
• 😀 The new physical material supports a metalness workflow, giving users more control over material appearance and realism.
• 😀 A built-in clear coat layer allows users to create effects like varnish, enhancing material realism for surfaces like car paint or glossy finishes.
• 😀 The new material includes a sheen layer, ideal for creating materials like fabrics that display a subtle shiny surface.
• 😀 Glass rendering has been further improved with the new physical material, allowing for more accurate reflections and refractions.
• 😀 The new material conforms better to industry standards, supporting roughness for controlling reflection blurriness and offering flexibility between IOR and specular workflows.
• 😀 The base layer in the new material combines diffuse and reflection properties, streamlining material creation by reducing the need to work with separate layers.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the new physical material in Corona Renderer 7?

The new physical material is designed to make material creation easier, more intuitive, and more realistic. It incorporates physical models to improve the realism of materials and streamline the material creation process for users.

How does the new physical material improve realism compared to its predecessor?

The new physical material uses a more advanced diffuse PSDF model, which changes how light interacts with materials, resulting in more realistic behavior. The material is also based on various physical models, contributing to its overall improved realism.

What are some of the new parameters in the physical material that users can adjust?

Some of the new parameters include the metalness workflow, which helps control the appearance of metallic surfaces, as well as improved settings for creating clear coat layers and sheen effects for materials like fabric and varnish.

What is the significance of the 'base layer' in the new physical material UI?

The base layer in the new physical material UI contains the most common properties, such as diffuse and reflection settings. This simplifies the workflow by consolidating key properties into a single group, rather than separating them as in the legacy material.

Why did the developers merge the diffuse and reflection layers into the base layer?

In reality, diffuse and reflection properties are not separate but are part of the same material behavior. Merging them into the base layer mimics real-world material properties and streamlines the user experience, making it easier to adjust key settings.

What feature was removed from the new physical material, and why?

The new physical material does not have a separate IOR parameter. Instead, the index of refraction (IOR) is now used to control both reflections and refractions, aligning with how materials behave in the real world.

What does the metalness workflow enable in the new physical material?

The metalness workflow allows users to distinguish between metallic and non-metallic surfaces. This feature provides a more accurate and efficient way to handle materials, particularly when working with metals or materials that have metal-like properties.

How does the new physical material handle glass rendering?

The new physical material includes improvements to glass rendering, making it more realistic. This enhancement allows for better handling of transparency, reflection, and refraction properties in glass materials.

What are the benefits of having a built-in clear coat and sheen effect in the new material?

The built-in clear coat allows users to easily simulate effects like varnish on materials, while the sheen effect is useful for materials like fabrics, giving them a more realistic appearance by simulating light reflections on the surface.

How does the new UI layout benefit users in creating materials?

The new UI layout is designed to be more efficient, with parameters grouped logically and easy access to key settings like the thin shell checkbox. The changes help users stay focused on creating physically plausible materials, improving workflow and reducing complexity.