Seeking Help with Creating Custom Materials in Autodesk 3ds Max

[prestigegroves]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to 3ds Max and am having trouble creating custom materials for my models. Specifically, I'm trying to create a custom metal material for a robotic character I'm working on.

So far, I've tried using the pre-built materials that come with 3ds Max, but none of them quite fit what I'm looking for. I've also experimented with the Material Editor, but I'm not quite sure how to create the specific metallic finish I'm going for.

If anyone has experience creating custom materials in 3ds Max and can offer any advice or guidance, I'd really appreciate it. Here are some specific questions I have:

• Are there any tutorials or resources you would recommend for learning how to create custom materials in 3ds Max?
• What settings should I be adjusting in the Material Editor to achieve a realistic metallic finish?
• Are there any plugins or third-party tools that you would recommend for creating custom materials in 3ds Max?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time and expertise!

Best regards,

Prestige Park Grove

[Carlos_Carpintero]

Hello prestigegroves

I'll try and answer each point individually:

• Are there any tutorials or resources you would recommend for learning how to create custom materials in 3ds Max? Youtube is probably your best friend. The 3ds Max Learning channel has some good basic tutorials to show you how to get started. Then there are quite a few creators such as Simulation Lab that have great vidoes showing how to create materials as well. Understanding how light and materials interact is important, and you should spend some time to know what Physically Based Rendering is (PBR) since it's a foundation to creating realistic materials. You could also learn the differences between procedurally generated maps and hand painted maps.  The 3ds Max help documentation has a great explanation of how physical properties in materials work https://help.autodesk.com/view/3DSMAX/2024/ENU/?guid=GUID-C1328905-7783-4917-AB86-FC3CC19E8972
• What settings should I be adjusting in the Material Editor to achieve a realistic metallic finish? It all depends on what kind of metallic finish you need. Is it completely smooth, or is it brushed? If the preset Metallic finishes don't suit your need, you will need to play and experiment with those to learn how to achieve what it is you need. All those presets are using procedural maps, if you need a more precise look, you may need to hand paint the finish yourself. i.e. if it's a brushed metal, you'll have to paint the brushed pattern to suit your needs. There is no magical setting unfortunately when it comes to materials. For metals, the one setting you need to set is Metalness (found under Base Color and Reflections). Once you've set the Metalness, then the rest is up to the artist to decide on the final look.
• Are there any plugins or third-party tools that you would recommend for creating custom materials in 3ds Max? If you are technically capable, it's possible to create everything procedurally in 3ds Max using the OSL or Arnold maps that ship with the product. People will also use 3rd party software such as Substance Painter or Photoshop to generate textures. There are also websites where you can download premade materials for free although some are specific to certain renderers, for example, Vray is a popluar renderer and there are many materials available for download online.

Hope this helps, materials and shading is really a fun and interesting topic, but it is quite large, there is lots to learn. 

Good luck!

Carlos

[birlatrimiyaplan]

Hello everyone, I'm new to 3ds Max and am having trouble making custom materials for my models. I'm attempting to make a special metal material in particular for a robotic character I'm working on. I have so far tried using the 3ds Max pre-built materials, but none of them quite fit what I'm looking for. Even though I've played around with the Material Editor, I'm still not entirely sure how to achieve the precise metallic finish I'm after. I'd really appreciate any advice or direction from anyone who has used 3ds Max to create custom materials. What settings should I be adjusting in the Material Editor to achieve a realistic metallic finish? Are there any plugins or third-party tools that you would recommend for creating custom materials in 3ds Max? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Birla Trimaya, and thank you for your time and expertise.

[prestigeraintreeparkbangalore]

I would be grateful for any guidance or direction from anyone who has used 3ds Max to develop bespoke materials. What parameters should I change in the Material Editor to get a true metallic finish? Would you recommend any plugins or third-party tools for developing bespoke materials in 3ds Max.