Whether you have been working with your 3D application for a few weeks or since the early days of 3D programs, you have already created at least one fictional material-or at least tried to.
Fantastic and special effects materials are the most taxing to create for one simple reason-they stretch our creative thinking to the limits.
Time after time, we need to come up with materials that are both creative and fresh.
Although this chapter will not solve your creative thinking problems, you may find that it will help you push the envelope of what you think is possible in your 3D application.
Within a 3D application, creating fantastic materials is not all that difficult.
Knowing the tools that you have available and how they operate can greatly help the creation process.
In this chapter, you will explore fictional and special effects material techniques through several key items: Grounding yourself in the real world Fictional planet building Fantastic skin Simulating real-world light Special effects using Noise Working with mirrors There's quite a bit to explore in both fictional and special effects materials.
Building a Fictional Material: Fictional materials can be anything that your mind dreams up-even if it is based on something that exists in the real world.
Whatever the case, we often find ourselves facing a task that may seem a bit daunting-building a material from scratch.
Fortunately, there are many techniques for building fantastic materials that can help you in almost every situation.
Let's first start out by taking a look at building two different fictional materials- one for an alien and one for the planet it lives on.