Creating materials for your objects is usually the next step after modeling them. Creating materials can give you a sense of accomplishment because it is essentially the last step in making the object look as you envisioned aside from lighting and rendering, of course.

There are several ways to create materials, from simple colors to complex mappings on distinct parameters. Finding the right combination of maps, shader types, and material types can make a world of difference in the look of your scenes. It's important to remember that like everything else in CG, applying materials takes time, and gaining wisdom with your materials and maps will come with practice.

In this chapter, you learned the basics of materials, what kinds of materials are in 3ds Max, and how to create and edit them in the Material Editor. Then, you learned how choosing the right type of shader will make your surface look right, and how to apply your knowledge to mapping a pool ball, reflections and all. Next, you learned a few more tricks with the Material Editor and found out about the different kinds of maps available in 3ds Max. With that knowledge, you mapped the entire rocket you modeled in Chapter 5, and readied it for its next step, lighting in Chapter 10.

If You'd like some additional practice, go back and adjust all the materials on the rocket with different types of materials, colors, and settings to see how they affect the render of the rocket. So...