Materials and Mapping Tutorials >
Introduction to Materials and Mapping

In this tutorial, you will use a model of a Mediterranean villa to learn more about materials and how they can improve the realism of a scene.

A rendering of the villa after you have completed the tutorial

In this tutorial, you learn how to:

- Create simple materials and apply them to objects
- Create a multi-sub/object material for more complex objects
- Apply texture maps to model real-world surfaces such as wood, foliage, and stone
- Apply bump maps to improve the realism of texture maps
- Use the Propagate option when you work with instanced objects

Skill level: Beginner

Time to complete: 2 1/2 hours

Preparation for This Tutorial

- If you have not already downloaded the tutorial files (MAX scenes and other assets), download them now and unzip them into a project folder called \Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2012 tutorials. See Where to Find Tutorial Files.
- On the Quick Access toolbar, click (Project Folder) and set your current project to Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2012 Tutorials.

#### Topics in this section

- Creating Simple Materials
- Using a Multi/Sub-Object Material for the Doors and Windows
- Add Materials to the Deck: Texture Mapping and Bump Mapping
- Create a Material for the Bottom of the Swimming Pool: Using Box Projection
- Create a Material for the Terrain: Cropping a Texture
- Create a Material for the Vase: Using Cylindrical Projection
- Create a Material for the Trellis: Using MapScaler
- Add Materials to the Chairs: Propagating Materials to Instanced Objects