| Illumination | Transparency/Reflection | Indirect Illumination | Render Tree Usage
Category: Illumination
Shader Type: Surface
Output: Color (RGB) value
Sets the material of a constant color which is unaffected by illumination. This shader also allows you to apply a transparency on the constant color, as well as reflections and incandescence.
It is important to note that by default, mental ray clips color samples after each ray, before filtering them into the final pixel value. The Clip alpha below RGB mode first clips RGB values to the 0 to 1 range, and then clips alpha values to the MaxRGB to 1 range. If you need to preserve RGB color and intensity as well as accurate transparencies, you can set the Color Channel Clipping option to No Clip in the Framebuffer > Color Control settings of the mental ray Render Options Property Editor [Properties Reference].
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Name |
The shader’s name. Enter any name you like, or leave the default. |
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Color |
Defines the RGB components used in the output value. Default is light gray. |
Transparency
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Enable |
Switches on transparency. When off, no transparency is possible on an object. |
Mix Color
The Mix color controls are a subset of the Transparency controls. They include the Color, Use Alpha, Invert, and Scale controls.
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Color |
Defines the material’s color transparency. Black = opaque; white = transparent |
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Use Alpha |
Uses the material’s alpha channel, instead of its RGB, channel to control transparency. This is especially useful when you are driving the transparency with an image that has a matte. |
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Invert |
Inverts the color or alpha value that is driving the transparency, depending on whether or not Use Alpha is enabled. |
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Scale |
Adjust this value to adjust the intensity of the transparency. If the Invert option is enabled, the scaling is applied to the inverted value. |
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Frost |
Determines the smoothness of the surface. 0 = glossy; the higher the value, the more diffuse, or “frosted,” the effect |
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Samples |
Specifies the number of times the light ray is sampled. Low sample rate = grainy; high = smooth surface |
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Index of Refraction |
Controls the bending of light through a transparent material. Defines the index of refraction, which varies according to the nature of the material. (The refractive index of glass is roughly 1.33.) Default = 1 (the refractive index of air), which allows light rays to pass through a transparent material without distortion. |
Reflection
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Enable |
Switches on reflection. When off, no reflection is possible on an object. |
Mix Color
The Mix color controls are a subset of the Reflection controls. They include the Color, Use Alpha, Invert, and Scale controls.
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Color |
Determines the blending factor between the illumination of the front and back of the object. The default value of 0 results in no blending. |
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Use Alpha |
Uses the material’s alpha channel, instead of its RGB, channel to control reflection. This is especially useful when you are driving the reflection with an image that has a matte. |
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Invert |
Inverts the color or alpha value that is driving the reflection, depending on whether or not Use Alpha is enabled. |
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Scale |
Adjust this value to adjust the intensity of the reflection. If the Invert option is enabled, the scaling is applied to the inverted value. |
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Gloss |
Determines the smoothness of the surface. 0 = glossy; the higher the value the more diffuse, or “frosted,” the effect. |
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Samples |
Specifies the number of times the light ray is sampled. Low sample rate = grainy; high = smooth surface |
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Reflection Mode |
Raytracing Enable lets rays reflect off the surface to produce realistic reflections. This option is slower to render than Environment Only, which performs a quick reflection of a scene’s environment shader. |
Global Illumination / Caustics / Final Gathering
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Radiance |
Controls the color and intensity (strength) of the Caustic/GI/FG effect over the object’s surface. Also, you can texture this parameter in order to reveal a Caustic/GI/FG effect on a given location on the object. |
Incandescence
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Enable |
Switches on incandescence. |
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Incandescence |
Defines the color of the incandescence. |
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Intensity |
Sets the pixel brightness of the incandescence. |
This surface shader can be used almost anywhere in a render tree. Although it is most commonly connected directly to a material node’s Surface input (as well as Shadow and Photon), you can use any number or combination of surface shaders to control various parts of your effect. Also, you can a texture to control color input to create a constant texture.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5