How the heck did I create my own templates? It's a fairly simple process, but it can be rather confusing due to the various path locations of the required files.

Before I explain how, let's get the standard disclaimers out of the way first:
YOU PERFORM THESE EDITS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR FILES BEFORE MODIFYING ANY OF THE FILES I'M ABOUT TO DISCUSS.

Hopefully you know how to load & edit .mat files with the material editor in 3dsmax. If you don't, spend some time reviewing the help file for instructions on the process before starting this "tutorial".

- How to create your own custom A&D presets -

There are really two types of A&D presets. Presets that run from a script, and ones that are pulled from the mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat file. I'm going to discuss the method for using the mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat file because it's fairly easy to setup your pre-made A&D materials as templates with this method.

You'll be editing two files.
1. mrArchMaterial.ini
2. mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat

Off the bat, this sounds simple and for the most part it is. But where the confusion comes into play is with the location of these files. The mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat is simple because it's located in the "expected" folder. What I mean by that is it's located in the 3dsmax root folder. Ex: "C:3dsmax9/materiallibraries"

The confusion sets in when dealing with the mrArchMaterial.ini file. You'll find a mrArchMaterial.ini file in the following path: "C:3dsmax9/plugcfg"

However, this is NOT the file that we want to work with. The mrArchMaterial.ini file that we need to use is located in the much dreaded "Documents and Settings" path. I found mine in this path:
"C:|Documents and Settings|NAME|Local Settings|Application Data|Autodesk|3dsmax9 - 32bit|enu|plugcfg"

Ok, now that you know which files to use and where the files are, here's the simple part of the process...creating a new A&D template.

1. Start 3dsmax9 and make sure you have mental ray set as the renderer.
2. Open the material editor and load the mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat file.
3. In the material editor, create a new A&D material. Name this material "My_Material" without the quotes. You don't have to use this specific name on your files, I'm just using it for this tutorial.
4. Add a noise map to the diffuse color swatch and copy it to the bump map of the material.
5. Save this material to the mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat file by using the "put to library" button on the material editor. It will ask you to confirm the name, just hit ok.
6. Open your mrArchMaterial.ini file and add your material by adding the following text:

"[. My_Material]
Desc=My first template with noise map.
Script=MeditUtilities.Set_mrArchTemplate_ActiveMaterial_FromMaterialInMatlib mrArchTemplate_ActiveMaterial "My_Material" -- LOC_NOTES: do not localize this"

Where do you add this text? Well you'll want to add them anywhere under the "[{Finishes}]" tag. You can create your own custom headers or place them under any of the existing headers such as "[{Finishes}]" or "[{Transparent Materials}]".

That's it. So in a nutshell you take your custom A&D materials, save them to the mrArch_DesignTemplates.mat file and then modify the mrArchMaterial.ini to add the names & description of each custom material.

I'll supply my edited files for those people like myself that liek to have a visual reference for things like this.

My files:
http://jeffpatton.net/blog-images/My_templates.zip

EDIT: CRAP, I just noticed that I misspelled porcelAin...oh well.

Thought it would be better if I just made one .mat file and added to it as time allows. As such, I've uploaded the .mat file to my server and added a few organic materials to it.

(Max9 files)

Electron microscope material (click to enlarge)


Blood cell / Candy / Jelly? (click to enlarge)


Max9 / mental ray materials:
http://jeffpatton.net/Blog-images/J...r-materials.zip

The .zip file contains a .mat file which you load with the material editor in 3dsmax. You can place the .mat file in your "materiallibraries" sub folder in the 3dsmax directory with the other .mat files.

Thought I'd post a few results of my recent material explorations. In these examples, I used the A&D material as a base "metallic paint" material. Then wrapped it in a clear, reflective (fresnel) shader to simulate the clear-coat.

The good thing about these materials is that they work well with image based lighting (.hdr). In the following examples, the only light source is a single skylight with .hdr environment (and FG enabled of course).

(click to enlarge)


(click to enlarge)


Here's an animation test of the red paint sample shown above. It lost a bit of color depth during the compression stage:
http://jeffpatton.net/Blog-images/Paint-Red_HDR.mov (right click, save as)

And a silver paint studio lighting test: (click to enlarge)

(a bit too metallic for sure, but kinda neat looking)

From my previous blog entry, I've prepared a .mat file with a few glazed ceramic materials...and a porcelain material especially for JCAddy. Here's what the material looks like on a more traditional object...

(click to enlarge)


Here's a link to the .mat file (Max9 only):
http://jeffpatton.net/materials/JP_Max9_MR_ceramics.zip

Finally, something completely different and not related to CG at all! I've recently been bitten by the photography bug. Took the family to the zoo today and snapped a few photos, here's a few of the "keepers".

Some type of bird... (click to enlarge)


Resting lion (click to enlarge)


Tiger (click to enlarge)

I call this a fluff post because there's not much usefulness to it. Been a bit busy on project lately. So, here are a few A&D material tests.

Green glazed ceramic (click to enlarge)


Orange glazed ceramic (click to enlarge)


Porcelain? (click to enlarge)


Iridescent glazed ceramic (click to enlarge)


If anyone is interested in the material setup, let me know and I'll come back to this post and upload some settings....but then I suppose I'll have to remove the "fluff" title.

Have a great weekend.