Texture mapping

To apply a texture to an object, you map the texture to an attribute on the object's material. The attribute to which the
texture is connected determines how the texture is used and how it affects the final results.

Maya has a number of textures that you can map onto objects. For more information on these textures, see 2D and 3D
textures.

For example, if you connect Maya’s 2D black and white Checker texture to the color attribute of an object’s material, you
have applied a color map; the checkered pattern determines which parts of the object appear black and which appear
white (or other colors if you adjust the texture’s color attributes).

If you connect the black and white Checker texture to the transparency attribute, you have applied a transparency map;
the checkered pattern determines which parts of the object are opaque and which are transparent.

Commonly used texture maps

To map a texture, see Map a 2D or 3D texture.

Color maps
By mapping a texture to the Color attribute of an object’s material, you create a color map which describes the color of
the object.

To learn more about how you can work with color, see Common surface material attributes.

Transparency maps
By mapping a texture to the Transparency attribute of an object’s material, you create a transparency map which lets
you make parts of an object opaque, semi-transparent, or entirely transparent.

Specular maps
By mapping a texture to the Specular attribute of an object’s material, you create a specular map which lets you
describe how shine appears on objects (by controlling highlight).

Reflection maps
By mapping a texture to the Reflected Color attribute of an object’s material, you create a reflection map which lets you
describe how an object reflects its surroundings.

Bump maps
By mapping a texture to the Bump attribute of an object’s material, you create a bump map which lets you add the
illusion of surface bump detail to a surface.

Displacement maps
Displacement maps let you add true dimension to a surface at render time, a process which may reduce or eliminate
the need for you to create complex models.
Common surface material Specular Shading attributes
Some surfaces are shinier than others (for example a wet fish has a shinier surface than a dry leaf). Depending on how
shiny a surface is, it reflects light in different ways.

Shiny objects reflect light directly; matte objects diffuse light. Specular highlights show the places on the object where
the light sources are reflected at consistent angles; reflections on an object show, among other things, light bounced
from surrounding objects.

Specular highlights depend directly on the view (camera), not the position of the light, like diffuse shading does.

The size of a specular highlight on a surface makes the surface look either flat or shiny.

Note: Only materials with specular attributes (Anisotropic, Blinn, Phong, and PhongE) have surface highlights. The specu-
lar highlight is the white shiny glow on the material.

Tip:
The Blinn material is recommended for shiny surfaces in animations. Highlights on other specular materials, like Phong
and PhongE, may flicker when animated.

For material-specific specular shading attributes, see the particular material. For example, for information on the specu-
lar shading attributes of the Anisotropic material, see Anisotropic.

Specular Color
The color of shiny highlights on the surface. A black Specular Color produces no surface highlights. The default color
value is 0.5.

Tip: For glossy plastic surfaces, use a whitish Specular Color. For metallic surfaces, use a Specular Color similar to the
surface color.
Reflectivity
Gives the surface the ability to reflect its surroundings or the Reflected Color (similar to Specular Roll Off). The valid range
is 0 to infinity. The slider range is 0 (no reflections) to 1 (clear reflections). The default value is 0.5.

Reflectivity values for common surface materials are car paint (0.4), glass (0.7), mirror (1), chrome (1).

Note:
For the Anisotropic material, you must turn off Anisotropic Reflectivity to change this value.
Real reflections are only calculated during raytracing.
If you are doing raytracing and you want other objects in the scene to be seen in reflections, then for those objects you
must ensure the Visible In Reflections attribute is turned on in the Render Stats section of the Attribute Editor. (It is on by
default.)
Reflected Color
Represents the color of light reflected from the material. When raytracing, Maya multiplies the color with the light color
reflected mirror-like from the surface. This can be used to tint a reflection.

If you are not raytracing, you can map an image, texture, or environment map to the Reflected Color attribute to create
fake reflections, which is faster and uses less memory than raytracing. This is called reflection mapping. For more
information on reflections, see True reflections.
Specular map
In Autodesk Maya, a specular map is a grayscale texture that controls the intensity of specular highlights on a 3D
model's surface. Specular highlights are the bright spots of light that appear when a surface reflects light directly
back at the viewer, and they help convey the shininess or glossiness of a material.

Prepare Your Specular Map:

Create a grayscale texture in an image-editing program (like Photoshop or GIMP).

Lighter areas represent stronger specular reflections (shinier areas).
Darker areas represent weaker specular reflections (duller areas).

Maya materials

Maya materials
Though 3D surfaces in Maya respond to light similarly to those in the real world, there are important differences in the
way that surfaces and lights interact in computer graphics software. Material nodes, when applied to an object, let
you define how the object’s surface appears when rendered.

Surface shading.

In Maya, material nodes define how surfaces react to light. Maya contains several types of material nodes that help
you simulate the real-world qualities or behaviors of surfaces to light: Surface material nodes, Volumetric material
nodes, and the Displacement material node.

You can set a material’s attributes, such as color, specularity, reflectivity, transparency, and surface detail of scene
elements to create a wide variety of realistic images.

Note:
When you first create an object, Maya assigns a Standard Surface material by default.

Surface material
Surface materials represent the types of surfaces onto which you can map textures. Attributes such as shininess,
matte, reflectivity, glossiness, and so on, vary among the different types of materials in Maya. For example, if the
texture requires a shiny surface, such as chrome, use a Phong material.

Displacement material
The displacement material lets you use an image to specify surface relief on objects in your scene. To find out more
about surface relief, see About surface relief.

Volumetric material (atmosphere)

In the real world, when you photograph an object, it is usually within an atmosphere (air) and is surrounded by other
objects (background).

Volumetric materials describe the physical appearance of phenomena which occupy a volume of space (for
example, fog, smoke, dust or other fine particles). You can raytrace volumetric materials and produce effects such
as displaying light fog through mirror reflections and refractions.

To use volumetric materials, see Simulate fog, smoke, or dust.

Shortcuts / Hotkeys in Maya
Shortcuts / Hotkeys in Maya
Type
The material’s basic type (such as Blinn or Phong).

When you change a material’s type, only those attributes common to both types retain their previous values or
settings. For example, if you change the material type from Blinn (which has a Color attribute and a Specular Color
attribute) to Lambert (which has a Color attribute but no Specular Color attribute), the Color setting is preserved, but
the Specular Color setting is lost.

Color
The default material color.

You can work with color in Maya in so many different ways. Here are some of the most common:

Change the basic color of an object by adjusting the color attribute of a material applied to the object. See Set a
color for the object for a visual demonstration.
Apply a texture as a color map to the material’s color attribute. See Map a texture to any of the material attributes for
a visual demonstration, and Map a 2D or 3D texture to a material for more information.
Use a Ramp Shader for extra control over the way color changes with light and view angle. You can simulate a variety
of exotic materials and tweak traditional shading in subtle ways.
Expand, enhance, or manipulate colors in applied textures using utilities such as Blend Colors, Clamp, Gamma
Correct, and so forth. For example, you can blend colors, adjust contrast, and convert HSV to RGB. For a description of
each of the utilities and what you can use them for, see Utility nodes.

Transparency
A material’s color and level of transparency. For example, if the Transparency Value is 0 (black), the surface is totally
opaque; if the Transparency value is 1 (white), the surface is totally transparent.

To make an object semi-transparent, set the Transparency color to a shade of grey or to the same color as the
material Color. The default value is 0 (black). If you change Transparency from the default black (0), the background
of the material’s Hypershade swatch becomes a checkered pattern. This is a visual aid and is not rendered.

You can work with the transparency of an object in the following ways:

Change the transparency level of an object adjusting the transparency attribute of a material applied to the object.
Apply a texture as a transparency map to the material’s transparency attribute to designate which areas of an
object are opaque, transparent or semi-transparent.
Note: If the material has specular highlights the transparency setting do not affect the highlights. So if you are trying
to make an object disappear by animating the transparency attribute, you may also have to animate the specular
highlight attributes.
Ambient Color
Set to black by default, which means it does not affect the material’s Color. As the Ambient Color becomes lighter, it
affects the material’s Color by lightening it and blending the two colors. If there are ambient lights in the scene, the
color and brightness of those lights is used to control how much the ambient color contributes to the final color of
the material.

Incandescence
The color and brightness of light that a material appears to be emitting. (Incandescent objects do not illuminate
other objects.) For example, to simulate lava, use a bright red Incandescence. The default color value is 0 (black).

Tip:
Although incandescence makes a surface appear to glow, it does not actually act as a source of light in the scene.
Use a little Incandescence for vegetation to make it look organic.
Bump Mapping
Makes the surface appear rough or bumpy by altering surface normals (during rendering) according to the intensity
of the pixels in the bump map texture. A bump map does not actually alter the surface. A silhouette of the surface
appears smooth.
Diffuse
Gives the material the ability to reflect light in all directions. The Diffuse value acts like a scaling factor applied to the
Color setting—the higher the Diffuse value, the closer the actual surface color is to the Color setting. The valid range is
0 to infinity. The slider range is 0 (no light is reflected in all directions) to 1, but you can type in a higher value. The
default color value is 0.8.

Translucence Focus

Translucence
Gives the material the ability to transmit and diffuse light. Light falling on a translucent surface is first absorbed
beneath the surface, and then diffused in all directions. If set to 0, the default, no light shows through the object. If set
to 1, all the light shows through. The default value is 0.

Tip:
Use Translucence to simulate clouds, fur, hair, marble, jade, wax, paper, leaves, flower petals, or frosted light bulbs.

Note:
The Translucence value of a surface lit by a non-shadow-casting light is zero or infinite (all non-zero values).
If the scene combines a translucent surface with a shadow casting spotlight, faint grid-like artifacts may become
visible. If this happens, increase the spotlight Filter Size or lower the Resolution.
For high values of Translucence, lower Diffuse accordingly to avoid washout.
A surface’s actual translucence is based on the illumination it receives from lights, and is not related to its transpar-
ency. However, as an object becomes more transparent, its translucent (and diffuse) illumination gets dimmer.
Ambient lights have no effect on translucent (or diffuse) illumination.

Translucence Depth
Simulates the way light diffusely penetrates through translucent objects. For example, when light shines on one side
of the object, the other side is partially illuminated. This can be used for effects such as clouds, fur, hair, marble, jade,
wax, paper, leaves, and so on. (To see this effect, turn on raytraced shadows for the light shining on the object.)

Translucence depth is based on worldspace. If it is set to 0 (the default), no light shows through the object. If set to 10,
light penetrates through the surface, 10 units past the point where the object is in shadow.

Tip:
To see the effects of translucence depth, set the transparency to a non-zero value. If the surface is supposed to be
opaque, set the transparency to a very small value, such as 0.0001.
what option controls the glossiness of specular reflections in maya
In Maya, the option that controls the glossiness of specular reflections is called "Roughness" (or "Specular Roughness"
depending on the shader) - a lower value creates sharper reflections, while a higher value results in softer, more
diffuse reflections; essentially, the lower the roughness,
the glossier the specular highlights will be.
Key points about "Roughness":

Lower value = sharper reflection:

When set to a low value (close to 0), the specular reflection will appear very sharp and mirror-like.

Higher value = softer reflection:

Increasing the roughness value will create a more blurred and diffuse specular reflection.

Used with most shaders:

This option is commonly found in most shaders within Maya, including the Arnold Standard Surface shader.
Process of merging two layers together into new layer in photoshop
To merge two layers into a new layer in Photoshop, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E on Windows or
Command+E on Mac:
Click on one layer
Hold Shift
Click on another layer
Press Ctrl+E on Windows or Command+E on Mac

Diffuse map in maya

In Autodesk Maya, a diffuse map is a texture that defines the base color and surface details of a 3D model. It
determines how light interacts with the surface to produce visible colors and patterns. The diffuse map is a
crucial component of most materials, as it gives the object its unique appearance.

How to Use a Diffuse Map in Maya

Prepare Your Diffuse Map:

Create a diffuse texture in an image editor (e.g., Photoshop, Substance Painter).

Save it in a compatible format such as PNG, JPEG, or TIFF.
Assign a Material:

Select your 3D object in Maya.

Open the Hypershade (Windows > Rendering Editors > Hypershade).
Apply a material (e.g., Lambert, Blinn, or Arnold Standard Surface) to your model.

Sharpen photos in Photoshop

When you sharpen an image, you’re increasing the contrast along any edges where there’s a change in
brightness and texture. If you’re working in Photoshop, its High Pass Filter basically finds these edges and
highlights them. Follow these easy steps for using the High Pass Filter, and see the difference yourself:

Create a Smart Object. Open your image and convert it to a “smart object.” This will enable you to apply the
filter.

Select the High Pass Filter. Choose Filter > Other > High Pass.

Don’t be alarmed. You’ll see your image filled in with a gray color, with some darkened edges. The filter works
by identifying those darker edges and sharpening them.

Set your radius. Since you’ll want your edits to be subtle, keep the effect’s radius small. A value between 1 and
7 should be good; experiment and see what looks best for you.

Choose your blend option. Double-click the Blending Options icon, and experiment with different blend
modes. The two most popular options are Overlay, which creates a high-contrast effect, and Soft Light, which
produces a more subtle contrast.

Adjust opacity. Finally, you can alter the filter’s intensity with the Opacity Slider. The lower the opacity, the less
harsh the sharpening, and vice versa.
The size of a specular highlight
The size of a specular highlight is primarily used to indicate the perceived surface roughness of an object in
computer graphics and photography, where a smaller highlight signifies a smoother surface and a larger
highlight indicates a rougher surface; essentially, the size of the highlight directly affects how shiny an object
appears to the viewer.

Key points about specular highlight size:

Roughness correlation:
A larger specular highlight means more light is scattered across the surface due to surface irregularities,
making it appear rougher.

Light source size impact:

A smaller light source creates a smaller, more concentrated specular highlight, while a larger light source
produces a larger, more diffused highlight.

Applications:
Material appearance:
Artists in 3D modeling and rendering use specular highlight size to accurately represent different materials
like polished metal (small highlight), rough leather (large highlight), or glass (medium-sized highlight).

Lighting design:
Photographers can manipulate the size of specular highlights by adjusting the light source size and angle to
enhance the perceived texture of objects in a scene.

Image analysis:
In computer vision, analyzing the size and distribution of specular highlights can help identify surface proper-
ties of objects in an image.

Commonly used texture maps in Maya:

Bump maps
Create the illusion of bumps, dents, or roughness on a surface by modifying the surface's apparent depth.
Bump maps use black-and-white values to encode height information.

Specular maps
Make a 3D model look more realistic by specifying where reflections should and should not appear.

Displacement maps
Add dimension to a surface at render time, which may reduce or eliminate the need to create complex
models.

Normal maps
Create the impression of sub-polygon lighting detail without having to model it. Normal maps use RGB values
to signify the orientation.

Transparency maps
Make parts of an object opaque, semi-transparent, or entirely transparent.
Texture mapping

In Maya, texture mapping is the process of applying a texture to an object by connecting it to an attribute on
the object's material. The attribute to which the texture is connected determines how the texture is used and
how it affects the final results.

To map a texture to a material in Maya, you can:

Select the material in the Hypershade

In the Material Attribute Editor or Property Editor, click beside the attribute to connect the texture to

Select File from the Create Render Node window

In the File node Attribute Editor, map to the image file by clicking the browse icon beside the Image Name
attribute

Define reflectivity in maya

In Maya, reflectivity is the degree to which a surface reflects its surroundings. To create a reflective object in
Maya, you can:

Create a material and assign it to the object

Adjust the material's attributes

Adjust the Specular Shading > Reflectivity attribute

You can also use a texture as a reflection map to simulate reflections. To do this, you can:

Apply the map to the object's material's Reflected color attribute

Specify how the reflected environment looks on the object

Reflection in Maya:
Reflected color: Determines what is reflected, unless raytracing is used

Reflection Filter: A render element that stores reflection information calculated from the materials' reflection
values

IOR (Index of Refraction): Defines the material's Fresnel reflectivity

Metalness: Easier to texture than IOR, and works best when using textures from applications like Substance
painter
Ambient Light in Maya
Depending on the editor from which you set these options, you may see a subset or all of the following
attributes:

Type
Click the arrow to choose a light type from the drop-down list. When you change a light’s type, only those
attributes common to both types retain their previous values or settings. Values and settings for non-com-
mon attributes are lost. When you change a light’s light type, the light’s position is also preserved.

Illuminates by Default
If on, the light illuminates all objects and is included in the defaultLightSet. If off, the light only illuminates
objects to which it is linked. Illuminates by Default is on by default.

Intensity
Represents the brightness of the light. A light with an Intensity value of 0 produces no light. A light with a
negative Intensity value removes light from a scene in the area of the light’s influence. The slider range is 0 to
10, but you can type in a larger value for a brighter light (for example, 20). The default value is 1.

Tip: Use a negative Intensity value to reduce or remove hot-spots or glare.

Color
Set the color of the light. Click the swatch either to change the light’s color in the Color Chooser or to map a
texture to the light. If you map a texture, the light projects it (depending on the light Type). The default setting
is white. The following shows the rendered result when you map a Ramp texture to an Ambient light’s Color
attribute.

Ambient Shade
The proportion of directional light to omnidirectional (ambient) light. The slider range is 0 (light comes from
all directions) to 1 (light comes only from the position of the light). The default value is 0.45.

Cast Shadows
If on, the light produces depth map shadows (for directional, point, or spot lights) or raytraced shadows (for
ambient lights). Cast Shadows is off by default. See also Shadow attributes.

You can also map textures to shadows to create interesting effects. The following example shows a Checker
texture mapped to the Shadow Color of a Spot Light.

If you decide to map a texture that has color (such as the Stucco texture in the following example), change
the texture’s color to black and white if desired.

Shadow Rays
Controls the graininess of soft shadow edges. Increasing the number of Shadow Rays also increases render-
ing times, so set it to the lowest value that produces acceptable results. The slider range is 1 to 40. The default
setting is 1.
Sharpen an Image in Photoshop
Almost any photo will benefit from a little sharpening, as it adds contrast. However, it’s important to know
your photo’s limits and not to overdo it.

Here’s the quickest and easiest way to sharpen images in Photoshop:

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Select the photo layer in the Layers panel and navigate to the Filter menu. Choose Convert for Smart Filters
so you can sharpen without permanently changing the photo.

How to Sharpen an Image in Luminar Neo With Steps | Skylum BlogPhoto by Chris Willson

3. Apply the Unsharp Mask filter.

4. In the Filter menu, choose Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

How to Sharpen an Image in Luminar Neo With Structure AI | Skylum Blog5. In the Unsharp Mask dialog box,
drag the sliders to achieve the desired effect.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With Layers panel | Skylum Blog6. Save your photo.

This is the gist of how to fix blur in Photoshop. However, there are a lot of details that we could add. For exam-
ple, you can double-click the Zoom tool in the Tools panel to zoom in to 100% so you can accurately judge
sharpness.

If you need to change your sharpening, you can easily do so by double-clicking Unsharp Mask in the Layers
panel to reopen the Unsharp Mask dialog box.

Unsharp Mask
As you can see, in the example above we’ve used the Unsharp Mask to sharpen an image. Unsharp Mask is an
image sharpening filter that has sliders for amount, radius, and threshold. Let's take a look at each of them:

The Amount slider lets you set the strength of the sharpening effect. The more you slide it, the more sharpen-
ing you get.

The Radius slider sets the width of the sharpening effect at the edges of objects. You can manage the
sharpness of the pixels on the edges of your photo with this control.

The Threshold slider helps you control the general sharpness of an image’s area. Use it to minimize the
sharpening of elements you don’t want to emphasize, like grain in the sky. By sliding it to the right, you can
minimize the sharpness of oversharpened pixels.

Experiment with these sliders to see which works best for you to sharpen blurry images. Be aware that the
effect will vary based on the size of your image since Unsharp Mask focuses on pixels.

Blur the Edges of an Effect

To apply a feathered edit, such as adding an angelic glow to a portrait subject:

Use the 'Select Subject' tool to automatically select the person in the portrait.

Press 'Q' to activate Quick Mask mode.

Navigate to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Use the slider to adjust the level of blur.

Press 'Q' again to exit Quick Mask mode.

In the Layers panel, open the Adjustments section to modify the Brightness/Contrast or other settings of your
blurred area.
Smart Sharpen
Are there any other ways to unblur an image? You can use the Smart Sharpen filter to sharpen blurry images
online and add control sharpness. Basic and advanced settings include controls that let you play with
different amounts of sharpness, shadow, highlights, and more. How is Smart Sharpen different from Unsharp
Mask? Smart Sharpen is recommended for targeted sharpening because it minimizes noise in low-contrast
areas. On the other hand, the Unsharp Mask filter is good for output sharpening.

Here’s how to apply Smart Sharpen:

1. Open your photo.

2. In the Layers panel, click an image layer or the Background, then press Ctrl-J (Windows) or Cmd-J (Mac) to
duplicate it. Right-click the duplicate layer and choose Convert to Smart Object.

3. Choose Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. This will open a dialog box.

4. From the Preset menu, choose Default.

5. Lower the Reduce Noise slider to view the full sharpening effect.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With Sharpen Tool | Skylum Blog

Photo by Chris Willson

6. Choose an Amount value for the strength of the sharpening. Increase the Radius value until you see halo
effects along sharp edges, then reduce it just enough to remove the halos. The image may look too sharp
now, but don't worry; you can adjust it by tweaking the Radius, Fade Amount, and Tonal Width values in the
Highlights.

7. To compare the unsharpened and sharpened versions of the image, press the Preview button in the dialog
box. You can still change the details and sharpen your blurry image to your liking. Save your image when
you’re done.

Another perk of using the Smart Sharpen filter is the ability to save settings and use them with other photos in
the future.

High Pass filter

Another way to sharpen an image in Photoshop is to apply the High Pass filter. This is a great image sharpen-
er if you don’t want to experiment with different sliders since it has only one very effective setting.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With Unsharp Mask | Skylum BlogPhoto by Chris Willson

1. Set the Radius Scale to the minimum and click OK. This setting will let you add grayscale to your image.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With Smart Sharpen | Skylum Blog

2. Change the blending mode for your photo.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With High Pass filter | Skylum BlogUse anything you want: overlay, soft
light, hard light, or linear light. While changing the blend mode, you can see the sharpness of your photo and
the areas you need to work on. Then click OK.

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop With High Pass filter (1) | Skylum Blog

3. Save your project or export your photo for further use.

If you’re not satisfied with the results, you can change the radius and blending mode to find a perfect
balance of sharpness. Here’s how to blur a picture if you need the opposite workflow.
Maya is a great software that mostly uses in graphic designing, gaming animation, and so on.
Here are some steps for creating image texture using aiStandardSurface.

1. Create polygon plane (right-click)Assign New Materials under Arnold Shader, select ‘aiStandardSurface’

2. In ‘aiStandardSurface’; Under Base node Color File import image file to file attributes node

3. aiStandardSurface1 Geometry tick the ‘Thin Walled’ opacity file select an alpha image

4. pPlaneShape1 under Arnold node untick ‘opaque’

5. In UV Toolkit, Render viewpoint 2.0 Transparency Algorithm Alpha cut

6. Now you can see image texture properly when you Render. Here is the final result.
Displacement maps in Maya

Displacement maps are grayscale textures you map to objects to create true surface relief (elevations and depres-
sions) on an otherwise flat object.

With Displacement maps, depressions and elevations become part of the geometry of the object, changing the
topology, unlike Bump maps that only create the illusion of surface relief.

Note:
Because displacement changes the geometry of an object, displacement mapped objects usually require further
tessellation (more triangles, which the renderer uses to approximate the smoothness of the surface). By default, Maya
uses Feature-based displacement mapping to automatically add more triangles where required.
File textures that are used for displacement mapping are usually connected via their outAlpha attribute. If the corre-
sponding texture image file does not provide an alpha channel, then the displacement effect may be missing when
using certain image formats. To avoid this, turn on the Alpha is Luminance attribute in the Color Balance section of the
File Texture node. For more information, see File.
Displacement maps move an object’s vertices. By default, the height of the displacement is determined by the Alpha
Gain value in the displacement map’s Attribute Editor. If you turn on Alpha is Luminance, the height result is based on
the intensity of the pixels instead.

Use displacement maps to create shallow or deep surface relief. For example, you can create embossing, mountain
peaks and valleys, spikes, and so on.

Because Displacement maps create true surface relief, they:

can cast or receive shadows

can be seen if you silhouette the object
take more time to render than bump maps, which create the illusion of surface relief