how do i make something not look cartoony?

# 1 16-01-2008 , 04:54 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: NZ

Posts: 3,125

Hi people,

does anyone know how to make a surface that isn't so cartoony as the blinn and lambert materials?

i'll attach the render of the picture i made... the only materials i've used are blinn and lambert, are there any more... metellic materials?

Attached Thumbnails

Click image for larger version

Name: head2.jpg
Views: 204
Size: 20.0 KB
ID: 37866

Quote

# 2 16-01-2008 , 05:11 AM

Moderator
Join Date: May 2005

Location: Manchester Uk

Posts: 6,300

YOu would prabalby need to make an environment for the material to reflect. Then you might need to look into texturing and look for tutorials on creating shading networks to mimic real world materials.

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

Quote

# 3 16-01-2008 , 05:16 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: NZ

Posts: 3,125

hmm, i'm not sure i want it to reflect the surroundings though

maybe i should have said a material more like paint on car, i dont think i ever see cars reflection surroundings, unless i've never noticed before user added image

Quote

# 4 16-01-2008 , 05:45 AM

Lifetime Member
Join Date: Feb 2004

Location: Chicago

Posts: 1,712

Car materials in Maya are usually created from a layered shader with a base colour and a reflected colour and sometimes a third shiny coat, not to say you can't create a metal look from a blin though.
Realistic material creation is an art and something we all strive for .The main things you need to work on apart from not just having a uniform colour on the object (check out most things in reall life and you will see they have faults , wear and fade in the colour) is getting the specular and relectivity right for the material in question.All Maya materials can be adjusted and tweeked to death so it is possible to simlate almost anything, however getting it to look perfect takes time practice and experience.
you might also consider the roughness of a material and create a bump or displacement to simulate that.
Dirt maps can be applied to the Diffuse to create more realism also.

2 x Modeling Challenge Winner

Last edited by jsprogg; 16-01-2008 at 05:48 AM.

Quote

# 5 16-01-2008 , 06:02 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: NZ

Posts: 3,125

thanks for such an informative answer user added image

i see what i should be looking for now

Quote

# 6 16-01-2008 , 06:20 PM

Subscriber
Join Date: Dec 2006

Location: Temecula, CA

Posts: 53

Everything is too clean. You can export those textures into Photoshop and "ugly" them up. You don't want your solid textures to look too clean.

I have found making stuff look dirty is the #1 quickest way to make them look more realistic.

Quote