Material properties

Estimated time : about 20 minutes Attached files : ..\Twinmotion2\Tutorials\Material Properties\Ressources\

In this tutorial we will explore the material editor of Twinmotion and review the different advanced materials effects available in the software. In Twinmotion, each object has systematically a material of its own. The basic information for this material is the diffuse color parameter. So when you create a new geometry, you can see it automatically has a gray diffuse color. This color can of course be changed at will, but it can mostly be replaced by a texture (DDS, JPG, BMP, TGA, etc). When you import a 3D model produced by a third party application into Twinmotion, it retrieves the diffuse textures as it has been applied to the geometry. But above all, it allows you to add a whole set of advanced effects resulting in having highly realistic materials. To illustrate this, open the scene building_START.TMProj located in the Twinmotion2\Tutorials\ Material Properties\Ressources\ folder.

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1. The material properties in detail

Once the sceneis loaded, go to the SceneGraph. Unfold it until you reach building_DIFFUSE material. I As you can see, building Mesh is made out of several Parts. Each one of these Parts is actually the different faces of the objet sharing the same material. For more information on how SceneGraph works, please refer to the appropriate section of the Help.

Under the Diffuse tab you can see that the Texture field is already filled. This is the basic texture affected to the building. Do not change for now the Common tab and go directly to the Specular tab.

Increase the values of Intensity and Power to increase the reflection of light on the facade. For now, the reflection is uniform throughout the texture, which is not very realistic. We want this reflection to be stronger on the windows than on the bricks for example. To do this we will apply a grayscale texture to the speculars, where white pixels mean an intensity of 1 and black pixels an intensity of 0. Click the Open button in theTexture field and select the texture building_SPECULAR.dds that you find in the Resources folder of this tutorial.

Copyright 2010 Twinmotion - All rights reserved - Twinmotion 2.0 Tutorials

You can see the change in the rendering of the speculars, who now no longer have the same intensity on all pixels. Then go to the Bump tab to add relief to the facade. Look for the building_BUMP.dds map and set the Strength to 0.2. The Bump can simulate a relief in the texture to make effects like bricks, stone, or simply a material with granularity. Such physical properties of materials would be impossible to render in real-time if they were in the form of polygons. The Bump is a very useful element for a realistic and efficient renders of surfaces.

Go to the Reflection tab and under the Texture field, get the environmental texture cubemap_Horizon_HD.dds. The environmental textures are actually composed textures with six faces allowing to anchor reflections at 360 , hence their name CubeMaps. Set the Reflectivity to 0.8 and give it a bluish color using the Color field. Finally, in Texture Mask, enter the texture building_ALPHA.dds. Again the principle is similar to the one we used for specular reflexions; a grayscale texture allows the engine to know which pixels should be reflective.

Copyright 2010 Twinmotion - All rights reserved - Twinmotion 2.0 Tutorials

In the next step we will try to light the windows of the building after dark. To do this, go to the Glow tab. Begin by going to get the texture building_GLOW.dds by doubleclicking in the Texture field, then unfold the Power graph by clicking on the handle in the extreme left side of the slider. In the graph right click, then Add Point to add new keys. Move the keys by dragging them with the left mouse button pressed, to form a curve similar to that of the image. Its actually about to set the intensity of the Glow to zero during daylight and put in a high value when it gets dark, to simulate a lighting from the inside of the windows.

Copyright 2010 Twinmotion - All rights reserved - Twinmotion 2.0 Tutorials

Move the time bar in the 3D view to see the effect.

We have completed the settings of the facade. We will now discuss other interesting parameters of Twinmotions materials. For this, move to the roof of the building and approach the structures that are there. In the Selection And Display panel, activate the Material Picker tool and begin by clicking in the 3D view on the grid.

The texture options appear in the Properties panel. Open the Common tab. It contains for exemple the transparency settings. Start by unfolding the Cull Mode list and place it to None to display the material on both sides. Do not touch the Opacity value, but increase instead the Opacity Alpha.

Copyright 2010 Twinmotion - All rights reserved - Twinmotion 2.0 Tutorials

It is actually a transparency threshold based on the alpha layer of the texture and defining which pixels are white and which pixels are opaque. Twinmotion is able to trace the shadows through this type of transparency. Opacity Alpha is the setting to choose for achieving transparency on grids or foliage, for example.

Always with the Material Picker tool active, click on the marquee on the side of concrete block. In the Common tab, decrease this time the Opacity value. This is a general transparency for all pixels of the texture. Moreover, this transparency does not generate shadows, thus allowing you to create glazings.

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To finish this tutorial, select the material of the concrete roof and go in the Overlay tab. This property allows you to mix two textures together using blending modes, a bit like the layers of Photoshop. It allows you to add variations and details in a base texture, thus limiting the effect of repetition inherent to the 3D softwares. Fetch the texture concrete_03.dds in the Ressources directory and vary its Opacity value and its Blend Mode to get the rendering of your choice.

2. Conclusion
Twinmotion allows you to adjust very quickly all kinds of materials. Its editor offers the opportunity to achieve in a few clicks and with immediate visual feedback, the simulation of realistic materials with physical effects such as transparency, reflection, relief, or brightness, for example. But you can also find an extensive library of architectural preset materials that will get you visually stunning scenes rendered in just a few minutes.

Copyright 2010 Twinmotion - All rights reserved - Twinmotion 2.0 Tutorials