View Post

Microscratches

This effect can be quite difficult to replicate in 3D. The scratches are so thin that a regular bump map will not work; we have to resort to a Normal map, which is much better at showing fine detail. Since this effect is visible only in reflections, we have to break up the material into multiple parts. Create a base…
View Post

Carbon Fiber V-Ray Material

Carbon fiber is a complex material that can be tricky. We can break this material down to two layers: woven carbon fiber that reflects light in two distinct directions, depending on the weave direction; and a clear coat that is pretty smooth and reflective. The first layer is Dark grey Diffuse, some blurred Fresnel reflections, and-- most importantly-- Anisotropy that is set…
View Post

Window Glass V-Ray Material

This material is roughly based on any standard glass or acrylic, but with a couple of small changes. As with all transparent materials, the Base color is near black, while Reflections are strong and set to Fresnel. Try using some fake speculars in the unlinked HiLight Glossiness slot, like a basic grayscale swirl map. This creates a bit of a…
View Post

Pearlescent Car Paint V-Ray Material

Pearlescent paint changes its color, depending on the viewing angle. This type of paint is almost always metallic as well, so take your Metallic shader and replace the Base color with a Falloff map, then set it to change between 2 different colors. Common combinations are purple/green, red/orange, light blue/light pink, etc. You can then instance the Falloff map into…
View Post

Metallic Car Paint V-Ray Material

There are two main differences between metallic car paint and the standard car paint. Metallic paint is more reflective than standard paint; it has less diffuse and more gloss. For the base layer, increase the Reflections and Glossiness. Various paints can be very metallic (see example photo above) or somewhat less metallic... in which case, you would simply lower the Reflection…