The top part of the 3D panel lists the materials used in the 3D file. One or multiple materials may be used to create the overall appearance of the model. If a model contains several meshes, there may be a specific material associated with each mesh. Or a model can be built from one mesh, but use several materials. In this case each material controls the appearance of a particular part of the mesh.

A selected material and its associated texture maps.

A.

Materials button

B.

Selected material

C.

Texture map types

D.

Texture map filename

E.

Texture map menu icon

For a selected material in the top section of the 3D panel, the lower section shows the particular texture maps used by that material. Some texture maps, such as Diffuse and Bump, commonly rely on 2D files to supply a particular color or pattern that creates the texture. If a material is using a texture map, the texture file is listed next to the map type.

The 2D texture maps used by a material also appear as Textures in the Layers panel, grouped by the texture map category. More than one material can use the same texture map.

You can create, load, open, remove, or edit the properties of texture maps using the texture map menu  next to each texture type. You can also create a texture by painting directly on an area of the model. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).

Ambient

Sets the color for ambient light visible on reflective surfaces. This color interacts with the Global Ambient Color for the entire scene. See 3D Scene settings (Photoshop Extended).

Refraction

Sets the refractive index, when Face Style rendering is set to Ray Traced, and the Refractions option is selected (3D > Render Settings, Face Rendering section). Refraction is the change in light direction that occurs at the intersection of two media (such as air and water) with different refractive indexes. The default value for new materials is 1.0 (the approximate value for air).

Specular

The color displayed for specular properties (for example, highlight glossiness and shininess).

Diffuse

The color of the material. The diffuse map can be a solid color or any 2D content. The Diffuse color swatch value sets the diffuse color if you choose to remove the diffuse texture map. You can also create a diffuse map by painting directly on the model. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).

Self-illumination

Defines a color that doesn't rely on lighting to display. Creates the effect that the 3D object is lit from within.

Bump Strength

Creates bumps in the material surface, without altering the underlying mesh. A bump map is a grayscale image in which lighter values create raised surface areas and darker values create flatter surface areas. You can create or load a bump map file, or begin painting on the model to automatically create a bump map file. See Paint on 3D models (Photoshop Extended).

The Bump Strength field increases or reduces bumpiness. It is only active if a bump map exists. Enter a number in the field or use the scrubby slider to increase or decrease bump strength.

Bumpiness is most pronounced when a surface is viewed head on, rather than at an angle.

Glossiness

Defines the amount of light from a source that reflects off the surface and back to the viewer. You can adjust glossiness by entering a value in the field or using the scrubby slider. If you create a separate glossiness map, the intensity of colors in the map controls glossiness in the material. Black areas create full glossiness, white areas remove all glossiness, and middle values reduce the size of a highlight.

Shininess

Defines the dispersion of the reflected light generated by the Glossiness setting. Low shininess (high dispersion) produces more apparent light, with less focus. High shininess (low dispersion) produces less apparent light and brighter, crisper highlights.

Adjusting Glossiness (left number) and Shininess (right number)

Opacity

Increases or decreases opacity of the material (0-100%). You can use a texture map or the scrubby slider to control opacity. The grayscale values of the texture map control the opacity of the material. White values create complete opacity and black values create complete transparency.

Reflectivity

Increases the reflection of other objects in the 3D scene, and the environment map, on the material surface.

Environment

Stores the image of the environment surrounding the 3D model. Environment maps are applied as spherical panoramas. The contents of the environment map can be seen in the reflective areas of the model.

To prevent an environment map from reflecting on a given material, change Reflectivity to 0%, add a reflectivity map that masks the material area, or remove the environment map for that material.

Normal

Like a bump map texture, a normal map increases surface detail. Unlike a bump texture map, which is based on a single-channel grayscale image, a normal map is based on a multi-channel (RGB) image. The values of each color channel represent the x, y, and z components of a normal on the model surface. A normal map can be used to smooth the surfaces of low polygon meshes.

Note: If a 3D object has more than the nine texture types Photoshop supports, additional textures appear in the Layers panel and the 3D Paint Mode list. (To display the latter, choose 3D > 3D Paint Mode, or use the Paint On menu in the Scene section of the 3D panel).