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Introduction

 

 

  • This lesson will take you through using the Two-sided Material in V-Ray for Maya
  • The information centers around the VRayMtl2Sided node
  • This lesson topic is approximately 20 minutes in length
  • Lesson covers all 3 Learning Cycles for the Lesson Topic – Lecture, Demonstration, and Activity

 



Contents

Overview
Available Materials
Lecture
Demonstration
Activity
Additional Resources


Lesson Overview

 

 

Goal - Enhance the look of our window scene with translucent two-sided materials

Objective - We will incorporate the V-Ray Two-sided Material into our 3D scene              

Outcome - You will be able to apply the VrayMtl2Sided to objects in our scene and understand how to adjust the settings to create the look you want in your renders

 


 


Available materials

To set up the lesson follow the links below and download all available materials.

Lesson plan download
Presentation (Lecture) download
Demonstration tutorial 1 download
Demonstration tutorial 2 download
Scenes & Assets download

Lecture

1. Terminology

This material allows you to have two sides to a surface, making it great to use for translucent materials like paper. Here are some terms to be aware of when thinking about the VRayMtl2Sided

  • Front Material - The material displayed on the front-side of an object based on its normals
  • Back Material - The material displayed on the back-side of an object based on its normals
  • Translucency - Allows light to pass through the material without being scattered
  • Two-sided - Thin objects, where light can pass through them, can show characteristics of both sides together because of it’s semi-transparent properties

 

 

2. Light Direction

  • Back Light -The light passing through thin objects is more visible when the light is coming from behind the object, shinning towards us

 

 

3. Two-sided Material

a) Overview

  • Used to simulate thin transparent surfaces like paper, cloth, curtains, tree leaves, etc.
  • Translucency Tex Tips:
    • Default value is 0.5, meaning both the side facing the camera, and the one facing away from it, will be visible to the same degree
    • When this value is closer to 0.0, more of the material facing the camera is going to be seen
    • When it is closer to 1.0, more of the back material is seen
  • Multiply by front diffuse – multiplies the Translucency by the diffuse of the Front Material
  • Force single-sided sub-materials – sub-materials will render as one-sided materials (Not recommended to turn Off)

 

 



 

 

b) Front Material
  • Translucency Tex set to 0 (black) to show material facing camera as seen here
  • You may also apply a grayscale texture to control the translucency

 

 

Translucency Tex: 0.5

Translucency Tex: 0.0

 

 

c) Back Material
  • Translucency Tex set to 1 (white) to show material facing away from camera completely over the front material, as seen here
  • You are able to set a grayscale texture to this attribute

 

 

Translucency Tex: 0.5

Translucency Tex: 1.0

 

 

*Tip
  • For best results with the VRayMtl2Sided, use it on single-sided (non-shelled) objects, like poly-planes, extruded splines, etc.

 

 

Conclusion

a) Front Materials
  • Normally the material on the faces facing you (check your normals!)
b) Back Materials
  • What gets applied to the reverse side of a face’s normal               
c) Translucency
  • How we blend the materials together to create a material that’s "see through"

 


Demonstration

Time to see it work! 

Watch while I demonstrate how to create and adjust a V-Ray Two-Sided Material for the curtains and papers on the window in our scene.
Demonstration tutorial 1
Demonstration tutorial 2

 

               

 


Activity

Time to do it yourself!

Now it’s your turn!! Use the provided scene file to recreate the cinematic look as you have seen me demonstrate.
We have also provided a final scene for your reference.

 

Used values:

  • Curtains_2Sided
    • Pink VRayMtl (Curtains_Base) for Front Material
    • No Back Material set
    • Translucency Tex set to 0.6
  • Cat_2Sided
    • Light, Grayish Blue VRayMtl (Cat_Blue) for Front Material
    • Medium Saturated Red VRayMtl (Cat_Red) for Back Material
    • Translucency Tex set to 0.7
  • Drawings_2Sided
    • VRayMtl (Draws_Front) with File Texture for Front Material
    • VRayMtl (Cat_Back) with File Texture through a Remap (to bump up the value) for Back Material
    • Translucency Tex set to 0.6

 

 

 

         

 


Additional resources

Find more training resources listed below: