2D Maps are two-dimensional images that are typically mapped onto the surface of geometric objects, or used as environment maps to create a background for the scene. The simplest 2D maps are bitmaps; other kinds of 2D maps are generated procedurally.
In the Coordinates rollout, by adjusting coordinate parameters, you can move a map relative to the surface of the object to which it is applied and achieve other effects.
You can add a random noise to the appearance of your material. Noise perturbs the UV mapping of pixels by applying a fractal noise function.
The Autodesk Bitmap is a simple bitmap type that is provided with many of the Autodesk Materials.
A bitmap is an image produced by a fixed matrix of colored pixels, like a mosaic. Bitmaps are useful for creating many kinds of materials, from wood grains and wall surfaces to skin and feathers. You can also use an animation or video file instead of a bitmap to create an animated material.
The Camera Map Per Pixel map lets you project a map from the direction of a particular camera. It is meant as an aid to 2D matte painting: You can render a scene, adjust the rendering using an image-editing application, then use this adjusted image as a matte that is projected back onto the 3D geometry.
The Checker map applies a two-color checkerboard pattern to the material. The default checker map is a pattern of black and white squares. Checker maps are 2D procedural maps. The component checkers can be either colors or maps.
With the Combustion map, you can create maps interactively using the Autodesk Combustion software and 3ds Max at the same time. As you use Combustion to paint on a bitmap, the material updates automatically in the Material Editor and in shaded viewports.
Gradients shade from one color to another. You specify two or three colors for the gradient; 3ds Max interpolates intermediate values. Gradient maps are 2D maps.
Gradient Ramp is a 2D map similar to the Gradient map. It shades from one color to another. In this map, however, you can specify any number of colors or maps for the gradient. There are a variety of controls, making highly customized gradients possible. Almost any parameter of Gradient Ramp can be animated.
The Normal Bump map lets you use a texture-baked Normals map (see Baked Texture Elements). Typically you assign it to a material's Bump component, Displacement component, or both. Using the map for Displacement can correct edges that otherwise look unrealistically smooth; however, this adds faces to the geometry.
Achieve a vast range of materials with this library of Substance parametric textures. These dynamic, resolution-independent 2D textures have small memory and disk space footprints, making them useful for exporting to games engines via the Allegorithmic Substance Air middleware offering; integration is currently provided for Unreal ® Engine 3 game engine, Emergent's Gamebryo ® game engine, and Unity. Alternatively, you can use Render to Texture to bake textures to bitmaps for use with certain renderers.
Swirl is a 2D procedural map that generates patterns similar to the swirls in two-flavor ice creams. Like other two-color maps, either color can be replaced with other maps, so it’s possible to swirl marble with wood, for example.
Using the Tiles procedural map, you can create brick or stacked tiling of colors or maps. A number of commonly defined architectural brick patterns are available, or you can design custom patterns.
The Vector Displacement map enables displacement of meshes in three dimensions, in contrast with previous methods that permit displacement only along surface normals. Like the Normal map, the Vector Displacement map uses a full spectrum of color to work its effects, as opposed to a grayscale image.
