How to create a leather material for interior details?
To create leather, let's take, for example, sofa cushions. On them we can clearly see all the changes we will make in the material. So, let's begin.
Let's import into our scene the normal sofa cushions that we want to make leather. To illuminate our cushions, we'll apply any HDRI interior map. Just to see what we get. Just in case you don't know or have forgotten how to apply the map to the environment: Open Material Editor, create a Corona Bitmap, then load an HDRI interior map into it, press "8" and in the window that opens, place the interior map in the Environment slot by dragging it from Material Editor.
Now let's start creating the skin material.
First, create a Normal Bump Corona material and apply it to the cushions. Next, we need to find a skin texture. It is desirable that together with this skin texture you already have a prepared Normal Bump texture, as well as Reflect and others. If you don't have a Normal Bump map, you can create one in Photoshop from the original skin texture.
You'll need this map because we'll start by creating the bump.
Open the Material Editor in 3D Max and create a Corona Bitmap. Load the Normal Bump map into it. Be sure to create a CoromaNormalMap between the Normal Map and the Bump slot. In the settings, check the "Add gamma to input" slot.
The relief appears on the cushions. Its size you can change either in the map settings or with the UVW Map modifier.
Make the color of the material itself in the diffuse slot, for example, 20. On the dark material, the skin relief will be visible. But for even more clarity you can add the Bump map to the Additional Bump slot.
In the base material settings, set 1 for Reflect. In the Reflect Glossinas and Reflect Color slots, also add a Bump map.
If you want to adjust the degree of gloss on your skin, add a Color Correction map to the Reflect Glossinas.
Next, you can adjust the Reflect settings - make, for example, a value of 80% in the main material. It all depends on whether you want a matte or glossy effect. Now it's time to put the color in the Diffuse slot. In the example it will be black, but you can choose the color you want. You can also change the size of the skin, make it larger or smaller.
In principle, the material is more or less ready, but for realism it is better to add scuffs on it.
Add the Composite map to the Refl.Glossinas slot and attach the Color Correction map to Leyer 1.
Now, in the Composite map settings, add another Layer and in Screen mode, attach the Dirt map to this Layer.
For a strong effect, choose a more contrasting Dirt texture.
Click in the Material Editor to display the texture in the viewport and see how the stains are distributed on the leather. You can change their size in the settings of the map itself and the degree of Opacity in the Composite map.
Now add the Composite map to the Reflect Color slot.
You can also use Color Correction to make the diffuse color darker.
The leather material is ready!
But for a completely interesting effect let's create additionally Corona Leyer material.
1. Let's add our leather material to the main base slot.
2. Now let's add the Corona AO map to the Mask 1 slot.
3. In its settings, swap the black and white colors.
4. Create an usual corona material of grey color and attach it to the Layers 1 slot.
This is what should happen.
Now, in the Corona AO settings, set the Distance value to 30, and color spread to 0.3. And attach another dirt map to the Corona AO in the Distance slot.
If you turn on the dirt map display in the viewport, you will see how it is distributed across the model.
Next, after all the Corona AO settings, on the gray plain material Corona mtl, add a leather texture to the Diffuse slot. Also attach the Normal Bump map to the Bump slot of the simple material. It is not necessary to adjust reflections.
This way you get the effect of a worn, slightly dusty, leather model.
You can experiment with the color, degree of scuffing and reflections for a good result.
Have a good rendering!
Do you want to become a top professional in architectural rendering?
Take our EVA training program: https://go.render.courses
Free lessons: https://go.render.courses/p/free-exterior-course
Student works on Behance: https://www.behance.net/rendercourses
Our Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/rendercourses/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/render.courses/