Explain diffuse factor, specular factor, and mirror factor (Reflectance Tab)?
On the Reflectance tab within the Material Editor, you may see “diffuse factor”, “specular factor”, and “mirror factor” depending on the current material type you have selected. These factors can often be confusing – especially the difference between specular and mirror. Diffuse factor corresponds to the amount of light reflected in a diffuse manner – a Lambertian reflection. Keep in mind, that this is a multiplying factor. For example, if the current color of the material (for example “Beige”) has a reflectance of 0.6 (60%), a diffuse factor of 0.50 will make the effective reflectance 0.3 (30%). You’ll note that the color of the material becomes darker to indicate this. Setting the diffuse factor to 1.0 is valid, and would result in an effective reflectance of 0.6 (60%) in this example. Specular factor corresponds to the amount of light reflected in a specular manner (much like a glossy or mirrored surface). This too is a multiplying factor based on other current material properties –
On the Reflectance tab within the Material Editor, you may see “diffuse factor”, “specular factor”, and “mirror factor” depending on the current material type you have selected. These factors can often be confusing – especially the difference between specular and mirror. Diffuse factor corresponds to the amount of light reflected in a diffuse manner – a Lambertian reflection. Keep in mind, that this is a multiplying factor. For example, if the current color of the material (for example “Beige”) has a reflectance of 0.6 (60%), a diffuse factor of 0.50 will make the effective reflectance 0.3 (30%). You’ll note that the color of the material becomes darker to indicate this. Setting the diffuse factor to 1.0 is valid, and would result in an effective reflectance of 0.6 (60%) in this example. Specular factor corresponds to the amount of light reflected in a specular manner (much like a glossy or mirrored surface). This too is a multiplying factor based on other current material properties –
