Leaf Tutorial

To create this leaf I used several material mapping techniques. Firstly I edited the leaf in Photoshop by selecting the white background and making it black. By having to separate versions of the leaf (one with a white background and one with a black background) I was able to convert the image easily in 3ds Max.

In 3ds Max I used the material editor to add the original leaf as a bitmap under diffuse. The original leaf has a white background which is where the Photoshop editing came in handy. By adding the bitmap of the leaf with the black background to the opacity selection under maps this cancels out the original white background by acting like another layer. To add texture to the leaf I also added a bump map to the bitmap. The material was then applied to the plane in the view port. I then went onto adding the 'edit poly' modifier where I was able to manipulate the leaf using soft selection, giving it a more natural curve.

Rendered image of leaf