Animating Material Channel Values

By animating the channels in a material you can alter the properties of a material without changing its basic function. Using this technique, a rock material would still look like a rock, but change color, or glass would still look like glass except become shinier. Animating a channel value is the simplest way of animating a material and it requires the least amount of processing time.

To animate a material's channel values:

1. Select an object.
2. Click the triangle icon in the Animation Controls and make sure Auto-Key is enabled.
   
   
3. Click the button that appears next to the object's bounding box. The Materials Lab appears.
4. Move the Current Time Indicator to the point where you want to start changing the material.
5. Either change the values of the material channels using the Value controls or change the color used for a channel by using the color picker.
   
   
6. Move the Current Time Indicator to a different point on the Timeline. The current time appears in the counter next to the preview controls.
   
   
7. Change the channel values again.
8. Continue moving the Current Time Indicator and changing channel values until you achieve the effect you want.
9. Click the OK icon to exit the Materials Lab.
10. Click on the Preview Animation button to preview the material changes.
    
    

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