Material Properties

There are different types of materials, therefore we want to be able to recognise the special properties material has on it's surface to generate stronger illusions in our art. Highlights on different types of material are tircky, especially when it comes to differentiating velvet from silk. Imagine a light source directly facing a model wearing a silk shirt and velvet pants. Because velvet is made up of thousands of hairs facing upward, the ones facing directly towards the light absorb the light, while the once facing away act like mirrors reflecting the same light. So the centre where the light should be is now dark, while the sides of the figure look lit.

Silk is the opposite, the centre will shine brightly and depending upon the thread count, the silk will have more or less reflective surface to it emulating a metallic surface. Cotton is the least reflective and more or less absorbs the light.  This material gives us very dull highlighted edges.

Cotton

This is a soft, brushed material with a traditional woof and warp weave perpendicular to the light source. It has no reflective properties, as the matte surface absorbs light and can also be influenced by the colour of the light source.

Silk

This has a glossy surface appearance and a woof and warp weave perpendicular to the 'common' light source. This is highly reflective, but means the shadow spaces absorb more light so when painting darken down it's shadowed surface like a metallic material.

Velvet

This has a traditional base weave but the material is woven into the mesh perpendicular to it, so the fibres all face upwards at a height. These are semi-transparent fibres that absorb the light at their ends and reflect light at the edges. Reflections are controlled by the fibres direction. This is similar to silk but softer.