Erratic material colors

[Anonymous]

Why would a material appear in a 3D image on screen in a color that I had not selected from the object's parameter list? Specifically, when I choose a light blue color for the glass in Window "W Gliding2" or "D2 French," those elements appear in an elevation or 3D image in red? If I go back and select another glass color, that color appears in the image just fine. This situation is erratic and maddening. What is the source of something like this, and how do I correct it?

[Anonymous]

It's hard to say without more information. What are your 3D window settings? I assume when you say color you are referring to the material settings.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your interest, Matthew. Working in the Object Library, under Wood Pastic Windows>Gliding Windows and selecting "W Gliding2," this is what happens. Under Parameters>Sash Frame>Glass Material, I select the color "Glass (24)" from the materials pallette that comes up. This color, to my eye, is a light greenish blue. However, in the 3D view of this window in its place on the house, the glass color is a vivid magenta! Going back to the same Glass Material line under the Parameters, I've changed that color section to "Water (133)," which changes the color in the 3D model to a dark warm gray. This still isn't the color I would like to see in the 3D model or in the elevation, but it sure beats magenta. So that's what I use and chalk it up to another AC oops. Is this a problem with my monitor (an Acer LCD flat panel) or with my video card or with some other little setting I haven't found yet?

[Anonymous]

It could be something to do with OpenGL. Does it render correctly?

[Anonymous]

When I checked, AC was running on OpenGL. I switched to Internal Engine and the glass color was rendered correctly. But now the shingle color and pattern on the roof are gone. It seems that I have to choose between engines depending on the material I need to represent in a model or elevation. Is this correct?

[Anonymous]

Material settings are rendered differently by each rendering engine. This can be a bit tricky to manage.

[Anonymous]

Matthew, thanks for your help. I understand the implications of the two engines better now and should be better equipped to manage the next time. I did a project this past spring in which AC kept rendering the windows in that awful magenta...I never showed the raw elevations to my client.