Illustrator

Surface shading options

Surface
Lets you choose options for the shading surfaces:
Wireframe
Outlines the contours of the object’s geometry and make each surface transparent.

No Shading
Adds no new surface properties to the object. The 3D object has the same color as the original 2D object.

Diffuse Shading
Makes the object reflect light in a soft, diffuse pattern.

Plastic Shading
Makes the object reflect light as if it were made of a shiny, high-gloss material.
Note: Depending on what option you choose, different lighting options are available.If the object only uses the 3D Rotate effect, the only Surface choices available are Diffuse Shading or No Shading.

Light Intensity
Controls the light intensity between 0% and 100%.

Ambient Light
Controls the global lighting, which changes the brightness of all the object’s surfaces uniformly. Enter a value between 0% and 100%.

Highlight Intensity
Controls how much the object reflects light, with values ranging from 0% to 100%. Lower values produce a matte surface, and higher values create a shinier-looking surface.

Highlight Size
Controls the size of the highlight from large (100%) to small (0%).

Blend Steps
Controls how smoothly the shading appears across the object’s surfaces. Enter a value between 1 and 256. Higher numbers produce smoother shades and more paths than lower numbers.

Draw Hidden Faces
Displays the object’s hidden backfaces. The backfaces are visible if the object is transparent, or if the object is expanded and then pulled apart.
Note: If your object has transparency and you want the hidden backfaces to display through the transparent front faces, apply the Object > Group command to the object before you apply the 3D effect.

Preserve Spot Color (Extrude & Bevel effect and Revolve effect)
Lets you preserve spot colors in the object. Spot colors can’t be preserved if you chose Custom for the Shading Color option.
Examples of different surface shading choices

A.
Wireframe

B.
No shading

C.
Diffuse shading

D.
Plastic shading