Seems that when I add a white material color, the render always shows a gray instead…how do I get a true white?
Turning up the “Emit” slider just a bit (on the shaders tab - F5) will get the job done.
Or the Ref slider in shading?
color is subject to lighting. If the material is white according to the material settings, but appears gray, then the surface is not getting enough light from lamps, not getting any or enough ambient light (materal settings), or such a dull specular and hardness that it is not reflecting enough light. Making it Shadeless will render it white independent of all of the above.
You have to understand that White is never White when the lighting is not strong enough, as mentioned above. You might want to correct that with an Emit but obviously it might have an impact on the realism of the image then - it might simply appear incorrect and wrong. Therefore, adjust your lighting, first.
I will back up Roger and Myke…it’s all about the lighting. I had to model snow recently, and it only really looked like snow once I had put some sun lights on it.