How do you add "reflection" value to a surface
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Hello. Well, this is my first post in this department. I'm trying to find out how I would add a "reflective" value to a surface. My problem is this. I am building a recording studio, and each project I build, I layout in Sketchup prior to building. My current project requires inserting prior drawn components. In this case, it is a TapeMachine "fixture". This fixture is laminated with gloss black Formica. However, when I drew this, the only option for "black" is in the named color section of the materials pulldown. The problem is there is no "definition" of surfaces in a different plane. The "edges" disappear, and shadows do not work in black. Everything appears as the same, so the "dimensionallity" of surfaces do not come through. Presently, I've used grey tones to differentiate the surfaces, but frankly, that doesn't cut it. Is there some kind of plugin that will apply a "reflectivity" to different surfaces with the same material?
Same thing with Transluscent surfaces, such as Bronze plexiglass.
Thankyou for any insight in to this.
(sorry for the blurry picture, but its all I have at the moment. I SUCK at photography
Although, I have noticed that even digital cameras have a problem with black too.
fitZ
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Short of using a rendering application such as Podium, there isn't any way to create reflections in SketchUp. You could insinuate reflective qualities by using materials such as some of the metals but edit them to make them darker.
One thing you should keep in mind is that due to the shininess of the surfaces in your photograph, they aren't truly black. Black is the absence of light and the black material in SketchUp does a good job of simulating that. You'll need to use greys or other dark colors to get what you want unless you use a renderer which can then add that reflective color. Even then you probably don't want full black but rather a very dark gray.
I think the shots of your model look fine as they are. I would just edit the black areas to make them dark gray.
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Hello Dave, thanks for the quick reply. Well I just found a "reflection tutorial" in the Warehouse. Very cool, although it would take some experimentation for my model to make it work. It has to do with transluscent surfaces and copying an entity and putting the copy the same distance from the surface as the reflecting entity. If the copy didn't stick out through another surface. Anyway, thanks for the input.
fitZ -
Hi Fitz,
Some further examples can be found in this thread in the Tutorials Dept.
It will be kind of hard however to "hide" the geometry (of maybe a whole room) inside your tape recorder although maybe with section planes it is not imposible.
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HI fitZ. Yes, I'm aware of that method of creating a reflection. I've used it myself. It works nicely when you have a mirror on a wall and can hide the rest of the "reflection" behind that wall. To make the reflections look proper in your tape deck model with its multiple reflecting surfaces, you have to copy a lot of stuff and as you and Gai point out, hiding the parts that stick out would be a challenge.
If you give that a try, I, for one would be interested in seeing your results. Best.
Dave
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Hi Fitz! Nice tapemachine! I have one of those myself
Gonna build a recording studio myself some day.
Are you an architect or woodworker? Have you read this?http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Studio-Design-Philip-Newell/dp/0240519175
Great resource for aucostic construction.Im no SU expert but as everyone says. Theres no reflection in SU. Need raytracing
for that I guess. Although Lightup(renderplugin) has something going on.But heres a easy idea.
You want the plexiglass to be shiny right? Asuming you have an image editor, why not make a "fake reflective" texture and set it as low opacity in SU.
Ive done it in other rendering ops. If your not gonna animate the scene the reflections dont have to be 100% accurate to be convincing.
But for this to work you cannot move the camera, and make diffent textures if you outputting several pictures. Cant use same texture for different
cameraangle, it will look funny.Heres what you do. In Image editor of choice. Make a color layer, in your case dark brown.
Then import different pics, they have to be somewhat relevant in color. You cannot have a pink elephant for ex
Put them together, rotate, distort, stretch mess things up and blend them with very low opacity. Remember "multiply" make things darker i prefere "soft light" blendingmode in PS.
To make it look shiny put in a blurred lens flare or something like that.
And put different opacitys and blending. The smaller highlight dot = Shiny.
Matt color spread out reflection of light on its surface.Try it, it may work. Otherwise you will have to raytrace the scena somewhere
Lovely idea with the studio. Is it gonna be dominated in white?
I dream of having a minimalistic white studio. -
Nahh. My method dosent work in SU. I tried my idea and when you alter the opacity in material editor the texture get blown out even if you have a dark one.
Maybe someone more experinced can do a better job.I tried single dark color texture with white spot as highlight with "see through opacity" and that made it look shiny though(better than original color result), but as far as relection hmm. Donno. Why dont you download Podium or likewise and have a go?
As Dave R said, I think your model is nice as it is.
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@unknownuser said:
Hi Fitz! Nice tapemachine! I have one of those myself
Gonna build a recording studio myself some day.
Are you an architect or woodworker? Have you read this?Hi jolran. Hey, thanks for the reply and the compliments. Yea, I love ANALOG stuff. My studio is based on a complete Tascam 32 track setup....M3700 64 ch. mixer with 2 MSR-16's synchronized via MTS-1000 Midizer.
Of course, I do have all the digital bells and whistles too...but only to get the audio into the digital domain. I can't stand ITB recording or mixing.As to your question, no, I'm not an architect, but I am a designer. Worked for years in an architectural Millwork/Storefixture manufacturing company as a CAD detailer and earlier, as a journeyman Millworker(fancy name for fabrication specialist..ie..woodworker
Thats why I can fabricate in many materials. Mainly because our main client was Macys. Designed, detailed and help build over 300 Macy store interiors and fixtures. And man do they use a LOT of different materials. Good training. I saved tons of leftover materials that you won't find anywhere. Plex, aluminum extrusions, veneers, laminates, hardwoods, special hardware...to many to list. And now I'm using them in my studio. Take a look at my overall design and you'll see. All the YELLOW stuff is Owens Corning 703 rigid fiberglass. It's for absorption in the room. AND, the tape machine soffet is only an option. Thats the point of the model. I actually have TWELVE options, which this model is one. I drew these to submit to this site for professional Acousticians to help me arrive at a decision on the distribution of the 703. I only have six, 4"thick x 4'x 10' panels. This stuff is expensive and I can't afford any more so I have to dispurse it wisely...hence the models for illustration of my ideas to the pros...
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=54f995ef8715bc4a12cd260abc0f547eAnyway, thanks a mill for the input. Take a look at the ideas...which for all practical purposes..is only for the rear wall...the rest is ALREADY BUILT!
Option 1 is the tape machine soffeted closet. Option 2 is the Skyline diffuser. Option 3 is the Pyramid diffuser. Option 4 is the..well, lets just call it a waveguide poly I won't post the rest.
and finally, the real thing one year ago. More is done now. But just like the drawings, its a work in progress
fitZ
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wow! This is just amazing
Makes me wanna see this rendered
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Thanks jolran
@unknownuser said:
Makes me wanna see this rendered
Me too I've done a few tests rendering in Kerithia(to lazy to check spelling_ . But it took so much time to change surfaces, and it was WAY too complicated for me. 
Got any suggestions for a renderer thats simple?
fitZ -
Yes. I recommend you one: IDX Renditioner. It has a commercial version and a free one (which only limitation is resolution: 640x480). Commercial costs USD 200. It's so easy for rendering as sketchup for modeling.
http://www.idx-design.com/IDX/IDXRenditioner/tabid/709/Default.aspx
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Hey heme, thanks a million. Although....aaaaaarrrrrgggggrrrrrr....I HATE COMPUTERS!!!!!
BOTH my hard drives just FRIED!!! I lost EVERYTHING!! months ans months of work! I backed up to my second drive, but when I tried to dump the files to CD...ZAP!!! 
..a chip fried. Did a search on data recovery...dang is this going to be difficult..if not impossible!
geeeezus I hate computers!
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Sorry to hear that
Hope things work out. -
Podium (http://www.suplugins.com/) is easier to use than IDX or Kerkythea, and has better quality than IDX. The evaluation version has only 1 limitation, and that is that output size is limited to 500x500.
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