Shiny Chrome

If you're sick of the Fractal Reflections look, you're not alone, but why does it look fake? Well, the Reflection Image effect is also called Environment Mapping. That means it's supposed to simulate reflections of the Environment. If the Reflection Image looks a lot like the environment, the effect is very realistic. But Fractal Reflections looks kind of like clouds or smoke. It would only look real if the object were sitting in some, well, clouds or smoke!

What happens if you don't have an image that looks like your scene? No problem! Image mapping is intended as a time-saver because it renders faster than ray-tracing. It's also used in Rotoscoping, like in Terminator 2 when the shiny metal guy is running and you can see the background reflecting off him. For anything else, Ray-Tracing is far more realistic. Note that if you have a newer version of LightWave, you can mix reflection images with your raytraced reflections. This can be used for more stylish reflection effects, as long as you've got a nice reflection image.

Let's take that dagger object that comes with Lightwave. Here are some steps to follow to make it look shiny and sharp:

DaggerBlade Surface:
  • Luminosity = 0%
  • Diffuse = 0%
  • Specularity = 130%
  • Medium glossiness (High looks like ceramic)
  • Get rid of the reflection image
  • Reflectivity = 60%
  • Smoothing On
DaggerPommel and DaggerHilt Surfaces: Same as DaggerBlade surface except:
  • Diffuse = 12% (It's duller metal than the blade)
  • Specularity = 100% (again, duller metal)
DaggerHandle Surface:
  • Diffuse = 50% (With Marble texture set at 25%)
The low diffusion is because you're going to have a lot of lights in the scene, and real-life objects don't diffuse 100% anyway.
The Scene:

Remember this: If you want reflective objects to look real, you have to give them something to reflect!

  • Stick a lot of lights above and around the object, as if lighting a movie set. Six is enough. For some excellent tips on great lighting by Andrew Weiler, visit here.
  • Add some kind of a backgound. Actual objects work best, like a desk or a table in a room with walls and a cieling and light fixtures and stuff, but a gradient will do for test purposes.
Summary:
  • Don't bother with a reflection image unless you're rotoscoping or you're going for a more stylized look.
  • Use plenty of lights. Not too many lights though.
  • Build a set. If you put the object in a realistic setting, it's more likely to look real too.
  • Remember to turn on Trace Reflections whenever time permits.
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