Glass/window: sunlight and shadow effects?

Mantis

Hi.

I have a photo of a building which I need to edit.
I want to replace the original roof by a glass window roof (it's supposed to be a studio).
The problem is, that whatever I try, the glass doesn't look realistic (because of poor looking sunlight effects).

Could someone please tell me how to do this?

I have attached the photo (I want to edit the white area).

Thanks a lot in advance!

thehermit · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 7:04 pm Post subject:

Maybe coming at it from a different angle might be better?

How about replacing the sky? You could put in a cloudy blue sky with puffy clouds and have them reflected in the panes of glass. Just a thought or do you want to show the interior of the building? (a tall order)

Mantis · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:10 am Post subject:

Unfortunately, I can't change the angle. And I think the sky looks fine, the way it is.

As for the interior, it would be nice if some detail were visible, but it's not a must.

Obviously, I don't understand the basics of reflections on glass (at least my results don't look like I did). So perhaps someone could walk me through how to reflect the sky in the glass roof (with some sunlight/shadow effects).

Thanks!

thehermit · Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 7:52 pm Post subject:

My point about the sky, was not that it looked dodgy, rather if you faked a new sky with fluffy clouds you could reflect that off the windows at a complimentary angle. My point was that the clouds you have at the moment do not lend themselves easily to being reflected off the windows.

I am not for a moment saying it will be a convincing result - just a pitch in the dark

White Warlock · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:04 am Post subject:

One approach would be to cut out the windows and use a new layer underneath. The new layer could be a portion of the sky above, inverted (transform - rotate 180 degrees) and distorted (transform-distort) to a relative angle (approximately 60h, -30v, it seems). Then, to complete the illusion of the Sun's angle, include a render-lighting effects filter, originating approximately from where the shadows are pointing (approximately 35 degrees), with a high gloss, high material, high ambience. Add in a little plastic wrap, some contrast and color, and a lens flare to cover up a rush-job (the first does not include brightness/contrast adjustments on the window panes. The second one does. Notice the huge difference overall with just one mild change):

Mantis · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:13 am Post subject:

White Warlock · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 3:50 am Post subject:

not quite. I used the render-lighting effects (spotlight parked outside of the picture) to create the gradiation of light, which helps to create the illusion of where the sun is coming from. But, what i did to create the effect of the sun's reflection is the lens flare (Render-Lens Flare). That's the little magic trick, which helps tremendously to emphasize a portion of your work, and/or to 'cover-up' a slop job (as above).

thehermit · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:33 am Post subject:

If you want to be able to place the lens-flare with accuracy, create a new layer and fill it with black, create your lensflare and then set the layer blend mode to multiply, you should be left with a lens flare that you can move around the screen and resize.

White Warlock · Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:18 pm Post subject:

ahh, hehe... thanks for the tip.

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