Preserved Topic: I seem to have lost the e-plastic stuff...

Ok, I recently revisited phongs to check on and try out the e-plastic tutorials again.

That went well.

But what I am trying to learn is the process that is involved in making the plastic transparent, like the ozone logo that doc was using on his product line, and some of the banners on the GN.

Could some one give the the basic concepts of how to achieve the distortion behind the object, as well as the clear plasticy look?

Thanks.

Well, for distortions Steve has a great explanation of the Displace filter at Gurus (which you know). I dunno if I'd call it a tute tho. Another way to distort your image is to make a height map, save it as a .psd file and run the glss filter on it, but I'm not a huge fan of how it always turns out.

I can tell you that what I do, is copy out my shape from the background, and stick some where in the middle of the layers I'm making into plastic/glass. I'll then play with layer setting and opacity. It's really a lot of playing to amke things look 'just right' with distortions. There is no right way, it seems from each shape and background, there are differences. The key, I think, to making plastic, is to have a smooth phong, or hot spot in your shape. Which is what you get when playing with the curves after running lighting effects in Phong's tute. If you've got more specific questions, I may be able to answer better.

I wonder if you've check out my Cephloplatic Metal tute, which I kind of play with reflections, more than distortions. http://www.innerworld.com/F1_error/CPM/ Reflections are similar to distortions, so you can twist things for this. As a side note, I'm currently rewritting the Cephloplastic tutorial, making it into a series; Cephloplastic, Cephloplastic Metal, Cephloplastic Glass, Cephloplastic Geletain, and Cephloplastic Shapes. So if what you find at the above URL isn't working for you I can type in some of my notes, and show you the 'other' way I'm making Cephloplastic.

Yeah I read the cleoplastic tute a long time ago, and have the lighting effect settings saved on every photoshop I come across. I use the screen layer on most objects that I am trying to give a 3d look.
http://www.ozones.com/desktop/

That is a specific example of what I am looking to achieve. How was that sort of effect achieved? I think about opacity settings, but it just looks to crisp for that.

I remember an effect like this posted a while back, by R@M, I believe.

I don't quite remember the address...or the method for that matter.

Well, the Ozones logo looks like it's had a distort of some kind run on it's background. And I'm guessing that the Ozone red-n-yellow are several seperate layers, with low opacity settings, maybe even many layers duplicated, to give it the strength of color.

Perhaps we can get Doc in here to tell us.

Yep, definitely a distort run on the grid that shows through the glass, but *subtle*, I'm talking like 1% here! The funny thing about that image. When I created it (intending it to be glass) it just wasn't glass, it was solid 3D plastic stuff, solid as solid can be. Then I dropped this layer of pale grid over it, just like the background, and set it to "overlay". Man! That "glass" thing just jumped out at me, too cool.



Here, check out that, pretty wild, eh? That is the EXACT same image, once with the solid 3D shape, and once with the grid set at overlay on top. One thing that has turned out to be very important is the yellow/gold highlight over the image, at the upper left, but inset about 2 pixels. (see it?) What I do is this, I take a selection of the shape, and use the "select/contract" option to make the selectino 2 pixels smaller. Then I blur it and use levels to make it smooth again, eliminating the angled edges that occur from contract. Now, create a new channel and fill that smaller shape with white. Nudge the selection 2px right and 2px down, now fill with black. Use the resulting selection to place a layer of gold in that thin selection over your image, blur it by .5 or 1, and then set it to overlay. Got it? Way cool!

Your pal, -doc-

(Note: Ok, looking at this, I didn't have the light from the upper left, but straight from the top. So! Nudge the selection 2px down, and skip the nudge right bit, heh. Look at the image, see what I mean!)



[This message has been edited by DocOzone (edited 01-16-2001).]

It's amazing sometimes what a simple thing like overlay can acheive! I've gotten some effects I've had no intention of making just by doingn things like that.

That's the same method I have always used for my sharp highlights too Doc -- pretty useful method.

F1: any plans of making those cephlo-plastic tutes a part of the Gurus Network? Don't make me beg man.......

Actually the Gurus Network is one of the reasons I decided to rewrite and expand the tutorial. Truth be told, it was the deciding reason to rewrite and expand them. Don't ask me when I'll have 'em done tho. It's gonna be a while, I've been working on 'em when I can, in my spare time. I would say that if you see 'em before the DotCon, you'll be lucky.

Thanks F1, thanks Doc.

F1: We look forward to the second set!

Doc: Could you go over that 1% distort run that you are talking about? I don't understand this step. I was first looking at it in the light of using the displace filter on a 90 degree embosed channel, then gausian bluring it 3 pixels. But it didn't come out looking correct, the second attempt was to use the spherize tool, which again didn't come out to the exact effect.

I will have to admit to all that even after reading Steves tutorial in its entirety I have some problems with Displacement applications. I have the examples under control, but learning to apply it else wheres is a different story. Some extra text on this issue would be a big help.

[This message has been edited by WarMage (edited 01-16-2001).]

ya F1 .. lay down that axe of yours.. winter is almost done.. more PS man!!!...



edit: sheesh... excuses excuses! lol.. j/k would be interesting to see a site done by you F1...

[This message has been edited by vogonpoet (edited 01-16-2001).]

Heh, the axe has been down since freeze. You ever try to split frozen wood? Not fun. Winter time *is* the time for PS. Tho I can't seem to go more than a few days without using PS. The reason that things will take so long is first OzoneDotCon, and second, I've just ended a five year obligation with another company. And with that ending, I can now work on my OWN site. About #*&%@)! time, if you ask me. It won't be much, just some tutes, that I'll mirror at Gurus, if they want, a few graphics, some writting, blah, blah, blah. But I've been wanting my own ego trip for a while, and I can now do it.

WarMage;
Don't make yourself nuts over this. I'm betting that a small dose of spherize will do what you need. There's a time for displace, but with all the visual complexity a good glass technique produces, a mild bulge with spherize probably is all the clue you need to give about rounded transparent shapes. Load the main selection of the shape to be glassified; run spherize at a low setting on a duplicate of the background, set to overlay - should do what you need.

Steve:

Might it give him a bit more of the result he wants, if he does a simple Selection....Alpha Channel.....Fill With White....Few Gaussian Blurs (a la Doc's lighting effects tutorials), then just select all, copy that channel, paste in a new document, and save as a displacement map?

If he then runs displace on the layer he wants "glassified" at a low level (like the man said, at 1% or so) he might get the distorted edges that he's looking for just a bit better than spherize.....I think.....heh

Just another method to throw in the mold, while I comment to swell the PhotoGod's ego on how much I still love that friggin' Displace Tutorial

I didn't see this thread earlier, but the copied background put on a new layer and overlayed method works wonderfully.

Another thing that I like to do if I'm going for a bit of reflection in the glass (or even a metallic or buffed plasticy schtuff) is to have that distorted overlay layer, and then another one with what would be where the viewer is sitting (ie: the room around you, or whatever scene you want) run a displacement again with the same map, then set this layer to Color Burn, Soft Light or Hard Light and play with the opacity to bring it low and more "suggested" than "seen".



(*edit: thought I'd toss some quick, oogly examples. The first is set to Hard Light at about 14% opacity, the second is set to Color Burn at about 40% opcaity...YMMV)

This also works with a distorted background layer, if you're going for dark glass, or something more translucent than transparent.

Okay, last thing on this, I swear..hehe.

If you're going for a graphic that has more distance from it's background image, like your glass isn't sitting on the bg, or just barely floating above it, remember to copy the entire background, put it on a new layer above, then Scale it Up a just bit and Then run your displacement on it, and delete all but the selection you need, and set the blending mode.



And if that actually makes sense to the reader, let's hope it helps....heh

Peter

(Addendum:..Oh, and just who that tech surrounded, tousle haired, American via Sweden beauty is in the reflection....well I'll never tell)






ICQ:# 10237808



[This message has been edited by DarkGarden (edited 01-16-2001).]

Steve: I was actually striving for a bit of perfection in this here, it tends to be a tedious quest. I think my main problem is, I don't know how it should look exactly. I have trouble finding orange glass like materials, and a checkered background. I will have to work on those visuals.

DG: Thanks for the help, it did help.

[This message has been edited by WarMage (edited 01-16-2001).]