PDN Fanatics

I have worked on 3 different glassy puzzle pieces, and each time I have done so, I have noticed that while the pieces are transparent, with a solid colored background (black for example), the pieces actually turns solid color. Yet, when I go with a light color, same thing happens. If I didn't use something like a grid background, there would had been no indication whatsoever that the transparency was working. When I looked at Saragon's glass vase tutorial, I noticed how he was able to achieve the transparency even with a black background. Could somebody explain why, and how I could avoid that in the future?

Cuz Shape3d giving shading/highlights and gradients. and not just a mono tone color.

So you suggest I work on shading/highlights, and use more gradients? I had used your 3d metal tut to help with the 3d-ish part and use Transparency plugin to make it see through. Did I do something wrong there and then?

When you use Transparency plugin, you made the Transparency too uniform.

Lance McKnight, your 3D glass puzzle looks good, and Ash is right, dealing with transparent objects is really critical, but if you are trying to reach these effects below for the puzzle and "M" or any object (made with PDN), I can give you some tips, it is easier than what you think...!, I know I missed a lot of things, I am just busy friends I 'll have sometime this weekend.

Saragon...I detect bevel in the puzzle piece.

Ash...I'm not sure I understand what you mean about making transparency too uniform. From my observance of Saragon's puzzle piece, it seem that he used two or three different transparency setting to achieve the desired effect.

I guess I'm not as good as I thought I was.

Does this look like glass?
If yes, do you see uniform color transparency? (mono color and lowered alpha by using transparency plugin.)

Btw, I opened my own mind and had some new ideas while coming up with this test piece...

And I don't believe this question belong in this section...

I can do glass illusions in abstracts but I can not get this sort of thing please a tut.

ciao OMA

Wow Ash that Glass effect is so glassy, well done.

I think I may know why I have messed up my glass pieces. Looking again at Saragon's example, I see that I did a couple of fundamental mistakes: I did not include a somewhat solid bottom layer of the puzzle piece like Saragon did, and I did not slightly enlarge the drop shadow layer.

Ash, once again, your glass piece is stunning. It looks like the glass blocks people put in their windows. I am curious to know if you used condition hue/saturation for the "shadow" part of the glass? It seem you used thin layers and then flip it over with a mirror over line?

I'm not trying to bump this thread again, but I have created an couple of attempt in making glass blocks on page 3 of my gallery.

Lance McKnight wrote:I think I may know why I have messed up my glass pieces. Looking again at Saragon's example, I see that I did a couple of fundamental mistakes: I did not include a somewhat solid bottom layer of the puzzle piece like Saragon did, and I did not slightly enlarge the drop shadow layer.

Ash, once again, your glass piece is stunning. It looks like the glass blocks people put in their windows. I am curious to know if you used condition hue/saturation for the "shadow" part of the glass? It seem you used thin layers and then flip it over with a mirror over line?

condition hue/saturation: yes, and one of the new method I gain trying to explain to you via image.
(Where and how did you see it? I thought nobody would see it... )
mirror over line: If that's a plugin, then no. I haven't the time to try some of the newer plugins lately.

Saw this on an unrelated site today...found it unusual, since one of the links here just took me to the same image *yesterday*

http://gizmodo.com/5313829/this-would-m ... ffee-table

drakaan, that is exactly what spawned Ash's glass texture, don't you think?

If I remember the post correctly, someone on the official PDN forums asked how to create that image in Paint.NET, I mentioned how much work it would be, boltbait or david atwell concurred, and then Ash said (I'm paraphrasing here) "Boo-Ya! Check yo'self fools!" and posted an image where he was halfway through with making one of the four sections.