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Making a black 3D shape shiny
I’m working on what most of you would probably consider some very simple flying shapes. Parts of the logo are coloured and parts are solid back. I’m pretty new to working with 3D space in After Effects so forgive me if this sounds a little, well… silly.
The idea is that the logo appears in 2D space, then breaks up and flies away in 3D while whatever needs to appear next appears underneath as the shapes disperse. I’ve got the coloured pieces looking fairly natural, shiny and the likes. But I can’t get the black pieces to look anything other than solid matte black without any light refractions or reflections or anything. I’ve taken a screenshot of two of the pieces in question.
My thinking is the coloured piece looks shiny because it has darker shades when the light shines on it, and a solid black piece can’t possibly have any darker shading on it. But it doesn’t change in any way even if I have a spotlight right up against it.
If anybody could give me any advice on how to make this black shape look remotely similar to the coloured piece, it’d be much appreciated.
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4 Replies
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Have you tried changing the color towards a more gray shade?
I think it really is that it can’t possibly get any darker than black, so you probably have to change the color.
Last chance, though I don’t think it would behave like this, is that you may have turned off “accept lights” for that layer.Leopy.
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A couple ideas:
CLASSIC 3D RENDERER
1) Make it dark gray instead of black, so you still have some room for shadow detail.RAY-TRACING RENDERER or CINEMA 4D RENDERER
1) Make it reflective, so it picks up other lights/details from the environment.
2) Bevel the edges so they can pick up specular highlights, too.Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Everything relating to accepting lights and reflections are all on, and bevels don’t seem to make a difference in how reflective the shape is. Looks like I’ll have to change the colour. Thanks anyway guys.
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Have you checked your fast previews settings to make sure you are viewing your comp at Best, Final quality and are not in a draft mode?
cheers,
Angie
Angie Taylor animation & illustration for television, film, web and devices
https://www.angietaylor.co.uk
Twitter: theangietaylor
Linkedin: theangietaylor
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