Transparency and light — A 3D materials study

Projeto pessoal

Refraction in motionAs the sphere and prism move, the text behind them distorts and the colour splits differently at each position: refraction depends on the angle.

A glass sphere and a tilted rectangular prism in front of the word "Refraction" in white serif type on black; the sphere distorts the letters and splits the light into coloured bands at the edges. — Dispersion over the textThe sphere distorts the letters behind it and the prism splits them into colour. The black background lets colour show only where there is glass.

Blue glass letters spelling "onda" in tall curves, over a dark blue floor with pale patches of light; a spotlight from above lights the dim space. — Spotlight in a dark spaceA single spotlight makes the beam visible in the space and gathers the light on the letters, and the blue of the glass stands out against the cooler background.

A closer view of the blue glass letters of "onda", with thin white reflections on the curves and pale, irregular-edged patches of light on the floor. — Light through the glassOn the floor, the light passing through the letters becomes pale patches with irregular edges. On the curves, narrow reflections mark the thickness of the material.

A long-necked flask and a faceted glass, both clear, on a light grey surface with strong brightness and soft shadows around their bases. — Clear glass, shaped by lightWithout colour, light draws the flask and glass: the brightness gathered on the floor under the bases and the darker contours define the silhouette.

A closer view of the glass flask and tumbler, with the tumbler's facets and the curve of the neck reflecting bands of light and thin rays of brightness around the base. — Facets and neck up closeUp close, the tumbler's facets and the curve of the neck break the reflection into bands. Around the bases, the glow picks up thin rays.

A glass flask with green liquid in the bowl, glints of light suspended inside and a dark cork stopper in the neck, against a graphite background. — Liquid inside the glassThe liquid makes the bowl darker and more saturated than the empty neck, and the glints give the interior volume. The opaque, porous cork closes the top in contrast with the smooth glass.

Context

A personal exploration, with no client, of transparent materials and lighting effects: glass, gel and liquid under different lights. They are independent scenes, all made by me in Blender.

Concept

Transparency doesn’t show up on its own: what you see is what light does as it passes through the material. So each scene has its own lighting subject: colour splitting at the edge of the glass, a beam of light crossing a dark room, brightness gathering on the floor, liquid tinting the glass.

Process and techniques

The video and the first “Refraction” image are the original renders. The other images were rendered now, from my files, in Cycles with denoising; the flask and glass, which were set up for EEVEE, also came out in Cycles. The result may therefore differ slightly from the renders of the time. The HDRIs used in the reflection scenes are the same ones as in the files.

Credits

3D modelling, materials, lighting and render: Gilmar Dias. The HDRIs used are third-party assets.

Transparency and light — A 3D materials study

Context

Concept

Process and techniques

Credits

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