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Image Reflection


orbitrod .. yes, reflections can be done in photoshop (refer quick sample I made below) ... basically the method is copying the part to be reflected onto a new layer then flip vertical ... move the reflection layer so that it can be seen under the original image and then distort the reflection image ... then reduce the opacity of the layer and using mask and brush fade the reflection .... flat sided images such as a box are quite simple to do, but images that have parts protruding from the flat surfaces (such as you posted) are more difficult because you have to spend alot more time on them ... hope that helps you .. any questions, just ask ... regards namvet
 
orbitrod said:
Reflecting polygons made in photoshop I can do, but its doing the same thing for photos thats the hard part.?
Click to expand...

.. yes, you're absolutely right .. it is the hard part ... with the original image you posted (first post) where the front panel protrudes in one direction and the 'handles' protrude in the another, the protruding parts would need to be 'cut out' to another layer and distorted seperately and lots of brush/cloning work to repair the removed part ... frankly, if it was really neccessary to have the products reflected I would put them on a shiney surface and photograph them ... but hey, that's just me :D ... but if it's an excercise in reflecting difficult objects in Photoshop yes, it can be done .. you understand distort etc so now it's just time and patience ... unfortunately no easy shortcuts (that I can see)
 
Thats how I have been doing it so far...I was just hoping to find an easier way of doing it, maybe an Adobe extension/mod that would help do that....anyways THANKS NAMVET :righton: for all your help thus far.
 
Nope, no easy shortcuts is right. Not when your object is on such an angle.
Just for the sake of doing it, i've outlined a method i'd use for this. Folks that may not be familiar with this effect can then see just how much work needs to go into it.


Duplicate the main photo layer, move it below the original, shifting it down to sit right below the original object. What you'll see is that you'll need to align the one corner that hangs down the farthest.

Use the polygon lasso to select the top of the component that won't be seen in the reflection, and delete this
part. Then select the front and side panels separately and copy them to their own layers (ctrl+j).

Use the Distort/Skew tool to align the ends of the panels to the bottom of the original object.

Zoom right into the dial and tag on the front and using the lasso tool select around these, real tight, and copy them to their own layer. You can select each at a time or both at once, it's up to you.

Now use the polygon lasso tool and select the areas just right of the dial and label tag. Copy this selection to another layer. Then position these parts to cover the original dial and label tag.

Now make sure you move the duplicate dial and label tag layer above the layer you just used to hide the original dial/tag with. Then using the lasso tool (if both object are on the same layer), position the duped dial and label tag to where they should be for the reflection image. (see the reflection in my last example image)

When you have this all worked out and ready, link these reflection layers together and create a new Group from them. Then apply the opacity reduction and fade out effects. (via a layer mask and a large soft brush)

Not a real quick method, but the shortest it can be in this situation.
Any questions just ask. :)

I have the PSD file for this if anyone feels the need to examine it. Just email me.
 
Mark (theFounder) .. that is sooo good ... a quick tute :} ... :righton:
 
That's a good tute. Never tried that before. Thanks, Mark......

A staple in graphic design...... the ol reflection bit..... I don't know why, but a lot of my clients seem to like that effect on their products brochure.

Just to add on to what was discussed......... In the above tutes, you have a square box...... What if it were a complex shape like what you have in img21314?

Sometimes it requires a bit of imagination and photoshop patience to achieve the desired result. This calls for a bit of modelling in PS...... via cut, paste, clone, transform ...... whatever it takes to do the job.

What I have here is a quick, verrrrrrrry rough image of what I meant. A better work could have been done but it will take a bit longer to do. It's just to show what I meant............

Oh yeah.... I'm on PS7..... what I did was apply a layer mask to the inverted image......... select the mask icon......... used the gradient tool for the effect and lowered the layer opacity........

Hope this helps you on your way......
 
that's excellent Vee (dv8_fx ... :} :}
 
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