Realistic Reflections in Vray

[zach_ryder]

What's the best guidelines for creating realistic reflection color in most interior materials like wood and cabinetry paint to resemble real life as best as possible? For example, would the reflection of wood floor be white or would it be closer to the brightness of the base color?

[jeffbrown]

Generally, non-metallic materials reflect without any color contribution, so white (or gray if you want to dim it down some) is your starting point. Metals contribute their color to reflections. In fact, 'pure' metals would have a diffuse color of black, and the reflection color would be all you see (gold, grey/silver, copper, etc.). Practically, I find I usually need some diffuse color to make things appear more realistic; surfaces usually have tarnish, oxides, etc. Also, you will probably want to use "Fresnel reflections" (yes) for realistic materials as well (for both metal and non-metallic).

[zach_ryder]

Makes since. Thanks for the insight on metal materials. So do you usually start with reflection value of pure white? Because I've realized that I've been using grey (usually like 125,125,125 which about the middle of the slider) and when I've started to turn the reflection all the way to white, It has made some materials like wood look a bit more realistic as long as the reflection gloss is correct.