Blend material - coat as transparent layer

[andrewjohn81]

this has worked for me before Exactly as people are saying. However, it has also failed for me Exactly how you're saying as well. I'm not exactly sure the problem. Sometimes I just recreate the material completely starting from new. Usually these types of problems are from using an older material in a new scene. Sometimes just recreating it solves the problem.

I still do gloss layers that way. Simply an opaque base material, then a material with white refraction right on top of it. If it is making the whole object transparent then something is indeed incorrect.

As vlado said about tracing refraction though...it's not a bad idea. What happens if you turn tracing refraction off on the Base layer though. You don't want to see through that object. Is the refraction still linked?

[simmsimaging]

Refraction works fine in the coat layers for me? It makes the coat transparent, leaving the solid base layer there (albiet slightly darker).

I have noted that darkening too - which makes it a bit harder to do multiple layers of gloss without things getting too dark unless you adjust your maps etc. Switching to additive mode helps that issue, buts adds other problems. Is there way to get around this problem?

b

[simmsimaging]

Actually, I have found that simply replicating your base material as a coating, and adjusting it's glossiness up can give you that layered reflective quality without the darkening, but shouldn't the VrayBlend mat do this without that side-effect?

b

[chrisjacks21]

I think codi hit on something. For instance when applied to a one sided plane, the base material takes on the coat materials refraction/transparency, but if you shell the plane it becomes opaque.

[simmsimaging]

I am currently not seeing that transparency problem but that's a good one to file away. I cannot figure out the darkening thing though.

b

[simmsimaging]

Vlado - any hints on how to get around the darkening effect, without having to go to additive/shellac? I can layer two mats without a major problem, but if I add a third, no matter how I make it (or so it seems) everything goes really dark.

Thanks in advance,
b

*EDIT* Now it seems fine. It must be something with the fresnel and picking up reflections or something. I can't figure out why sometimes I see it and sometimes not. I'll have to try and reproduce it later.