dark glossy metal

[gzray]

hi, the att. guitar body has been spraycoated with a liquid metal called gunsmoke. This metal is very dark grayish but yet very reflective. I am trying to create this metal for exterior facade panels. I started with stainless steel and play around with the settings but I am not getting near gunsmoke. Whatever I try, it ends up being to bright. I am using a sun system which causes some blue sky reflection in the panels. Any suggestions how to create gunsmoke? Should I go for a different lighting?

Thanks a lot!

cheers,
Gerard

[fooprobe]

I think you're closer than you think. The problem is that the guitar is a curvy surface and will reflect differently as a result. Flat surfaces tend to have either too much glare (as you are getting) or almost no reflection at all. Try your material on a curvy surface and see how different it is.

however, I would suggest increasing the sharpness of the reflection - you have a brushed finish on your panel which is very different from the wet look on the guitar. And yes, get rid of the blue reflection, although again, in the "real" world it would be there. Try using an overcast HDRI for background/skylight instead of sun.

[gzray]

Thanks Emil. I get your point wit the curved surface, unfortunately the facade panels have to be planar. I eliminated the brush texture, but I need some anisotropy, the panels should not be high gloss. I tried HDRI but then it al turns flat grayish. I tried adding a rect. light but then I get an unnatural sharp transition between dark and light areas. Is there a smart method to throw organic shaped shadows on the facade in order to get a strong light-dark contrast? Or should I turn to PS?

thanks,
Gerard

[Micha]

Gerard, you could lower the filter color of the reflection layer of the metal. So your material should be more dark. Also you could add small fillets on the panel edges.

[gzray]

thanks Micha. That does make a difference, never thought of that.