brushed metal blues

[Lowly Designer]

Hi guys,

anyone know how to get the brdf shader to work on a flat surface, it seems to like curved surfaces fine - but stick it on a flat one and bye bye highlights. check out my post in the WIP forum.

I'm trying to achieve a good anisotropic highlight on the front brushed metal part of the lens housing.

also does anyone know how to make a decent pearlescent surface? a preset would be a great help here.

Thanks in advance
Lowly

[Captain Obvious]

Use a noise procedural and make it really small in one direction and really streched in the other direction, and use it as a bump. That might work.

[Red_Oddity]

pearlescent like so?

The surface has been tweaked on a monitor with a gamma of 2.2, so it will look very different on a uncorrected render (in order to see it properly, open up your test render with photoshop or other comp program and adjust the gamma from 1 to 2.2...sorry about the whole gamma deal, but it was a surface for use in film compositing)
Also, the image has been rendered with the Beach HDR image from Paul Devebec's site (http://www.debevec.org/) with MonteCarlo Radiosity (about 60% Intensity)...
BUT, it should give you a basic idea where to start when doing your own pearl surface...

[Lowly Designer]

Thanks red, the surface looks great, I think the whorly texture on the surface may need a tweak or two but that's pretty much what I was after.

It's great when you ask for help and then actually get it!!!! :-) I love this forum. Sweet.