Xplo Eristotle <inq### [at] unforgettablecom> wrote...
> Seems to me that the higher an object's reflection is, the less its
> pigment should have any effect on its appearance (provided that you're
> using non-metallic reflection), until you reach reflection 1, at which
> point the pigment would cease to be relevant.

Actually, diffuse, phong, and specular (and blinn in MegaPov) model
first-order reflections (light that comes directly from light sources, hits
the object, and is reflected to the camera).   The "reflection" property, on
the other hand, models higher order reflections (light that hits one object,
is reflected, hits the second object (and possible more), then hits the
camera).

Because they model different phenomenons, you can't create a give/take
relationship between them as you suggest.

It would be more benificial to create such a relationship between the
various BRDFs (diffuse, phong, and specular).

Actually, it's a bit more complicated than this when you get into photons
and radiosity, which also model higher order reflections.  Making all of
these different lighting models work together in unison is very difficult.

-Nathan

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