In article <3A1ACB9C.34ECFE0D@unforgettable.com>, 
inq### [at] unforgettablecom wrote:

> When I'm doing metal (or other shiny, reflective surfaces), I usually
> reduce the diffuse by (1-reflection)*(standard diffuse finish), or maybe
> a little more.

I usually try to make sure that ambient+diffuse+reflection <= 1, for all 
textures, not just reflective ones. When using variable reflection, I 
always use conserve_energy(actually, I usually throw it in anyway...). I 
also usually use metallic and reflect_metallic, always use filter 
instead of transmit, and only use specular or blinn highlights. For 
transparent materials, I have been specifying a totally transparent 
texture and giving color with the fade_color feature, this simulates the 
actual effects of colored transparent materials, instead of a surface 
filled with air.
Oh, and I usually set ambient to 0, and put a fill light at the camera 
position or use radiosity. This helps the contrast of the image, since 
the fill light has shading while ambient flattens things out.

-- 
Christopher James Huff
Personal: chr### [at] maccom, http://homepage.mac.com/chrishuff/
TAG: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg, http://tag.povray.org/

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