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Can I have frosted (vs transparent) glass?
I've taken your Shower Door model and edited it in a text editor. I took out the hinges and door handle and so created a simple aqua glass wall. Then I changed the word "aqua" to "white" to create a clear transparent glass wall. Very nice!
Now I would like to create a frosted (translucent) glass wall: one that allows light to pass through but is not transparent. Can I do this simply with my text editor? I looked at Art Of Illusion, but prefer the simple text method if possible.
Thanks for your excellent program! I am creating a modern bathroom model and would like to send you the rendering some time.
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Re: Can I have frosted (vs transparent) glass?
Hi Tom,
Welcome to the Sweet Home forum!
Do you know I did exactly the same thing, with exactly the same shower door model, for some render tests recently. They say great minds think alike.
I already knew that light can't pass through glass objects (see below) in Sweet Home (yet!) so instead I started out with an Alpha blended model but have since found Alpha blending doesn't seem to be supported in SunFlow (the Java render engine used by Sweet Home)
I was hoping to create a partially condensation covered mirror with just a partial reflection for this photo shoot scene I created. (I'll be posting a larger version in the gallery soon)
At the moment Sweet Home 3D doesn't render Caustics. The glass transparency you see, in your render, is kind of an illusion produced by Sweet Home, think of it more like a hack to provide a form of transparency. You can see lights and objects on the other side of the glass and the effect light has on those objects but no light can pass through the Sweet Home glass model.
Even with the correct glass parameters in the .mtl file (without the sweethome3d_window_pane line in the .obj file) when loaded in to Sweet Home, it would show as a transparent glass object in the quick (preview window) view but appear as a sold black object in the final render.
I am hoping that one day we will have Caustics (plus maybe also Alpha channel blending and Bump mapping) but it will slow down render speeds.
Hope this helps, Looking forward to seeing your model in the gallery section.
db4tech
Edit:
For the type of effects you would like to create, at the moment it might be best to design your model in Sweet Home, then export it as an obj, file (found under the 3D View menu)
Import the obj file into a program like Blender, add lights and glass objects then render in blender. Poetry
Edit 2: To add a correction.
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last edit by db4tech at Jun 29, 2010, 11:09:04 PM]
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Re: Can I have frosted (vs transparent) glass?
Thanks very much for your excellent reply! I get it. I don't understand the render modelling intricacies, but I understand that SweetHome is doing a trick to show transparent glass, and that's all that matters to me. I think I read your post about transparent glass cubes, if that was you. It's what made me think that I was just missing one small detail.
And MANY thanks for telling me that light won't pass through the "fake" glass walls. That explains why the room-centered ceiling light of SweetHome does not pass through it in my rendering. That was confusing me.
I will post my current rendering in the gallery once I figure out where that is and how to do that. I'm extremely satisfied with how well SweetHome has allowed me to quickly and easily create a pretty complete bathroom model with sink, glass walls, and shower fixtures that are close enough to what I am wanting. The transparent glass walls part was most helpful since that is the centerpiece of my planned remodel. Next time I devote more time to my model I'll play with the advanced rendering tools so that I can add room lights inside my current wall sconces.
I very much appreciate your most complete and helpful reply. And so fast! I really love SweetHome, and it's great to find such a wonderful community behind it. Tom
