Reflection controls

Reflection: An activation checkbox that enables reflections based on the settings of the parameters in the object (a layer or group).

Reflectivity: A slider that controls how shiny the object’s surface appears. 0% indicates no reflectivity, while 100% is perfectly reflective, like a mirror.

Blur Amount: A slider that controls whether real reflections appear in sharp focus or quite blurry, depending on the surface quality of the reflecting object.

Falloff: A checkbox that determines whether the reflection fades with distance from the object, producing a more realistic result.

When the Falloff checkbox is selected, additional controls become available. Click the disclosure triangle beside the Falloff checkbox to reveal these controls:

• Begin Distance: A slider that determines the distance (inside the reflection) where the falloff begins. When the slider is set to 0, falloff starts at the reflection plane.

• End Distance: A slider that determines the distance where the falloff ends, beyond which the reflection isn’t visible. Adjusting this slider moves the falloff point closer to the reflection plane, which causes less of the reflected image to appear.

• Exponent: A slider that controls how quickly a reflection gets fainter as the reflected object gets farther from the reflective surface.

• Blend Mode: A pop-up menu that sets the blend mode used for the reflection. Blend modes other than Add are useful for achieving different looks, even if they aren’t physically intuitive. For more information about blend modes, see Layer blending overview.

Casts Reflection: The Properties Inspector of every layer or group also contains a Casts Reflection pop-up menu (in the Blending section) that controls whether an object is reflective. There are three options:

• Yes: The object is reflected in nearby reflective objects.

  

• No: The object is ignored by reflective surfaces.

  

• Reflection Only: The object becomes invisible, but appears in reflective surfaces around it.