Reflected Phones

Table of Contents

• Rule #1 – Make sure you have the correct image reflected.
• Rule #2 – Angled sides get their own reflections.
• Rule #3 – Separate items get their own reflections.
• Rule #4 – Items pointing toward you have smaller reflections than you think.
• Rule #5 – Cars don’t float. And they have underneathy-bits.
• Rule #6 – Round and cylindrical objects need special handling.
• Bonus Guide: Make It Look More Like a Wet Table Than a Mirror
• More Reflection Catastrophes

Rule #1 – Make sure you have the correct image reflected.

Photoshop Reflection Bloopers
The following images were created without a strict eye for detail.

Upon reflection, it's only 4GB.

Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray: who's gonna notice?

You just spun it around, didn't you?

Reflection Reality
In this photo we can see how a reflection appears when we look at a flat object face-on:

Flat-surfaced item, face on.

Notice the yellow lines I drew on the right-hand copy. The R is both upside down and backward. There is an element of perspective here too.

Reflection Realism in Photoshop
Here’s how to get a much more realistic reflection for a simple, flat item that is not turned at an angle:

1. Start with a layer that has just your image, separate from the background.
2. Press Ctrl+J (Mac: Cmd+J) to duplicate the layer.

Duplicate the layer

3. Press Ctrl+T (Mac: Cmd+T) to enter the Transform command.

Transform command

4. Click and drag down on the top-center square (handle) of the Transform box. Drag it all the way past the bottom edge of your object, so that it is flipped and not quite as tall as the original object.

Drag the top handle down

5. Press Enter/Return to complete the transformation.
6. Click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

Add Layer Mask icon

7. Select the Gradient tool from the Tools panel.

Gradient tool

8. Up in the Control panel, click on the Click to open Gradient picker icon.
9. Select the Black,White gradient (3rd from the left on the top row).

Gradient Picker

10. Select the Linear Gradient in the Control panel.

Linear Gradient

11. Make sure that the layer mask is still selected in the Layers panel. It should have a broken rectangle framing it.

Layer mask selected

12. Click and drag a gradient from the center of the reflection up to where the two box images meet. Hold the Shift key down to keep the gradient straight. Don’t let go of the Shift key until you let go of the mouse button.

Drag a gradient up

Gradient on layer mask

White background

Extra Credit
To make this image more realistic, add perspective.

1. Select the top (reflection) layer and press Ctrl+E (Cmd+E) to merge it down to the original image layer.
2. Edit > Transform > Perspective.
3. Click and drag the bottom-left handle to the right a bit.

Drag the bottom-left handle to the right

4. Press Enter/Return to save the transformation.

Finally, I added a thin black shadow line with the Line tool. I also put a chic white-to-gray gradient on the background layer.

Reflection in perspective

Next: Rule #2 – Angled sides get their own reflections.

Tiki God Preview

Your feedback is encouraged and much appreciated!

What You Should Know First

• The Photoshop CS4 Workspace
• The Photoshop Color Picker

Source Files

You don’t need to use these, but they may come in handy.

1. Tiki Head Paths .PSD (61KB)
2. Wood Texture .JPG (349KB) (Thanks to cgtextures!)
3. Eye Texture .PSD (248KB)

Part One: Create the Head

1. Create a new file (File > New). Use the settings below.
2. If you do not know how to use the Pen tool, I recommend you download the file #1 above and open it in Photoshop instead. Then skip the steps that involve drawing with the Pen tool (start with Step 8). I have provided the paths for you.

New Document Settings

3. Select the Pen tool.
4. In the Control panel, click on the icon for Paths (not Shape layers).
5. Use the Pen tool to draw an outline for your Tiki head.
6. Stay on the same work path in the Paths panel, and draw openings for the eyes.
7. In the Paths panel, double click on the words Work Path and rename the path head outline.

Pen Path for Head Outline

8. In the Paths panel, click on the Load path as selection icon.

Load path as selection

9. Open your file with the wood texture (you can grab file #2 above). (Thanks to cgtextures!) I took a photo of plywood and fiddled with it a bunch in Photoshop.
10. Select > All
11. Edit > Copy

Wood Texture

12. Go back to your tiki file.
13. Edit > Paste Into. This pastes your wood texture onto a new layer and uses your outline selection to create a layer mask.

Paste Into

14. Rename the layer face (double-click on the words Layer 1 to make it editable).
15. Click on the layer thumbnail which contains the wood texture.

Select the Thumbnail

16. Save your file.