Update: I’ve add a link to Zonja’s excellent instructions to the my Tutorials Index Page.
Last night, Chestnut Rau led me, by way of Whiskey Monday to a three-year-old post from Zonja Capalini on using Linden Water as a mirror. As old as the post may be, it has considerable relevance given how LL and TPVs are striving to improve the graphics capabilities of the Viewer – and it goes to show how easy it is to miss a highly informative blog post! My thanks to Chestnut and Whiskey for pointing me in the right direction, and to Zonja for documenting the process.
The technique isn’t new, per se, as a number of people have been using the idea for a while and produced some very clever effects, but Zonja’s instructions make it so easy to implement, they are a joy to follow and make trying things out for oneself as easy as 1-2-3. And I mean easy – if I can get things sorted, then anyone can.
As well as clever visual effects, the technique can be used to produce some interesting shots as one travels SL – or even of one’s own home region.
Of course, it is rare for real water to be so glassy-smooth, but the results are worth ignoring that fact. The effect can obviously be combined with other graphics effects – Windlight sky settings, lighting and shadows, etc., – although you can find your system getting pushed hard. Lighting and shadows in particular left me with very grainy pixelation on images…
There is a slight difference between Zonja’s instructions and achieving the same result in V3-based Viewers, inasmuch as everything can be achieved from the one dialogue box when setting-up the water Windlight requirements. Just go to WORLD->ENVIRONMENT EDITOR->WATER PRESETS->NEW PRESET… Not exactly rocket science to find, but worth mentioning. Once there, set all options and sliders as Zonja defines in her article.
The most interesting use for the technique is that of self-portrait style pictures, where some fun can be had. Zonja and Whiskey has some stunning examples of these. I was a little reluctant to include any of myself, given my current fetish look – but “in for a penny”, as they say.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
I’m digging your fetish look.
LikeLike
Thanks – Spikeheel Starr, however, deserves the credit :).
LikeLike
So I suppose that to get these mirror images, you just tweak those settings to get a reflective water surface, rotate your home 90º and use an appropriately tweaked pose, and then post the picture rotated back 90º? 🙂
Fun, but I wish they put back the code they had on the 2007 renderer for SL 1.16: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmGzH3GZ5Jo
This was the last viewer without Windlight (which was introduced in 1.17), which removed this astonishing feature.
I’m sure that LL has the code stored somewhere… 😉
LikeLike
Well, you only need to rotate a stage set-up if required – as in my last image above. The shots of the house at Qiu Xiang and the images from Black Spot were taken simply with the application of the Viewer-side Windlight preset.
Agreed very much on the loss of alternative solutions as a result of the acquisition of Windlight. Would be interesting to know if the two are in any way compatible, or whether the older solution was dropped because Windlight was perceived (and has) delivered so much more elsewhere in terms of capabilities and rich environment with which people can get creative.
LikeLike
Love this effect, going to really be a popular one (or variations) when we eventually get parcel windlight. Know plenty if shops that try and fake it already .
Love your look perhaps a bit to much, you and spike both *hugs*
LikeLike
Parcel Windlight will make things very interesting :).
Glad you like the look… but maybe I shouldn’t include a link to this item … :).
LikeLike
Bad Inara ! Bad bad bad bad bad !! Just !! Gah ! BAD !
LikeLike
Grins and says nothing….
LikeLike
thanks 🙂 here is a nice effect to
if you leave your water reflection setting on minimal, it looks like the land is floating in the air.
LikeLike
Love the image!
I’ve managed something similar due to what I thought was a glitch in my GPU (setting a sky windlight and then changing the sun position has sometimes resulted in me seeing the sky “reflected” in the sea). Nice to know it can actually be done intentionally. Thank you!
LikeLike
Thanks for the pingback and the link in your tutorials page 🙂 I’m glad to see that this trick is still useful and actually being used. The original setup was created by Oracolo Janus, who unfortunately has since left SL.
LikeLike
You’re welcome
Thanks for the effort in putting the tutorial together and Kudos <i.in absentia to Oracolo for creating the original set-up.
LikeLike