Adding 3D shine to jewels and metals

Author: SaraC

Tools Needed

• Paint Shop Pro
• Photoshop (or similarly capable paint program)

When your shiny things lack that extra dimension, add a beveled shine in postwork to make them really stand out.

This tutorial uses Paint Shop Pro 7, but Photoshop has similar capabilities.

Above is the render I'm starting with. The arrows show the two areas we're going to be working on.

This is V3 in her morphing fantasy dress, with a lovely High Fantasy Bundle texture. But the blue jewel is looking flat and her sword could use some shine.

We'll start with the jewel on her dress. Using the point-to-point selection tool (or rectangle/ellipse if the shape is regular) and a feather of about 2, outline the area you want to make 3D:

Go to Effects / 3D Effects / Inner Bevel.

In the Inner Bevel dialog box (above), change the parameters until you get the effect you want. If you click the down arrow next to the eye, the changes will automatically update on your image.

I've chosen a bluish-grey Highlight colour, a medium-level Shininess and a high Intensity value. The Depth and Elevation settings will also alter the 3D appearance of the jewel.

Match the Light Angle with the dominant lighting of your scene.

Click OK when you're done, and right-click to deselect the area. Here's the finished jewel:

Now for the sword. Outline as before, with a small feather value.

In the Inner Bevel dialog box, alter the parameters to get the effect you want. Again, match the Light Angle.

The final image is shown at the top of the page. Above is another image where I highlighted the sword in 3D to make it stand out. The original sword is shown for comparison below.