Usage

The 2D Reflections gallery consists of 5 groups as shown in Figure 3 on the previous page.  They are:

• All, all available effects in the 2D Reflections gallery are present.
• Bottom, contains effects that position the reflected image at the bottom of (underneath) the original object.
• Right, contains effects that position the reflected image to the right of the original object.
• Left,  contains effects that position the reflected image to the left of the original object.
• Top, contains effects that position the reflected image on top of (above) the original object.

There are 4 effects in each group.  They differ by the amount of the original object that is included in the reflected image.  For example, Bottom 100% will create a reflected image that consists of 100% of the original object.  Bottom 40% creates a reflected image that consists of only 40% of the original object. 

These effects use the currently active object to create the 2D reflected image.  The active object can be a base image with or without a static selection or any other single object, even a text object.  When a reflection effect is applied, a new image will be created consisting of the original object and its reflection positioned in accordance with the chosen effect.  For example, to create a Bottom 60% reflection of the image in Figure 4 simply make sure that the active object is the image to be reflected and double click on the 'Bottom 60%' button in the EasyPalette.

Figure 4

A new image window will open containing the original object along with its reflected image (Figure 5).

Figure 5

A selection may also be employed to furthur customize the reflected image.  For example, using the image in Figure 4 we can apply a standard mask from the EasyPalette (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Our base image now appears as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7

Double clicking the 'Bottom 100%' button in the EasyPalette will yield a reflected image that appears as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8

The newly created reflection image contains a base image, the original object and the reflection object.  The amount of transparency used by the reflection tasks is 60%, however, once you have applied a reflection effect, you can select the reflected image object within the new reflection image and change its transparency value by bringing up the properties window (Ctrl+Shift+Enter) and entering a new value to suit your taste.