Article Number: 105 | VC5 | VC4 | Post Date: November 1, 2021 | Updated: September 23, 2025
Is there a way to model retroreflective material effects in Virtual CRASH?
Yes, this is possible. Below we’ll review three methods to accomplish this.
In Adobe Photoshop, we start by creating our logo and tape images. Both images have a retroreflective texture.
Below is one strip (this file can be downloaded from your browser).
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Method 1 | Emissive lighting | VC6
Recall from Chapter 23 of the User’s Guide that in Virtual CRASH 6, PBR materials can be assigned emissive lighting properties.
If your vehicle model includes retroreflective objects defined as separate elements, you can assign them their own material properties in the material menu. For our trailer example, we will instead create a simple box object. The reflective tape image is applied to this box as an albedo texture, with the “map method” set to “object”. Finally, the box is linked to the parent trailer (learn more).
Here we carefully position the box such that a small portion of the box’s side remains visible. Note, any 3D geometry can be used for this purpose.
Using the diagram tool, the emissive channel intensity can be controlled as a function of time. In “intervals” mode, the “count” value specifies the number of control grips (“white dots”) displayed in the graph.
You can hold left-click and drag these control grips to reposition them as needed.
Below is the final production.
Method 2 | Inward facing light with projection map | VC6, VC5, VC4
In this case, we made put three reflective tape strips in one image to help reduce the number of inward facing lights.
The projection feature was first introduced in the 2019 Spring Software Update. To learn more about using the projection feature, see: https://www.vcrashusa.com/blog/2019/4/5/spring-2019-software-update. Before proceeding, we also recommend you review: https://www.vcrashusa.com/kb-vc-article65.
For the logo and tape, we use inward spotlights. Load the image file by opening the “projection” menu, left-click on “file”, and find the appropriate projection map for your reflective material. By using the “intervals” option from the dropdown menu to the right of “intensity”, you can control the brightness of the light as a function of time. This helps control the illusion of reflected light intensity as a light source gets closer to the reflective material.
Here we see a rendering of the reflective tape and logo:
Using the “glow” feature and Adobe After Effects can help enhance the illusion of reflected light.
The full visual can be seen here:
Method 3 | Inward facing light to illuminate texture map | VC6, VC5, VC4
Using a texture map or logo with your decal pattern included, simply illuminate the area with an inward facing light: https://www.vcrashusa.com/kb-vc-article65.
Tags: reflector, reflective, tape, reflecting, retro, retroreflective
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