Best way to get varying degrees of transparency on a plastic part

[ldichiara]

Hi All -
I am trying to run a transparency evaluation on a plastic overcap that goes over spray bottle. The part is currently in production and is molded out of solid green plastic. What I am trying to do is evaluate what this would look like with varying degrees of opacity..so for example, I have a lineup set up in keyshot with 6 bottles side by side and I would like the caps to have 10% opacity, 25% opacity, 50%, etc...to evaluate the clarity and visibility of the underlying components.
Does anyone know the best way to achieve this? Should I build a palette of greyscale 'labels' with the desired opacity and then use them as an opacity map?
Any insight is appreciated.

Lenny

[Rex]

When you say transparency do you mean the the transmission or "clarity" of the glass? or are you looking for a less-realistic "ghosted" effect? Some example images would be helpful.

[ldichiara]

Rex -
See the attached image for an example of what I am after. The bottle overcap that is solid green is existing with no opacity; solid molded plastic basically. The other bottle overcap that is molded out of clear plastic with a slight frosting is what I want to explore varying degrees of opacity. So for example, on one end of the spectrum, completely see through (like a polycarbonate) and then varying degrees of clarity so that the viewer can tell there is something underneath the cap but on the amount of clarity will dictate how much visibility.
The way I have looked at it to start is through creating photoshop images of varying degrees of grayscale percentages (10% - 90%) and then using these as opacity maps. This may be the way to go with it but I was looking to see if anyone else had alternative methods or different solutions. Thanks.

Lenny

[Esben Oxholm]

Hi Idichiara.
I think the advanced material is what you need.
I did a quick test with some balls and cylinders. Based on Dries semitransparent PP, I tweaked the material settings to produce varying amount of transparency and roughness.

Have a look at the BIP for exact settings:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2aRkqiOlEoORDUySUhLbzZwODg/edit?usp=sharing

[Rex]

Hey I know that product! The Flixonaise is one of our testing models we use in the office. Esben provided a very nice example scene for you. Here is a link to one of our older tutorials on how to create cloudy plastic. The UI has changed a bit but the principal is the same: http://youtu.be/Gm3vaJH6qgo

[ldichiara]

Esben | Rex
Thank you both - I'll take a look at this and play around with it a bit.
Just as an FYI - what I did (it seems to work in an acceptable manner - through there may be an easier way to achieve it) was create photoshop Jpegs of varying grey scale squares - ranging from 10% - 90% and then applying them as opacity loads. I'll look at your BIP - as this may be an easier way to achieve what I'm after but in the spirit of sharing, I wanted to offer up my approach as well.

Thank you again.

L