Hello, I have a water feature and i wanted it to create reflections on the walls for a night shot. Same as the picture attached
i use sketchup 2017 with vray. i tried putting lighting under the water after playing with the opacity but it didn’t create a water effect. does anybody know how i can create this affect?
Hi, you are looking for caustic effect. On Chaosgroup forum @sketchuparchive explained how to achieve this with Vray 3. https://forums.chaosgroup.com/forum/v-ray-for-sketchup-forums/v-ray-for-sketchup-gallery/73811-house-in-menorca
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Sometimes the results aren’t as expected and so I’ve used a caustics pattern (black and white from the web) and added it in photoshop with a blending mode.
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that for the water itself i guess… i meant for the reflections to affect the surfaces surrounding it
thank you… also i’m placing lighting under water but it’s not showing in the renders
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I’m trying too, but can’t get it to work.
But little renders decrease render times substantially.
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I just tried several attempts to create that effect but VRAY seems to have some limitations (or my knowledge is limited). I tried putting a spot under the water. Then on top of the water. Then a PNG texture of water ripples (to allow light to pass through) and a spot under that…none would cast the ripple shadow/reflection on the surface.
So I gave up and did it in 2 mins in Photoshop. Not 100% accurate but may work in a pinch:
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If would help if I read all the replies before posting an answer…yeah I just came to that same conclusion myself after trying, and failing to create it all in SU/VRAY only.
For a still image it can be the easiest, plus you can tailor it to look more like you want in a creative way.
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For sure. Good to remember that, while possible, the amount of work to do in 3D may not be worth it in the end given that time = money 
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There is phoenix:
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Thank you sooooo much… that’s what I ended up doing :')
I made the water a glass texture and it kinda creates the caustic reflections. 
There’re no environment lights & there’re lights pointing up inside the water.
Only problem is the lack of opacity… I only have the hobby version of twilight render, so I can’t use the deep material editor.
I’d still be inclined to go with my initial suggestion and add it in photoshop to craft it the way you like.
Much like the real world, seeing this effect requires a certain condition of lighting, particularly pronounced when the surface is in shade (like the underside of the bridge), otherwise the ambient light, or direct sunlight, can wash it out. You can see in this quick example I put an overhang to shade the wall from the sun. This render is from the sun’s reflection off the water surface (that has to have some undulation)
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