fluted glass effect

fluted glass effect applied to the studio's source frame — beforefluted glass effect applied to the studio's source frame — afterSourceEffect

01/ ORIGIN

Fluted or reeded glass is a sheet with parallel semicylindrical ribs, and each rib is a lens with one axis of curvature: it bends light horizontally and leaves the vertical untouched. Architects have used it for over a century wherever a room needed light and privacy at once, in office partitions, stairwells and shop fronts. It has returned heavily in recent interior design, which is why the look now reads as contemporary rather than institutional.

02/ SWEEP

STRIPS sweep

STRIPS 3: a few broad flutes, large slices of the subject displaced
STRIPS 3STRIPS 3: a few broad flutes, large slices of the subject displaced
STRIPS 6: the default, flutes readable as separate vertical lenses
STRIPS 6STRIPS 6: the default, flutes readable as separate vertical lenses
STRIPS 20: fine reeding, the subject sliced into narrow bands
STRIPS 20STRIPS 20: fine reeding, the subject sliced into narrow bands

03/ SPEC

This effect divides the frame into vertical strips and displaces the image within each one, imitating refraction through parallel semicylindrical ribs rather than a general distortion. STRIPS runs from 3 to 20 with a default of 6 and sets how many flutes span the frame, which determines whether the result reads as broad architectural glass or fine reeding. BEND controls how strongly each strip refracts what it carries. Because displacement is horizontal only, in kott vertical structure survives intact exactly as it does through real fluted glass.

STRIPS3 to 20 · default 6
BEND0 to 1 · default 0.5

04/ FAQ

What is a fluted glass effect?
A fluted glass effect slices an image into vertical strips and refracts each one separately, imitating glass with parallel semicylindrical ribs that bend light horizontally only.
Why does fluted glass preserve vertical detail?
Each rib is curved in one axis only, so it refracts horizontally and leaves the vertical unchanged. That is why a vertical line behind fluted glass stays a vertical line.
How many STRIPS look most like real architectural glass?
Around the default of 6 for broad partition glass. Higher values read as fine reeded glass, which is common in cabinet doors and recent interior work.