How to Make Your Sequined Dress Sparkle

We designed a dress for the bridesmaids at a friend’s wedding using Lotta 3D design software by Browzwear.

As you can see, the dress uses a sequined material. We wanted the sequins to sparkle realistically in the 3D simulation, like when the bridesmaids dance. You can easily visualize this effect in Lotta using photorealistic 3D features like Specular Map.

The fabric we scanned doesn’t include information about how the sequins reflect light. To achieve the sparkly effect, add a Specular Map to the material that defines the parts of the fabric that will shine.

We created a Specular Map in Photoshop using Replace Color and loaded it into the specular channel of the material.

Base texture (Diffuse map)

Shininess texture (Specular map)

Now, when you watch the 3D simulation of the dress, the sequins reflect the light realistically. Watch the sequins sparkle in the video clip below. We can’t wait for the wedding!