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Tutorial - Good Glass vs. Bad Glass
Steps: 3

Obviously between those 2 images there isn't a DRAMATIC difference. But there is just enough that someone might catch the look. When you look at these two things next to each other it really stands out. That extra bit of shading near the middle really gives your glass a shiny feeling.

For years I'd been doing glass surfaces the same as everyone else with the flipping vertically and then just fading off the bottom. I was watching a car commercial in which they had a brightly lit room with white glowing strips of light and then dark stips. With a black reflective surface. I noticed at the bottom of all the white strips when it became floor there was a slight darkening then a sudden brightness but not quite as bright as the original light.

This is where I came up with this simple yet effective technique to create more authentic looking glass. So here are the 3 steps you need to take to make you're glass surface image just a little more realistic.

Step 1:
Make a new layer between the 2 image layers so it should be like a sandwhich with the black line between the original and mirrored image.

Step 2:
Draw a 2+ pixel black line (size depends on size of the image for the images above 2px was enough) all the way across the exact mid-point of reflection.

Step 3:
use the Blur filter (Filter > Blur > Blur) (depending on the size of the image you may have to use it more than once, for the image above it was sufficient)

And that's all.

3 easy steps. 1 great new look. This can even be done to existing images. just make sure to clear off the grey/black lines that will overlay the original image.

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