Well, I tried it, and I got it to work Here is my Maya 4.5 scene file complete with my 512x512 test image Enjoy! Basicly, I did what I talked about above, by creating a layered shader with a blinn containg the transparency on the bottom, and plopped the refraction shader on top of it. The blinn also has the image in the color slot as a PROJECTION. I had to adjust the projection for it to fit Here is my final render: