6. TURN ON SHADOW CASTING FOR KEY LIGHT: Key light is usually the shadow light!
Shadow Casting Lights:
PROS: add contrast
holds image to ground plane
reveals alternative angles
can indicate off-screen objects
CONS: processor intensive
can clutter scene with unnecessary patterns
Raytraced verses shadow map
Ray traced
ray traced shadows take longer to render
transparent object’s ray traced shadows appear lighter
ray traced shadows will appear crisp in scene
Shadow Mapped
spot lights render better using shadow maps (omni is slower)
shadow maps are dependant on a set resolution (Shadow Map Parameters: Size)
you can vary opacity of shadow – density settings
Softness of shadow
Shadow Map: Sample Range (bigger # = softer)
Bias: how close the shadow is to object (low # closer – higher # further away)
Raytraced Shadows: bias – same as with shadow maps; no parameters to soften shadow
How to fake shadows!
Attenuated lights (for corners of rooms)
Negative values in light multiplier (darken shadow side of object)
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omni light added with negative multiplier of -.2 to darken right side of image
7. INCORPORATE ADDITIONAL SHADOWS CASTERS USING FILL LIGHT: use to add
shadow to areas of scene key light does not affect (for example an object behind another object concealed from effect of key light shadows).
Exclude: Use shadow casting fill lights in conjunction with exclude so you can set up a fill light to add shadows to scene but not illuminate scene.
Shadow density: designate different shadow densities for key light and fill light if there are more than 1 shadow casting light in the scene. Make key light less dense than fill light so overlapping shadows can both be seen where they cross.
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Keylight: main shadow cast from cylinder does not create shadow cast from cone concealed behind cylinder density of keylight is half the density of fill light.
Fill – shadow caster: shadows turned on Shadow density set higher than key shadow density Excludes cylinder from shadow casting
Fill – illumination: adds illumination to side of cylinder and cone adds shadows but not cast shadows shadows turned off.
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8. EVALUATE SOFTNESS OF LIGHTS AND/OR SHADOWS.
To increased softness of lights:
1. Use shadow maps and higher sample ranges
2. Lower density of shadow
3. Use 2 shadow lights to represent multiple but less intense shadows
4. Increase range between hotspot and fall off of spot
5. Turn off specular highlights on light (uncheck box - general light parameters)