7 Replies Latest reply on Feb 13, 2018 10:37 AM by Brian Hillner

    Is there a way to naturally limit Shadow distance?

    Chris Cunningham
    Chris Cunningham Jan 17, 2018 5:06 PM

      I noticed that when rendering anything, the shadow stretches pretty far. I would love to be able to slide a toggle to limit the fall-off perimeter from the model. Is this possible or already a thing?

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        • Re: Is there a way to naturally limit Shadow distance?
          Dave Goetsch
          Dave Goetsch Jan 19, 2018 10:38 AM (in response to Chris Cunningham)

          I would love this also. I've used many different rendering programs over the last 30+ years. (I started with Pov-Ray in the early 1080's).  One thing I really miss in Visualize is the ability to adjust the fall-off of the shadows and the falloff of the lights.  I remember being able to adjust the "feathering" of the shadow so it doesn't have a sharp edge. The feather could adjusted to a very smooth gradient from light to dark, same with the physical lights fall-off. Scenes are much more realistic with soft fall-offs.

          • Re: Is there a way to naturally limit Shadow distance?
            Brian Muhlbach
            Brian Muhlbach Employee Jan 19, 2018 4:56 AM (in response to Chris Cunningham)

            Unfortunately, not at this time. However, there is a workaround using Photoshop for "feathering" the floor shadow.

             

            1. In Visualize Professional render a "Beauty," "Floor Shadow,"  and "Object" render output pass.

                 2. In Photoshop, layer the "Object," "Beauty," and "Floor Shadow" pass.

             

                

                 3. Select the "Object" layer and use the magic wand tool to mask the background

             

                 4. With the black background mask selected, hide the "Object" layer and select the "Beauty" layer

               

                

                      Delete the "Beauty" layer background.

              

                

                 5. Make sure the "Floor Shadow" and "Beauty" layer is visible

             

                

              

             

               

                 6. Select the "Floor Shadow" layer.

             

                      `

                 7. Apply a  Filter > Blur effect to feather the floor shadow.    

               

                

             

             

             

                 You can also control the shadow intensity by selecting the environment in Visualize and adjusting the Floor Intensity

                 in Scenes > Advanced > Floor Effects,

             

            I

            • Re: Is there a way to naturally limit Shadow distance?
              Dave Goetsch
              Dave Goetsch Feb 4, 2018 9:09 PM (in response to Chris Cunningham)

              A 10 step "Workaround" is nothing like moving one slider.  If I wanted to do this, it would actually be easier to forgo the shadows completely in Visualize  and just create them in Photoshop. Very LAME.

                • Re: Is there a way to naturally limit Shadow distance?
                  Brian Hillner
                  Brian Hillner Employee Feb 13, 2018 10:37 AM (in response to Dave Goetsch)

                  Visualize uses NVIDIA's Iray render engine, which is scientifically accurate and physically-based. While this means setting up materials and lighting to look dead-on photorealistic are a breeze, it does mean you have to think a bit differently when it come to tweaking the lighting, and therefore any shadows, of your scene.

                   

                  We have to think of lighting objects, and specifically how to control their shadows, just like you would in the real world. This means there are 3 ways to control the shadow from a light source:

                  1) The size of the light source

                  2) The distance the light source is from the object

                  3) The intensity/brightness of the light source

                   

                  These all have an effect on what the shadow looks like...darkness, falloff, length, etc. Just like you had a light bulb in your hand in a dimly lit room, trying to light a small object like headphones. Moving the light source closer will produce much darker and defined shadows, while moving the light bulb away will result in lighter, fuzzier and less defined shadows.

                   

                  All this said, we have approached NVIDIA's Iray team with feature requests specifically for better shadow control.