Shadow Catcher

MattB123

Hi, Struggling to find any recent / relevant info on this topic but is it safe to assume that the shadow catcher brick is broken in 4.15?

Sven Dullah

Hi! You mean for 3Delight? There are no 3DL updates since 2015 so I can't see why it should be broken. However I can't test it myself. still using DS 4.9. Here's a tutorial on how to set it up in shadermixer if that's of any help:

Create a shadowcatcher in Shader Mixer

MattB123

I dunno. I've never really bothered experimenting with them but "Matte Material" doesn't seem to work in iray so trying to get something workable 

Sven Dullah

Ok, can't help you then, I don't use IRay. The shadowcatcher brick is RSL so it only works in 3DL.

MattB123

Yea I figured as much. I have a workaround but it's last resort. Just using the draw ground and moving the ground would do the trick but it feels like there should be a more elegant way of doing it

Richard Haseltine

For 3Delight?

MattB123

Im actually looking to create a shadow catcher for iRay in 4.15 but the matte property doesn't seem to work. I'd prefer to avoid 3Delight but not sure what else my options are

 

Richard Haseltine

What happens with the Iray Matte? It worked for me just now, in a simple scene with a plane, a cylinder, and a spotlight, though it does catch reflected light as well as shadows which might not be what you want.

MattB123

Using a plan, I apply the matte and it just remains a white plane. I turn on and off iray mode, i change between photoreal and interractive, i hide and show the plane, still it remains a white plane. 

Its probably a simple error on my part but i can't seem to get it working

MattB123

So it turns out that having the plane inside an enclosed space is causing the matte material not to work. 

Richard Haseltine

If there are any external lights (e.g. an HDR or Sun/Sky) then the whole of the enclosed plane will be shadowed.

MattB123

That makes sense. My expectations were a little too high.