2009

Shadow Types and Shadow Controls
Create panel > Lights > Create or select a light. > General Parameters rollout
> Shadows group > Shadow type
Create menu > Lights > Create or select a light. > General Parameters rollout
> Shadows group > Shadow type
Select a light > Modify panel > General Parameters rollout > Shadows group
> Shadow type
The General Parameters rollout for both photometric and standard lights lets
you turn shadow-casting on or off for the light, and choose which type of
shadow the light uses.
The following table describes the advantages and disadvantages of each shadow
type:
DisadvantagesAdvantagesShadow Type
Slower than
shadow maps.
Does not sup-
port soft shad-
ows.
Supports trans-
parency and
opacity map-
ping.
Uses less RAM
than standard
Advanced Ray-
Traced
Processes at
every frame.ray-traced shad-
ows.
Recommended
for complex
scenes with
many lights or
faces.
Slower than
shadow maps.
Processes at
every frame.
Supports trans-
parency and
opacity map-
ping.
Uses very little
RAM.
Area Shadows
Recommended
for complex
scenes with
Shadow Types and Shadow Controls | 5117