2017

Table Of Contents
Shadow Output Type box Select the type of shadow to output. This setting is repeated in the Render Passes
section of the Output menu for a Shadow Output Selection.
NOTE When set in the Output menu, this becomes the default Shadow Type for any new Shadow Cast nodes.
Source Shadow Type box Select the type of shadow cast for the source node. This setting is available in the
Shadow Cast menu only if the shadow cast node is a child of a source node, and is repeated in the Source
menu.
Shadow Type box Select a mapping type for the shadow.
Description:Shadow Type:
Use 3D Hard Shadows for higher precision shadows when lights are close to the objects
in the scene. These are best for hard edge shadows with penumbra effects, but can be
slower.
3D Hard Shadows
Use 3D Soft Shadows if you want faster soft shadows with lights further away from your
objects. These shadows offer explicit control over softness.
3D Soft Shadows
2.5D Shadows work best on transparent or semi-transparent objects, for example a shadow
projected on a wall by smoke.
2.5D Shadows
NOTE Some of the settings in the Shadow Cast menu differ based on the shadow type you choose.
Resolution box Select a resolution to determine the quality of the selected casting type.
Texture Bit-Depth box Select a 16 or 32-bit quality for the shadow cast. 32-bit offers more precision, but
at the cost of memory usage.
Anti-Aliasing Sample box Select an anti-aliasing sampling level for the shadow cast.
NOTE Depending on your graphics card and the size of your Action scene, shadows may not appear or render
properly with higher anti-aliasing sampling levels.
Anti-Aliasing Softness field Displays the softness value of the anti-aliasing sample for the shadow cast.
NOTE Jitter on 3D shadows is inherent to the shadow map technique. However, in most situations it can be go
completely unnoticed. Some lighting situations which cause stretched shadows, such as lights close to the horizon,
are very likely to create visible jittering. To alleviate jittering problems, you can try to use higher resolution,
anti-aliasing, and anti-aliasing softness levels. In these cases, interactive manipulations in the image window may
become taxing; therefore, you should activate
Adaptive Degradation (page 476) for Shadows.
544 | Chapter 15 Compositing in 3D Space with Action