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INSIDE / TUTORIALS : |
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Fake Shadow tutorial for 3ds MAX
Introduction:
Have you ever had a scene filled with high-poly models that produce slow rendering times? This tutorial allows you to create realistic shadow materials for objects, allowing you to improve rendering times without sacrificing quality.
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Object Properties
Choose an object that you want to use to create a fake shadow. With the object selected, right-click and choose Properties. The Object Properties dialog box will open and under the General tab you will see Rendering Control. Turn off the Visible to Camera box, leaving Cast Shadows on.
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Matte/Shadow material
Place a plane underneath the object to receive shadows.
Create a Matte/Shadow material with default settings
including having the 'Affect Alpha' box checked.
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Click to enlarge ...
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Lighting
Create a light that will be used to cast the object's shadow onto the plane. Use your preferred settings (we recommend turning the density of the shadow down to give the shadow a sense of transparency).
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Click to enlarge ... |
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Render the Shadow
You should now have a scene setup that renders the shadow of the object onto a plane without rendering the actual object. To create the fake shadow material, start with rendering the top view of the plane. Make sure the entire shadow fits within the view (you may need a white background to see it). Most importantly, check the alpha channel of the Virtual Frame Buffer to make sure that only the shadow is opaque.
Once you have rendered the top view to your satisfaction, save it as fakeshadow.tif, making sure to save the alpha channel.
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Go on to the next section on Creating Materials ...
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