• Zaxwerks

  3D Invigorator – Version 7.0 Shadows – I don’t get this at all

  Posted by Douglas Dye on January 9, 2014 at 7:17 pm

  Not a newbie, but I mainly use Invigorator for 3D logos. 7.0 has me stumped as far as shadows go. I created some text and added a back wall. I turned off ALL of the lights and when I render test I get squarish blotches as shadows on the wall. when I turn off Ambient Occlusion they go away. The Ray Trace Shadows dropdown doesn’t seem to do anything at all.

  I got rid of the wall and added a shape behind the text. I render tested and I get weird, dark rays on the shape. When I hide the text, the rays go away.

  I watched the 3D Invigorator PRO 7 Overview, which was helpful, but I would really like to know how to create your basic blurry shadow. I love all of the possibilities here, and I will certainly try to learn them, but something this simple really shouldn’t take this much time and research…

  Thanks in advance!

  Edward Wu replied 12 years, 4 months ago 2 Members · 5 Replies
• 5 Replies

• 

  Edward Wu

  January 10, 2014 at 7:16 pm

  Hi Douglas,

  The Ambient Occlusion helps add a level of realism for your shadows but is not used as a main source of casting shadows. What Ambient Occlusion does is it darkens areas where objects are close to one another. To improve the quality of the Ambient Occlusion Shadows, you’ll want to switch the control from “Faster” to “More Accurate” in the Lighting Globals panel. In addition, increase the amount of rays and it will help soften the shadows. You’ll want to also lower the Ambient Distance and the Ambient Darkness so the shadow is more subtle.

  To create lights that cast shadows, select a Light Set and set up a Parallel Light or a Spot Light. Then select the light and go in the Object Controls panel. Enable the Shadow Casting control. You will be able to adjust the Shadow Darkness and the Shadow Softness for the light. This will be the main source of light that casts shadows. To create a basic blurry light, simply increase the Shadow Softness value and the Shadow Map Size (located in the Lighting Globals panel) you will have a great looking shadow.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Douglas Dye

  January 12, 2014 at 9:21 pm

  Ah, thanks a bunch. I hadn’t noticed the Shadow Casting panel when a light is selected. That’s familiar from the last version.

  Thanks again!
• 

  Edward Wu

  January 13, 2014 at 7:18 pm

  Hi Doug,

  No worries. There are a lot of new lighting features in version 7, so that’s why some controls are different in version 7.

  If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us.

  Best,
  Edward
• 

  Douglas Dye

  January 13, 2014 at 7:42 pm

  Thanks, as someone who doesn’t really use Invigorator for video, I might bring a fresh perspective. And I wish that more graphics were done in After Effects, it gives a different look from Photoshop.

  A couple of things I noticed. It’s a lot easier to set up the shadows using the back wall as a shadow catcher. Also, it got a lot easier once I realized that you can manually type in a shadow softness higher than 20, which is the highest you can drag with the “handle”.

  Thanks again!

  Doug
• 

  Edward Wu

  January 14, 2014 at 6:27 pm

  Hi Doug,

  That’s great. Yeah, it’s always interesting to venture outside the box and use other programs to create the graphics. I’m glad you’re having fun using After Effects with Invigorator PRO as a combo.

  For the Shadow Softness and a lot of other controls, you’re right that you can manually type in values that are higher or much higher than the slider bar allows. The slider bar was implemented to prevent users from running into slowdown if they drag values that are too high. So, any time you see a slider with a numeric field, you’ll be able to type into the field to enter your own values.

  Have fun with the software.

  Best,
  Edward

Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up