3D Compositing with Action > Action: Lights and Lighting Effects > Relighting: Casting Shadows >
Shadow Cast Menu Settings

The Shadow Cast menu settings are described as follows. Shadow types are dependant on your graphics card, so you may not see all of these settings.

Shadow Output Type box
  Select the type of shadow cast to output. This setting is repeated in the Output Options section of the Output menu.
Source Shadow Type box
  Select the type of shadow cast for the source node. This setting is available only if the shadow cast node is a child of a source node.
Shadow Type box
  Select a mapping type for the shadow.

Shadow Type: | Description:
--- | ---
3D Close Range | Use 3D Close Range 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 Long Range | Use 3D Long Range if you want faster soft shadows with lights further away from your objects. Long Range shadows offer explicit control over softness.
2.5D Shadows | 2.5D Shadows work best on transparent or semi-transparent objects, for example a shadow projected on a wall by smoke.

NoteSome 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 mapping type.
Anti-Aliasing Sample box
  Select an anti-aliasing sampling level for the shadow cast.

NoteDepending 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.
Red Colour field
  Displays the amount of red in the shadow (based on the colour of the attached light).
Green Colour field
  Displays the amount of green in the shadow (based on the colour of the attached light).
Blue Colour field
  Displays the amount of blue in the shadow (based on the colour of the attached light).
Shadow Colour pot
  Displays the colour of the shadow (based on the colour of the attached light). Click to select a colour.
Proportional button
  Enable to change the Red, Green, and Blue colour fields proportionally.
Transparency field
  Displays the transparency level of the shadow.
Decay Type box
  Select the type of decay to apply to the shadow.
Decay field
  Displays the rate at which the shadow decreases for the chosen decay type.
Softness field
  Displays the softness of a shadow.
Focus field (not shown)
  Displays the softness of the shadow based on the distance from the light. Objects closer to the focus distance are less blurred.
Colour Bleed field (not shown)
  Displays the amount of colour bleed in the shadow from semi-transparent objects in the scene.
Penumbra field (not shown)
  Displays the softness of a shadow.
Sampling Mode box (not shown)
  Select a softness sampling mode for the shadow.
Filter Samples field (not shown)
  Displays the amount of filter samples to take into account when creating softness (X xY). Available when Regular sampling is chosen in the Sampling Mode box.
Caster Samples field (not shown)
  Displays the amount of shadow caster samples to take into account when creating softness (X xY).
Density field
  Displays the amount of dark values to include in the softness.
Dark Threshold field
  Displays the amount of light values to include in the softness.
Flattening Mode box (not shown)
  Select a flattening mode for the shadow. Most of the time, Best Fit gives the best quality, but if you see clipping artefacts in the shadow, try one of the other modes.
Auto Near/Far button
  Enable to automatically set the near and far parameters for the shadow based on the objects in the scene.
Near field
  Displays the near distance of the start of the shadow.
Far field
  Displays the far distance of the end of the shadow.
Matte Threshold field
  Displays the value at which the alpha casts a shadow.
Overlap field
  Displays the amount of overlap from the light source. Increase to remove imperfections in the shadow.