In the light shape node for the selected light, there are various sections with attributes. When working with Fur, attributes in the Fur Shading/Shadowing section can be set.
This applies to lights set up to render Fur with the Maya Software renderer and the mental ray for Maya renderer.
Fur Shading/Shadowing attributes
Below are descriptions of the Fur Shading/Shadowing attributes for the selected light’s “lightShape” node in the Attribute Editor. To see these attributes, select the light and open the Attribute Editor (Ctrl+a). If there are no attributes in this section and you are rendering with the Maya Software renderer or the mental ray for Maya renderer, you must add Fur Shading/Shadowing attributes (select Fur > Fur Shadowing Attributes > Add to Selected Light).
Select the type of fur shading you want the light to create.
Disables fur shading effects without removing fur light attribute settings from the light. For information, see No shadows or shading.
The light creates simple fur shading effects. For information, see Simple fur shading.
(For spot lights only.) The light creates more realistic shadowing effects on fur and geometry. For information on shadow maps, see Fur depth map shadows.
For Auto-Shading type only. Set how far from the root the fur should be shaded. Use the following settings as guidelines:
For Auto-Shading type only. Set the darkness of the self-shaded area. Use the following settings as guidelines:
For Auto-Shading type only. Set the power of the falloff curve between lit hairs and non-lit hairs. Use the following settings as guidelines:
For Auto-Shading type only. Set the darkness of the back shadow area. Use the following settings as guidelines:
For Shadow Maps only. Set how much of the pixel must be covered by hair before hair depth information is stored in the shadow map. Use this option to prevent very fine hairs from showing up in the shadow map (although it is rare, fine hairs can sometimes cast thick shadows). Use the following settings as guidelines:
