Add lighting and the environment > Set the scene environment > 
Add an environment light and shadows
 
 
 

Why add an environment light or shadows?

Environments in Showcase have two lighting components; the image-based lighting (IBL) that is fixed according to the environment you are using, and a environment light that provides directional illumination and shadows.

When you position a highlight of the Environment Light, the ground shadow is automatically relocated to maintain a realistic lighting effect. In the same manner, the highlights will change as you move a shadow. You can choose to turn highlights or shadows on or off.

NoteShadows can only be cast on the ground from the environment light source in Hardware Rendering. When Ray Tracing, the environment light will cast shadows on the ground and onto objects in the scene. Additional lights in the scene will only cast shadows in Ray Tracing mode.

Turn on shadows and/or highlights

These settings are applicable to the current environment only.

  1. Select Scene > Environment Light and Shadows.

    The Environment Light and Shadows window appears.

  2. Use the The Environment Light menu to turn on shadows or highlights for the current environment.

  3. If you select shadows, they are turned on by default. To toggle them on or off, select Scene > Show Shadows.
  4. Use the properties in this window to fine-tune the look of the lights and shadows in the current environment (see the following).

Specify which objects display ground shadows

By default, only the floor of the environment displays ground shadows.

To show ground shadows on additional objects:

  1. Select the objects you want to display shadows.
    NoteThis feature is best used for objects resting on the ground. If you use raised or floating objects as shadow receivers, there may be unwanted shadows on the underside of these objects.
  2. Choose Scene > Add as Ground Shadow Receiver.

    The selected objects will now display shadows.

  3. To stop objects from displaying shadows, select them and then choose Scene > Remove as Ground Shadow Receiver.

Environment Light Properties

These options determine where the highlight will hit the surfaces and controls the appearance of the lighting on the object. The settings are applicable for the current environment only.

The Environment Light
  • Is turned OFF - Disables the light and shadows. (The properties for both the environment light and shadows are hidden.)
  • Illuminates only (no shadows) - Shows highlights but no shadows. (The controls for shadows are hidden.)
  • Casts shadows only - Shows shadows but no highlights. (The controls for the environment light are hidden.)
  • Illuminates and casts shadows - The environment light source creates highlights and shadows.
Color

Click the swatch to change the color of the environment light. Use the slider to control brightness between black and white.

Azimuth

Moves the environment light clockwise or counter-clockwise around the environment dome.

Specify the horizontal angle in degrees longitude (0 to 360).

Elevation

Moves the environment light up or down the environment dome.

Specify the vertical angle in degrees latitude (-90 to 90).

Move Light

Click the Move Light button to interactively position the environment light around the scene.

  • To place the environment light higher in the sky, click anywhere in the view and drag up.
  • To move the environment light down, drag down.
  • To move the environment light clockwise around the horizon, drag left.
  • To move the environment light counter-clockwise, drag right.
  • To place the highlight at any position on a surface, hold down the Ctrl key and click at that position.
  • To move the highlight around the surface to find the best position, hold down the Ctrl key and drag over the surface.

When you have moved the highlight to the desired location, click the same button, now labelled Stop.

NoteTo maintain a realistic lighting effect, Autodesk Showcase relocates the shadow (if applicable) to oppose the new position of the highlights.
Move Shadow

(Available if shadows are selected in the The environment light settings.)

  • Click this button and drag the shadow to move it to the desired location.
  • Click the same button, now labelled Stop when you have finished moving the shadow.
NoteAutodesk Showcase automatically relocates the highlights (if visible) to oppose the new position of the shadows to maintain a realistic lighting effect.
Default Position

Restores the original position of the environment light to directly overhead (or to the original location in the particular environment). Shadows appear directly opposite the environment light source.

Ray Tracing Shadow Properties

These options control the appearance of the shadow in Ray Tracing created for the Environment Light, and cast upon all objects in the scene.

NoteRay Tracing shadow properties are saved with the individual Environment file if it is stored in a custom environment library. Hardware shadow settings are global for all environments in the scene.

Ray Tracing shadow and highlight softness

Adjust the virtual size of the light source to affect the shadow and highlight softness and size. (A larger size will cast softer shadows and create larger highlights)

Ambient Shadow distance

Set the distance, in units, that ambient shadows around the object will be cast upon the ground plane.

Hardware Rendering Shadow Properties

These options control the appearance of the shadow in Hardware Rendering created by the objects in the scene.

They are available if shadows are turned on in the This environment light settings, and are applicable for all environments.

Color

Click the color swatch to change the hue of the shadow.

Resolution

Adjust the resolution of the Hardware shadow for greater or fewer details.

NoteIf the Hardware shadow edges appear stair-stepped or too aliased, increase the Resolution value. However, note that high resolution values affect system performance, and may cause slower frame rates. Lower resolution will increase the number of frames per second.
Softness

Controls the size of the shadow’s hard center. Enter a numeric value or use the slider for ranges from 0% to 100%. A shadow with a defined edge has a value of 100% while a shadow with a blurry edge has a value of 0%.

Intensity

Controls the strength of the color of the shadow. Enter a numeric value or use the slider for ranges of 0 (weak) to 1000 (strong).

Drop-off distance

Controls the intensity of the shadows based on the distance between the object and the ground.

To make objects that are far from the ground cast Hardware shadows, increase the Drop-off distance value. To decrease the intensity of the shadows created by objects near the ground, decrease the Drop-off distance value.

Drop-off rate

Controls the intensity of Hardware shadows based on the distance between the object and the environment light source.

To make far away objects cast dark shadows, move the Drop-off rate slider towards the Slow end. To make these far away objects cast slight shadows at a distance, move the slider toward the Abrupt end.

Shadow Casting Properties

This setting is available if shadows are turned on in the The environment light settings, and is applicable for all environments.

Shadows are cast by:

All objects

All objects in the scene will cast a shadow based on where the environment light source is located.

Specified objects

Only some objects in the scene will cast a shadow.

Choose objects manually by selecting one of the following Choose Shadow Casters options:

In Hardware Rendering mode, shadows can only be cast on the ground from the Environment Light source. This light source can also be used for illumination. In Ray Trace Rendering mode, all lights will cast shadows (if enabled) on both the ground and other objects in the scene.

NoteIf an object is removed from casting shadows in the Environment Light and Shadows dialog, the object will not cast shadows from any other lights in the scene.

Troubleshooting shadows

If you can't see Hardware shadows:

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