mip_matteshadow_mtl

Category: mental ray > Material Phenomena

Shader Family: Material Phenomenon

Output: Custom

This phenomena embeds mip_matteshadow, and applies it as a surface, shadow and photon shader through a single connection to the material port of the Material node. It has the same parameters as mip_matteshadow, with the addition of a scalar opacity parameter.

The opacity does not apply to the shadows or photons, but only to the visible surface shading itself. By using the opacity, you can use painted masks for irregular edges. For example, create a simple tapered cylinder to roughly match a forearm, and use a camera-projected mask (applied with mip_cameramap) for the actual contours of the arm. This also allows you to match any motion blur that may be present in the background plate with the help of masks.