Common shadow image problems
 
 
 

This section covers scene lighting and shadow mapping problems.

Shadows produced from shadow casting

Problem: Shadows produced from shadow casting have jagged shadow boundaries.

Shadow map resolution is low.

Do one of the following:

Shadows from light fog

Problem: Shadows from light fog may appear incorrect for very thin objects, or Light fog shadows shift over an animation.

See Fog samples in Fog (available in software renderings)Render > Multi-lister.

Increase the Fog samples for the spot light.

Soft shadows produced by raytracing

Problem: Soft shadows produced by raytracing are noisy.

Do one of the following:

See Use Shadow Map in Render > Multi-lister.

Moire pattern on surface when raycasting

Problem: A dark moire pattern on a surface when raycasting, or Incorrect shadows on a surface when raycasting.

See Correct self shadows.

The renderer incorrectly believes that a surface is behind its shadow map.

Do one of the following:

Moving objects with motion blur

Problem: Incorrect shadows for moving objects with motion blur.

Shadows are not motion blurred. The renderer calculates an object’s shadow map when the camera shutter is at midpoint. When the object moves, it may move behind its own shadow map.

Do one of the following:

See Shadows in Render > Editors > Render Stats.