how do i add shadow to a camera match scene?

[skyfox7]

Hey geys n gals,
this is my first camera match attempt, as u can see its very simple, just a cone on a table, but im having difficulty figuring out how to add a shadow to the plate. Can any1 point me in the right direction?

Iv included 2 fotos, one with the 3d reference geometry with showdow on the plate, and the second just the cone and plate.

Plz Help me!!!!!!!!!!

Chris

[danlefeb]

Add a "Use Background" shader to the plane....that way you'll get your shadow in the final render.

[skyfox7]

Thankyou very much!!!!!!!!!!

[skyfox7]

I have another problem, iv got the shadow working but it is way too dark and crisp, and iv no idea how to soften it so i can see the background under it. =S

Any help, most appreciated, srry for being such a noob :(

[DjVoyager]

Reduce the opacity of the shadow, and increase the Dmap filter.

[Jak_Carver]

Sorry, but youre going about this the wrong way. You need to render out two passes, one for your geometry and one for your shadow. They need to be seperate so you can composite the opacity of the shadow independently. If you render out the shadow and geometry in one pass, when you increase the transparency of the shadow, the goemtry will also become see-through. I think you said you are using Maya 7, if you are then its very easy. Use the new render layers feature, check the help docs they have tutorials and great explanations on how to use this awesome feature. The way it works is that Maya will render out twice, on one image it will render out your object with the lighting, on another seperate render image it will create the shadow. This way you can go into a compositing package like Combustion, Aftereffects, or even Photoshop and make all kinds of adjustments to your layers. For example, you can change the intensity of your shadow, change it's color, add some blur , graininess, noise, etc. You can do this not just to shadows but to all your passes so the possiblities are endless. If you want, send me the scene and I will set it up for you and then you can see what I did so you can do it.

[danlefeb]

Sorry, but youre going about this the wrong way. You need to render out two passes, one for your geometry and one for your shadow.

Despite the misleading intro to this remark, you still have to use the Use Background shader as I mentioned before. All Jak is suggesting is that you render in seperate layers so it'll be easier to composite later on. I'm always a fan of rendering in layers to make it easier once you pull it into AE/Photoshop, etc. Beginning in Maya 7, I believe, they updated the layers palette quite a bit...but there'd be an option for "Display" and "Render" under your layers palette. "Display" being what you see in your viewport and "Render" being what renders to layers....but there's options to turn on depending on what renderer you're using. Pre-Maya 7, it was a drop-down box. Now its radio buttons.

All that said, don't get ahead of yourself.. Rendering is the last step, so you don't have to worry about all that until you get everything just the way you want it in your scene (I'm assuming your final scene won't be with the cone, so focus on getting your models/textures completed first). And of course, if you have any questions along the way - feel free to ask! :)

[skyfox7]

Thanks guys!!!!!!!

[Jak_Carver]

Hi, I had a look at your scene and it shows you were on the right track. I went ahead and setup the correct render layers and introduced some new shaders like the surface shader. Unfortunately, the background shader is good but not always the best way to approach a compositing job. After looking at your scene, I realized that using only background shaders would limit your ability to render your shadows and reflections as well as their corresponding alphas correctly. Have a look at the scene and how I set everything up. It looks confusing at first, but trust me its not that hard once you get the hang of it. Working with render layers is the best way to go trust me on that one. Here's a final composite I made using the different passes I setup. I was able to change somethings in Photoshop, soften the shadows with some blur and transparency, changed reflection color, changed cone's color and softened the edges, etc. you get the idea.

P.S. Im emailing you the file because it doesnt fit here.