The Shadow Catcher object allows you to display shadows cast by 3D objects in a scene. It helps create realistic lighting effects by accurately representing the interaction between objects and their environment.
You can add a shadow catcher to the scene through Scene > Add Object > Shadow Catcher.
To create a shadow, you can use a custom mesh object. To add it, nest a mesh into the Shadow Catcher object in the Scene hierarchy. This image shows a street curb mesh parented to a Shadow Catcher object with Indirect Shadow enabled.
Learn more about Shadow Catchers in our quick guide.
By adjusting multiple Shadow Catcher parameters, you can achieve a result that resembles a real shadow. Follow our quick guide to learn more about Shadow Catchers.
Below is a complete list of settings found in the Shadow Catcher object.
Shadow Catcher Settings #
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Opacity | Sets the opacity of the received shadows. |
| Fade Texture | A texture to mask the fade effect over the surface of the shadow catcher. |
| Channel | Select which color channel from the Fade texture to use. |
| Edge Fade | Fades shadows out near the edges of the shadow catcher. |
| Fade Radius | Radius of the edge fade effect. |
| Fade Falloff | Falloff of the edge fade effect. |
| Sky Shadow | Enables receiving shadow from the sky light (ray tracing only). |
| Indirect Shadow | Enables receiving reflections and bounced lighting from nearby objects (ray tracing only). |
Material Properties #
To achieve an even more realistic result, you can adjust the Material properties of the Shadow Catcher, making it look wet or rough.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Roughness Map | The texture used to specify surface roughness. White corresponds to a rough surface, while black corresponds to smooth surfaces. |
| Channel | Determines the channel of the texture from which to read roughness content. |
| Roughness | Specifies the maximum roughness value. |
| Invert Roughness | Inverts the output of the roughness shader. Useful for loading gloss maps in place of roughness maps. |
| Specular Map | The texture that will be used to set the color and intensity of the specular reflections. |
| Channel | Specifies color channel(s) to use in the specular map. |
| Specular Intensity | Sets the intensity of the specular reflections. |
| Specular Fresnel | Intensity Sets the intensity of the Fresnel effect, or how reflective surfaces are at grazing angles. |
