Invisible & casts shadow
6 messages in this thread
Is there a method in 3DS to have an object be invisible but to cast a shadow?
I know that I could give the object a transparent material but transparent
objects are not invisible. I had thought that that was what Matte objects were
but that is not the case.
Transparent object are invisible if you set the Shininess to 0. Matte objects
cut a "hole" through the geometry in the scene so the background shows through.
– Jack
Thanks Jack. I'll give it a try. I thought for sure that I had seen a setting
specifically for this case. Must have been a flashback from the sixties.
How about applying an Opacity Map that's 100% white? (or 100% black I
could never remember which is which).
— Steve
Steve,
Opacity mapping uses a picture to tell 3D Studio where an object is
transparent. It does this by looking at the picture in a special way. Black
Areas of a picture become transparent and white areas become opaque. Medium
shades of Gray take on various percentages of transparency. The opaque area of
your picture becomes the color specified by your Ambient, Diffuse, and Specular
Settings. NOTE: When using an opacity map the transparency slider is ignored.
Of course you probably already know this. <g>
LaTER
James Murphy
James Murphy Consulting
Green Bay, Wisconsin U.S.A.
Steve,
Simply using a transparent material with no shininess works at less "cost" than
an opacity map. I was concerned about highlights showing up the way they did
sometimes in 3DSv1.0, even on transparent objects. I guess the 2.0 renderer
does a better job at that.