Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Next to the Bias setting is the Size setting. The shadow
size is the number of subdivisions (or resolution) for the map
that is creating the shadow. The greater the value, the more
detailed the map will be. Think of it as increasing your shadow
density or quality. I have no official proof of this, but I have
heard that Max processes values faster if you keep the shadow
sizes to powers of 2 (256x2=512, 512x2=1024, and so
on).
Last but not least is the Sample setting. The sample range
determines how much the different areas within the shadow
are averaged. This basically means it will determine how
smooth the edge of the shadow is.
The remaining rollouts pertain to atmospheric effects and
the Mental Ray renderer. However, I'm not going to cover this
part of Mental Ray as this topic is more focused on modeling.
The Basics of Good Lighting
If I had a dollar every time I saw a poor modeler show his
work with horrible lighting and get ignored on a forum, I'd be
a rich man. Knowing how to model and then throwing a single
light in the scene isn't good enough these days. You need to
know at least the basics of lighting, so I'll show you a little of
that here.
Note:
The companion files (available at http://www.word-
ware.com/files/3dsmax2008/) contain the images in the
topic in full color and at full size. These should help you
greatly!
