Connecting to Inventor’s Interface - Inventor 2013 and Inventor LT 2013 Essentials - page 22

Ambient Shadows Ambient Shadows mode gives a somewhat more subtle
but very effective change to the model but adds the effect of ambient occlusion,
which causes areas where sharp edges meet to be darkened. See Figure 1.20.
At the end of the Shadows flyout menu is a Setting button. When selected, it
brings up a dialog box where you can establish the direction from which the shad-
ows will be cast. You can also control the density and softness settings, as well as
the intensity of ambient shadows. You can also turn on image-based lighting here;
you will look at that effect a little later in the chapter.
FIGURE 1.20 With the model in Shaded mode, turning on Ambient Shadows
gives it a little more realism.
Using Ground Reflections
Ground reflections are based on a calculated “ground” that lies beneath the lowest
component feature or visible sketch point. The ground establishes its location
based on the position of the Top face of the ViewCube. The Ground Reflections
option is either on or off, but the fun doesn't have to stop there.