Shadow Catcher Material
Updated: 4 Nov 2024
Captures shadows and generates a diffuse alpha blended material.
Shadow Catcher Material
Method #
The shadow catcher node captures shadow information from lights cast on to the surface of an object that has the shadow catcher material applied to it.
The captured shadow information can then be rendered separately onto surfaces of a scene using the layers composite blend modes alpha channels. This will give you the ability to render shadows onto objects not in the scene - for instance on real-world objects or floors in AR projects.
The output material can be applied to any node which accepts a material input, such as 3D Objects, Particle Trails, or a Procedural Raytracer.
The shadow catcher node is great for adding shadows onto surfaces for AR projects.
Parameters
Parameter Details Preview in Viewport
Toggle a preview of the Material on a sphere in the Viewport
These properties control the core behaviours of the material using Physically Based Rendering (PBR) properties from a A Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution function. Changing the properties below can make a material appear more reflective, more dirty, or add more detail to the material surface. By using textures (either through the relevant inputs, or in the texture section), each of these properties can be modulated over a surface, for more complex material effects.
Parameter Details Normal Map Mode
Changes the format of the input normal map.
- Tangent Space : The source normal map is in tangent space.
- Object Space : The source normal map is in object space.
Use Displacement
Enables the use of displacement mapping for the material. *Requires an input displacement map
Opacity Mode
Controls the opacity mode of the material, and how it blends with the scene.
- Solid : The material is solid, and does not blend with the scene.
- Blend : The material is blended with the scene, allowing for transparency.
- Clip : The material is clipped, only rendering the opaque parts.
Diffuse Lightmap
Enables an input diffuse lightmap for the material.
Ambient Occlusion
Enables the input ambient occlusion map of the material.
Settings related to the textures used in the material.
Parameter Details Diffuse Map
Specifies the color of light that scatters off the surface in all directions. It is functionally similar to the Colour Texture and is a core component of a material’s appearance.
Displacement Map
Physically displaces the vertices of the model’s geometry based on the map’s values. Unlike a Normal Map, this creates real geometric detail that affects the model’s silhouette.
Alpha Map
A grayscale map that controls the transparency of the material. Black areas are fully transparent, white areas are fully opaque, and gray values create semi-transparency.
UV Texture Filter Mode
Determines the algorithm used for sampling texture pixels when viewed at different angles and distances.
- Point : Nearest-neighbor filtering; fast but results in a blocky, pixelated look.
- Bilinear : Averages the four nearest texture pixels for a smoother appearance than Point filtering.
- Anisotropic : High-quality filtering that improves texture clarity on surfaces viewed at steep angles.
- Bicubic : A more advanced filtering method that produces sharper results than bilinear filtering.
- Oversampling : An anti-aliasing technique that samples the texture at a higher resolution to produce a smoother final image.
Diffuse Map -> AO
A setting to use the Diffuse or Colour map to contribute to the Ambient Occlusion calculation, often darkening areas based on the base color.
- Off : Disables the use of the diffuse map for AO.
- On : Enables the use of the diffuse map for AO.
Texture Mip Bias
An offset that adjusts which mipmap level is used for a texture. Negative values can sharpen distant textures, while positive values can blur them.
These properties control how the material applies to the mesh UVs.
Parameter Details Diffuse Map UV
Select the UV for the Diffuse Map Texture.
Displacement Map UV
Select the UV for the Displacement Map Texture.
Alpha Map UV
Select the UV for the Alpha Map Texture.
UV Scale X
Scale the UV texture along the X axis.
UV Scale Y
Scale the UV texture along the Y axis.
UV Offset X
Offset the UV texture along the X axis.
UV Offset Y
Offset the UV texture along the Y axis.
Diffuse UV Scale X
Scale the Diffuse UV texture along the X axis.
Diffuse UV Scale Y
Scale the Diffuse UV texture along the Y axis.
Diffuse UV Offset X
Offset the Diffuse UV texture along the X axis.
Diffuse UV Offset Y
Offset the Diffuse UV texture along the Y axis.
Texture Wrap Mode U
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the U value range exceeds 0 to 1.
- Repeat : Texture will attempt to blend with the opposite side, to create a repeating effect.
- Clamp : Texture will complete at the edge, with no attempt to wrap.
- Border With Black : Texture will complete at the edge, then fill the remaining area with black.
- Mirror : Texture will complete at the edge, and then mirror the effect again.
Texture Wrap Mode V
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the V value range exceeds 0 to 1.
- Repeat : Texture will attempt to blend with the opposite side, to create a repeating effect.
- Clamp : Texture will complete at the edge, with no attempt to wrap.
- Border With Black : Texture will complete at the edge, then fill the remaining area with black.
- Mirror : Texture will complete at the edge, and then mirror the effect again.
Diffuse Texture Filter Mode
Controls how textures used by the material are filtered.
- Point : Nearest-neighbor filtering; fast but results in a blocky, pixelated look.
- Bilinear : Averages the four nearest texture pixels for a smoother appearance than Point filtering.
- Anisotropic : High-quality filtering that improves texture clarity on surfaces viewed at steep angles.
- Bicubic : A more advanced filtering method that produces sharper results than bilinear filtering.
- Oversampling : An anti-aliasing technique that samples the texture at a higher resolution to produce a smoother final image.
Diffuse Texture Wrap Mode U
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the U value range exceeds 0 to 1.
- Repeat : Texture will attempt to blend with the opposite side, to create a repeating effect.
- Clamp : Texture will complete at the edge, with no attempt to wrap.
- Border With Black : Texture will complete at the edge, then fill the remaining area with black.
- Mirror : Texture will complete at the edge, and then mirror the effect again.
Diffuse Texture Wrap Mode V
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the V value range exceeds 0 to 1.
- Repeat : Texture will attempt to blend with the opposite side, to create a repeating effect.
- Clamp : Texture will complete at the edge, with no attempt to wrap.
- Border With Black : Texture will complete at the edge, then fill the remaining area with black.
- Mirror : Texture will complete at the edge, and then mirror the effect again.
UV Remap Filtering
Enables filtering for remapping UV’s. Only functions with eligible textures.
These properties control the rendering settings for the material.
Parameter Details Lit
Determines if the material is affected by lights in the scene. When disabled, the material appears fully lit by its own colour and texture, regardless of scene lighting.
- Off : Disables lighting; the material displays its base colour only.
- On : Enables the material to be affected by scene lighting.
Shadows
Defines how the object interacts with shadows in the scene.
- Shadow Catcher : Use shadow catcher which allows a transparent background.
- Shadow Catcher (RGB) : Use shadow catcher which outputs only a greyscale shadow texture.
Shadow Catcher Colour
Set the colour of the material when “Shadows” is set to “Shadow Catcher”.
Shadow Catcher Blend
Blend amount of the shadows in the material.
Render Visibility
Controls the object’s visibility to different types of rays in the renderer, which is useful for advanced effects.
- Full : The object is fully visible to the camera and appears normally in reflections and refractions.
- Unseen by Rays : The object is visible directly to the camera but is invisible in reflections and refractions.
- Unseen by Camera : The object is invisible to the camera but still appears in reflections and refractions.
Raytracing Settings
Determines whether the material uses the scene’s global raytracing depth settings or custom values.
- Use Global Settings : Inherits raytracing bounce limits from the global render settings.
- Override : Allows setting custom raytracing bounce limits for this specific material.
Max. Diffuse Depth
Limits the number of times a ray can bounce off diffuse surfaces, affecting indirect lighting quality.
Max. Glossy Depth
Limits the number of times a ray can reflect off glossy or specular surfaces.
Max. Refraction Depth
Limits the number of times a ray can pass through refractive (transparent) surfaces.
These properties control a rim lighting effect, a Light which sits just behind the subject and adds a wrapping of liht around the mesh edges.
Parameter Details Polygon Sidedness
The orientation of the polygon’s faces.
- Front : The front face of the polygon is visible.
- Back : The back face of the polygon is visible.
- Double Sided : Both sides of the polygon are visible.
Flip Polygons
Flips the orientation of the polygon’s faces.
Smoothing Angle
The angle at which shading transitions occur.
Wireframe
Displays the material’s geometry as a wireframe.
These properties control a rim lighting effect, a Light which sits just behind the subject and adds a wrapping of liht around the mesh edges.
Parameter Details Rim Lighting
Simulates Rim Lighting on the material with respect to the camera.
Glow
Controls the glow of the Rim Lighting.
These properties allow you to control how vertex colours are applied to meshes, and to other parts of the PBR pipeline.
Parameter Details Vertex Colours - Apply To Colour
Set how the vertex colours apply to the colour of the mesh.
Inputs
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Preview in Viewport | Toggle a preview of the Material on a sphere in the Viewport |
These properties control the core behaviours of the material using Physically Based Rendering (PBR) properties from a A Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution function. Changing the properties below can make a material appear more reflective, more dirty, or add more detail to the material surface. By using textures (either through the relevant inputs, or in the texture section), each of these properties can be modulated over a surface, for more complex material effects.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Normal Map Mode |
Changes the format of the input normal map.
|
| Use Displacement | Enables the use of displacement mapping for the material. *Requires an input displacement map |
| Opacity Mode |
Controls the opacity mode of the material, and how it blends with the scene.
|
| Diffuse Lightmap | Enables an input diffuse lightmap for the material. |
| Ambient Occlusion | Enables the input ambient occlusion map of the material. |
Settings related to the textures used in the material.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Diffuse Map | Specifies the color of light that scatters off the surface in all directions. It is functionally similar to the Colour Texture and is a core component of a material’s appearance. |
| Displacement Map | Physically displaces the vertices of the model’s geometry based on the map’s values. Unlike a Normal Map, this creates real geometric detail that affects the model’s silhouette. |
| Alpha Map | A grayscale map that controls the transparency of the material. Black areas are fully transparent, white areas are fully opaque, and gray values create semi-transparency. |
| UV Texture Filter Mode |
Determines the algorithm used for sampling texture pixels when viewed at different angles and distances.
|
| Diffuse Map -> AO |
A setting to use the Diffuse or Colour map to contribute to the Ambient Occlusion calculation, often darkening areas based on the base color.
|
| Texture Mip Bias | An offset that adjusts which mipmap level is used for a texture. Negative values can sharpen distant textures, while positive values can blur them. |
These properties control how the material applies to the mesh UVs.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Diffuse Map UV | Select the UV for the Diffuse Map Texture. |
| Displacement Map UV | Select the UV for the Displacement Map Texture. |
| Alpha Map UV | Select the UV for the Alpha Map Texture. |
| UV Scale X | Scale the UV texture along the X axis. |
| UV Scale Y | Scale the UV texture along the Y axis. |
| UV Offset X | Offset the UV texture along the X axis. |
| UV Offset Y | Offset the UV texture along the Y axis. |
| Diffuse UV Scale X | Scale the Diffuse UV texture along the X axis. |
| Diffuse UV Scale Y | Scale the Diffuse UV texture along the Y axis. |
| Diffuse UV Offset X | Offset the Diffuse UV texture along the X axis. |
| Diffuse UV Offset Y | Offset the Diffuse UV texture along the Y axis. |
| Texture Wrap Mode U |
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the U value range exceeds 0 to 1.
|
| Texture Wrap Mode V |
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the V value range exceeds 0 to 1.
|
| Diffuse Texture Filter Mode |
Controls how textures used by the material are filtered.
|
| Diffuse Texture Wrap Mode U |
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the U value range exceeds 0 to 1.
|
| Diffuse Texture Wrap Mode V |
Controls how textures used by the material are wrapped when the V value range exceeds 0 to 1.
|
| UV Remap Filtering | Enables filtering for remapping UV’s. Only functions with eligible textures. |
These properties control the rendering settings for the material.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Lit |
Determines if the material is affected by lights in the scene. When disabled, the material appears fully lit by its own colour and texture, regardless of scene lighting.
|
| Shadows |
Defines how the object interacts with shadows in the scene.
|
| Shadow Catcher Colour | Set the colour of the material when “Shadows” is set to “Shadow Catcher”. |
| Shadow Catcher Blend | Blend amount of the shadows in the material. |
| Render Visibility |
Controls the object’s visibility to different types of rays in the renderer, which is useful for advanced effects.
|
| Raytracing Settings |
Determines whether the material uses the scene’s global raytracing depth settings or custom values.
|
| Max. Diffuse Depth | Limits the number of times a ray can bounce off diffuse surfaces, affecting indirect lighting quality. |
| Max. Glossy Depth | Limits the number of times a ray can reflect off glossy or specular surfaces. |
| Max. Refraction Depth | Limits the number of times a ray can pass through refractive (transparent) surfaces. |
These properties control a rim lighting effect, a Light which sits just behind the subject and adds a wrapping of liht around the mesh edges.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Polygon Sidedness |
The orientation of the polygon’s faces.
|
| Flip Polygons | Flips the orientation of the polygon’s faces. |
| Smoothing Angle | The angle at which shading transitions occur. |
| Wireframe | Displays the material’s geometry as a wireframe. |
These properties control a rim lighting effect, a Light which sits just behind the subject and adds a wrapping of liht around the mesh edges.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Rim Lighting | Simulates Rim Lighting on the material with respect to the camera. |
| Glow | Controls the glow of the Rim Lighting. |
These properties allow you to control how vertex colours are applied to meshes, and to other parts of the PBR pipeline.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Vertex Colours - Apply To Colour | Set how the vertex colours apply to the colour of the mesh. |
This node has no inputs.
