Where's My Shadow??? by RodS
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
OK, this isn't real artistic, but I just wanted to toss this out there and see if anyone has encountered this, or has any ideas....
I just installed Poser Pro 11, and although it looks good so far, I'm encountering something I didn't expect.
I will frequently render just a figure – along with her cast shadows – to composite into a photo or other background. In PP2014, or earlier versions of Poser this was easy to do. You just selected the “ground” prop, went into the material room, and checked “shadow catch only.” This made the ground prop invisible, but retained the figure's cast shadow.
This does not seem to work in PP 11 for some reason. The 'ground' prop is actually a hemisphere, and as you can see from the left render, the background and Pauline's cast shadows appear. However, clicking on 'shadow catch only' has absolutely no effect at all. Now, if I uncheck the 'visibility' of the ground prop in the prop's 'properties' tab, the render on the right is what I get – Pauline with no cast shadows at all. It makes no difference if I use the new Superfly render engine, or the standard Firefly engine – same result.
I don't know if this is a bug, or if I'm just missing something. Either way, it's a bit of a disappointment. I've contacted SM about this, so we'll see what they say. I've also posted this in the Poser Forum.
I'll be getting back to commenting on a regular basis soon – I've just had so much going on lately with this new position at work, and different hours. But I'm starting to get used to it – at least it's not the 'graveyard shift' I had to deal with a couple years ago! LOL And I'll be working on the next page in the T.N.A. Story – in PP 2014 until this gets resolved...
Hope everyone has a great weekend! And as always thanks for dropping by!
Comments (23)
Can't help you here. I'm still using Poser 7 and from the way things are going there will be a Poser 15 before I can get into the 21st Century with this computer. Enjoy your new toy and hopefully they will get the bugs out soon.
I wish I could help you, but I'm a poor boy stuck with using DAZ until I hit the lotto.
Any way, a really great image.
Pretty interesting situation - with DAZ, I'd just create a plane and adjust it so when I have a light/shadow mix I'd get the shadow just right, Oh and the plane was invisible
cool render though
Sorry bro, can't help... I'm like GrandmaT, I'm also stuck with Poser 7, and 8. it seems P10 doesn't what to play... cool that you have PP11.
I ordered poser pro 11 and it seems odd that they skipped a number. I was thinking it should be 15. I should have downloaded and I could be using already. great comparison and renders
Hehe - If I ever hit the lotto, I'll buy everyone a new computer! :-D Then we can all scratch our heads together! LOL
Very nice
Not sure, Rod. When I render with a floor plane I normaly get shadows, but none show if I remove it. Hence why I can't ad shadows to bgs. But after reading your words I will try that. I'm a poser dumb azz, wish I could help bro.
Yeah, try selecting the ground plane then go into the material room, and in the main poser node, find the label that says 'shadow catch only.' Tick the little box inside that node, and it should make the ground plane invisible, but retain the figure's cast shadows. It's worked in every version of Poser - until this new one.
Well! I read everyone's comments, and I can say with all honesty, I've got nothing to offer the discussion! I wish I knew Poser. I wish I knew 3D. I have no idea how you do what you do, and I wish I knew what you were talking about, above. I could make something up, of course---and don't think I couldn't, I've been an artist long enough that I can mimic up a storm---but I won't waste your time. I read the image itself, and I'm sorry that I lost you at "shadow catch only" (I don't even know what "mat room" is!) So I'll just comment on the figure and say that I really like the curved pose, I like her two feet awkwardly scrunched together, as if she's a bit shy. I like her somewhat blank look, like she's trying to figure something out. And I like the shadow and the general band of darker shadow in the left image. I also like the slight crumple at the bottom of her pants. Does that address your complaint? I'm sure not. But at least you know I looked. Good luck! As you know better than I, software updates are like jumping into a huge body of water without knowing how deep it is, or if there are sharp rocks down there. You jump, you pray, you hold your breath. I hope you work it out w/out injury. And your not commenting is totally understandable, you started new hours, new regimen, and other things take over. I hope you solve the Poser problem! Now I'm goinna take out my Crayolas and draw a stick. Render time, zero. And it looks sooooooooooo good. (That was irony. That was the ironic portion of my comment...)
Have you tried using a primitive-plane for your shadow-catch? (in case it may have something to do with Poser's new floor) Super-Fly is new, but I don't think the Firefly engine is. Just a thought.
Actually, I did try using a primitive ground plane prop. Same thing - I checked 'shadow catch only' in the mat room with the ground plane selected. Same thing - the ground plane showed up in the render as well as the cast shadows. And when I unchecked the 'visible' tick box in the properties tab the ground plane was invisible along with the shadows. It's got me baffled...
Ok we have to wait for the answer of Poser developper! Did you contact Poser11 Staff?
I don't use Poser I had 8 but it was time consuming I had some Fun but I never did anything with the lighting or shadows. I would use Paint shop to do postwork for shadows and reflections
Pauline seems baffled as you, Rod. Hopefully SM will have an answer before too long.
I ordered the boxed version of Poser11..Wont be getting it until 11-27 Ugh. Looks like I have a lot to learn
Fantastic creation/composition... Hum hum... I' don't use Poser... Sorry ...
Well, at least this isn't a Rendo problem. But I can understand your frustration. I have Poser 10, but it refuses to install. I then got Poser Pro 2014. It's installed, but I haven't the time to learn it! All wishes for you getting this fixed! I can see the TNA girls walking around like hovering vampires with no shadows! Mighty weird that would look, uh? Keep up the good work! Looking forward to more TNA fun! :-)
I agree with Steve dear Rod, I'm not a shadow specialist - I get them only by incident - ROFL!
Just a shot in the dark here but what about checking "Shadow catch only" and making it transparent?
Yup - been there, done that. Even with 100% transparency (1.00000), the ground prop still shows up. Same if you try to use a ground plane prop from Poser's primitives... It's got me baffled..... Seems like it may be a bug to me. I've submitted a ticket to SM, so we'll see what happens.
I just ordered Poser 11 Pro, I haven't got it yet so I can't help!
Here is what works for me in Poser 2014. Check the Shadow Catch Only box in the material room. Then in the Object menu select display option Wire Frame. Then I get the shadow only without the ground.
Thanks, mazzam, I'll try the wire frame and see what happens. Ticking the shadow catch makes no difference in PP-11, but it works perfectly in PP2014.
Shadow catch is FireFly only (doesn't work in SuperFly).
Well, if visibility of an object is turned off then simply no aspects of it will render. Which is to say, when it comes to rendering, it is not there at all. This includes shadow catching which is a form of texturing.
I would say almost definitely a Poser bug. I've encountered a bug with the morphing tool as well. The morphing tool is not changing when I switch to a new figure or prop to morph. It sometimes changes, but now I usually have to exit Poser, restart Poser and return to the image. Quite cumbersome. Pretty much every new release has some bugs. I don't think everything can be covered thoroughly without help from the community. Another example is Poser 11 does not work with Vue now, but that is an E-on issue and now I have to wait for a new version of Vue before it is fixed. That could mean a few months. Yikes!