This page provides information about the Matte Shadow Render Element in V-Ray for Cinema 4D.
Overview
The Matte Shadows Render Element shows areas where light doesn't reach. Compare this with the Raw Shadow Render Element, which gives areas of cast shadows. While technically not part of the Beauty render elements, the Matte Shadow Render Element can be used to lighten cast shadows by adding it to the Raw Light Render Element. It can also be used to assist in adding 3D elements to a background image or footage in the composite.
UI Path: ||V-Ray|| > Render Elements > Matte Shadow
How to add a render element to a scene
Properties
Enable Deep Output – Specifies whether to include this render element in deep images.
Color Mapping – Applies the color mapping options specified in the Color Mapping rollout of the V-Ray tab in the Render Settings window to this render element.
Consider for Anti-Aliasing – When enabled, anti-aliasing is used where possible.
Filtering – Applies an image filter to this channel.
Vfb Color Corrections – Applies the post-render color adjustments made from the VFB.
Denoise – Enables the render element's denoising, provided the Denoiser render element is present.
Example Use Case
In this example, the shadows in the image are tinted and brightened. The Matte Shadow RE and the Raw Lighting RE are extracted from the finished render. They are taken to a photo editing software (Photoshop, Gimp, etc.), and the Matte Shadow is brightened and tinted, while the Raw Lighting's opacity is set to 10%. Both layers are then returned to the VFB, where they are Added (i.e., Blend Mode set to Add) back into the composition. See the render before and after.
Here is the compositing formula for the two extracted elements.
