Have you ever placed a 3D material onto your canvas only to find that it was displayed entirely black, that no shadows were shown even when you combined 3D materials, or that shadows were not projected onto anything other than the floor, etc? If so, did you feel the it was not what you had imagined?

By adjusting the 3D layer settings, you can modify the angle and color of the light, as well as the shadows projection method.

 

(1) Show Shadows and Light Source

■Displaying shadows cast on other 3D Materials

 

With the intended 3D material selected, select the Tool Property palette > then turn the Cast shadows checkbox ON.

A shadow will appear on the selected 3D material.

 

■Setting a light source for 3D materials and displaying shadows

 

Enabling light sources allows you to cast shadows on your 3D materials.

With the 3D material selected, select the Tool Property palette > then turn the Apply light source checkbox ON.

You can adjust the direction of the light source by dragging the ball (direction) displayed in the Tool Property palette.

This is useful for creating a backlighting effect or displaying 3D materials well lit. You can also change the light intensity using Directional light intensity.

The arrow in the image indicates the direction of the light source.

 

(2) Adding shadows to 3D materials

Have you ever had trouble with creating a shadow even when combining 3D materials, as in the following image, or had the shadow of a 3D material get cut off halfway even when you turned on Cast shadows?

In that case, try setting the Shadow in the Light Source category of the Sub Tool Detail palette to Cast on ground and models.

Shadows are now cast on both the 3D material and the floor, allowing you to add shadows to the 3D material. The shadow will not be cut off. Shadow settings apply to the entirety of the 3D layer.

Shadow also has the following settings. The default setting is Cast on ground only.

 

(3) Adjusting the brightness of the shadows

If the screen becomes dark or cast shadows appear flat after adjusting the display, please review the settings for Ambient light and Directional light 2.

 

Ambient light

 

You can set the color and intensity of the light to adjust the overall brightness.

 

Directional light 2

 

This light source is hidden by default.

By adding Directional Light 2 to the object list, you can illuminate the 3D material from a different direction than Directional Light 1.

If the cast shadow created by overlapping 3D materials becomes too dark, you can adjust the darkness of the shadow by displaying Directional light 2.

The Angle of Directional light 2 can be set in the same way as Directional light 1.

Ambient light illuminates the entire area, but Directional light 2 allows you to set the direction of the light source, so you can make more detailed adjustments.

Select Directional light 2 from the Object list, to set it up.

Directional light 2 settings are displayed on the Tool Property palette as well as the Sub Tool Details palette.

 

(4) Making the shadows appear sharper

To make shadows clearer, adjust the Shadow resolution in the Preferences category of the Sub Tool Detail palette.

By setting the Shadow resolution to High, the outline of the shadow will appear clearer.

On the other hand, a lower Shadow resolution will result in a more blurred shadow outline, which can help create a more fitting shadow depending on the scene.

 

Note:

Increasing the value of the Shadow resolution makes the shadow appear clearer, but it decreases the speed of the 3D layer. To resolve this issue, first set the Shadow Resolution to Low, position the shadow, and then adjust it to Medium or High.

 

If shadows are blurry even when the **Shadow Resolution** is set to **High**

 

Changing the position of the camera's focal point may improve the appearance of the shadows.

You can change the position of the focal point by selecting the 3D material for the shadow you want to display by using the object launcher's Center object.

If you want to make more detailed settings, simply move the focal point to the position where you want the shadow to be displayed using Focal point Position in the Camera category of the Sub Tool Detail palette.

Alternatively, deleting or hiding any 3D materials that are away from the center of the camera may improve the situation.

 

(5) Changing the ambiance by altering the light's color

 

You can set colors for Directional light and Ambient light. Tap the color icon on the Tool Property palette to change the color.

 

Directional light 1

 

Applying color to Directional light 1 will color the perimeter between light and shadow. The arrow in the image on the right indicates the direction of the Directional light 1 light source.

 

Ambient light

 

By setting a color for Ambient light, the color you set will be applied to the entire 3D layer, including the background.

 

Directional light 2

 

By adding a color to Directional light 2, you can apply light from a different angle.

Like Directional light 1, the boundary between light and shadow will be colored. The arrow in the image on the right indicates the direction of the Directional light 2 light source.

 

(6) Shadow settings when creating a new 3D layer

 

You can set the display of shadows for 3D layers that are created while importing 3D materials.

You can select the shadow projection method from the File menu (Clip Studio Paint menu) > Preferences > 3D > New 3D layer > Shadow appearance.

The selectable items are the same as those introduced in "(2) Adding shadows to 3D materials."