3dsmax 2018 Arnold Shadow

[@snowmandev]

Can't get "Matte" to connect to "Map to Material" just won't connect? any ideas?

[@Audiotopic]

just go from the shadow matte directly to the map to material.... since 2019 it is again different.

[@Audiotopic]

also the matte node has in the new version also an opacity slot. maybe they changed the method of the matte

[@TerryMartinART]

I had spaghetti connecting everything to everything trying to get it to connect too.

[@saadmosar7423]

@@TerryMartinART so did the spaghetti worked out by now?

[@TerryMartinART]

@@saadmosar7423 No LoL, online help eventually got a solution for me. What worked for me was created in Materials Slate view >Arnold>Utility>Map to Material, In its parameters map box I selected Maps>Arnold>Surface>Shadow Map Spaghetti was a terrible experience that did not work in 3dsMAx or on all the wires on the rear of the racks in Reason(audio software)

[@sannan1992]

if we skip the matte, it still works well. thanks for your help

[@eduardocastro4623]

trying this in 2020...stills works like you said, skipping matte node.

[@eudymaverickmentor]

What the "Normalize Energy" button does? First off, it should be left on. When off, it means when you make your reflector larger, the light intensity increases. You DO NOT want the intensity of the light to be locked to the size of the reflector. "Why not", you might say. Because the light casts Area Shadows. And the softness or hardness of the edge of the shadow is controlled by the size of the reflector. So the larger the reflector, the softer the edge of the shadow. The smaller the reflector, the harder the edge of the shadow. So you want the reflector to ONLY control the shadow, not the intensity. The intensity should be controlled by the Intensity setting and/or your exposure control. Hope that makes since.

[@rodrigobutron1983]

Thanks worked for me!

[@garenkijolfo4393]

Would this method work if you use a HDRI? Or does this only work with just a regular background? I'm in the middle of a project where I need to make a render pass. Make a certain object seem real on render.

[@skaldohzi]

Problem: Background image overlays in screen mode onto object. Only happens when I try to recreate shadow plane. Plane material: shadow matte+map to material (default). Problem02: Shadow also saves data from background image. Any ideas?

[@chelagiraldo938]

I have been having lots of troubles with the lights too. ahahah, hey you can use Active shade Mode on the rendering so it will show real results in real life time :)

[@Nickstac]

Thanks for taking the time to share how you overcame that dilemma. I don't know if it's only me, but 3Ds max is now a giant piece of garbage in terms of lighting/rendering. Between Arnold and ART, the only rational choice for me is back to Vray or Redshift in Max 2016. Really Autodesk?

[@Jsfilmz]

yea dude idk wtf happened. vray is awesome but so expensive

[@Nickstac]

They seem to be phasing out more and more Max components each year - Vray is definitely pricy, so I wish Mental Ray had been kept as an option, it was solid. Would have loved it with "Physical material" for the PBR texture workflow.

[@BioClone]

@@Nickstac I dont get what is the trouble with Arnold... some things change but at least for me renders quite well... I would say better or the same mental ray but faster...

[@Nickstac]

​@@BioClone I'm glad it suits your needs man, but it was certainly a little clunky to me, especially working with large complex environments. Having worked with Corona, Vray, Mental ray, and Redshift, it simply wasn't on par (in my opinion). I will say, ART was the real impediment, and what caused the most issues, mostly due to things it couldn't do. I'm sure Arnold is a decent option once you understand its operation and limitations. I do much of my rendering in game engines these days, real time raytracing is a game-changer!

[@FictionCautious]

@@Nickstac It's the same thing that made america great. It's capitalism. The idea that you have to pay big bucks for any and all that's crap in the world.

[@kimteam5344]

Nice tuto!

[@TheNotepadShow]

what are you smoking???

[@chestercheetah444]

Thanks!!

[@Jsfilmz]

3d model made by jasonowen

[@Arminkenedi]

thx man

[@taha3077]

je suis en stage chez gaxieu

[@Tryfieldanimas]

Its the last shit on earth and still driving me crazy how the f*** can u model your scene right if u cant keep control over lights and shadows impossible to use Max in 2020 and i will not model with this stupid active shade on sucks like shit. Cant use Max anymore , absolutely useless. The only way u can still do this is using the old Scanline renderer including the old daylight and if everything is ok switch to any other Renderer and run scene converter but soon u want change some stuff u need to repeat this process over and over... , How could they even some shit like this cant get this into my heat ....Hello Blender ! Peace _ 🍾

[@borisraguza8693]

arnold rendered is such piece of crap I cannot believe it.

[@Jsfilmz]

Boris Raguza agreed

[@Audiotopic]

at the beginning yes. but you have to work with it. it becomes slowly one of the best renderer ;)