Matte shadow

This page gives an overview of the Matte Shadow Render Element and how it may be used in compositing.

Overview

The Matte Shadow Render Element shows areas where light doesn't reach. Compare 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 Lighting Render Element. It can also be used to assist in adding 3D elements to a background image or footage in the composite.

UI Path: ||Display Render Settings button|| > Render Elements tab > Matte shadow

Attributes

Enabled – When enabled, the render element appears in the V-Ray Virtual Frame Buffer.

Deep output – Specifies whether to include this render element in deep images

Filename suffix – The text added to the end of the rendered file, when saved as a separate file (e.g. myrender.matteShadow.vrimg).

Consider for Anti-Aliasing – When enabled, anti-aliasing is used where possible.

Denoise – Enables the render element's denoising, provided the Denoiser render element is present.

Common uses

The Matte Shadows Render Element is useful for changing the appearance of shadowed areas in compositing or image editing software. Below are examples of its use.

Matte Shadows Render Element

Original Beauty Composite

Lightened Matte Shadows Render Element

Tinted Matte Shadows Render Element

Shadows lightened by adding to the
Raw Lighting Render Element in composite

Shadows warmed by combining a color-corrected Matte Shadow
added to the Raw Lighting Render Element