Attached Link: http://www.nateowens.com

I was wondering about something in this project (modeled in Hexagon and rendered in Carrara)

The guy's hat seems to let light pass through on the right side (just above ear). It is 3 point lighting. I have found this often in Carrara renders through several versions. I know you can tell an object not to cast shadows, but why would light pass through an object (the hat)

Any thoughts?

I think that highlight is coming from the light on the left. The head isn't casting a shadow, so the light is free to pass through the head and illuminate the underside of the hat.

If that doesn't work, try turning off the smart backfaces. I've also encountered similar issues when one shape intersects another. -Kix

Like renderer said, it was a light from the left of the object. All objects (including the head) are set to cast shadows.

What made a difference was when I set the light to the left to cast a shadow and intensified the shadow to nearly 100% -the "light leak" disappeared.

I know it is "unnatural" to have lights without shadows, but I think an overabundance of criss-crossing shadows is distracting. Can't figure why a light casting a shadow would make a difference when the objects are all set up to cast shadows... strange.

Makes sense now. When cast shadows is reduced from 100%, the light will pass through all objects by the amount you set (illuminating all objects along the path regardless of what's in the way or not). As a general rule, not using 100% is something that shouldn't be used when trying to get realistic results except for unusual circumstances (like faking GI). Great model by the way. -Kix

Glad to see you fixed it. The "Nate Owens" model is very good, IMVHO.

Change to bulb lighting using fall-offs instead of using distant lighting. Turn soft shadows on for those lights for even less harshness. Turn on Global Illumination (with Interpolation turned off) for even better lighting.