Quote - For reference, here is the render with the only change being Irradiance Sample Size reduced from 5.0 to 1.8. Render time went from ~2min to ~8min. On the PNG original, at least, there now seem to be splotches on the large card.

Whichway

This was my experience too. I tried a lot of things, but I always hit a fundamental tradeoff. If the shadows were properly detailed, the smoothness of the liit areas was lost. If the lit areas were smooth, the shadows were blobby.

In fact, we can get VERY smooth lighting gradients by choosing enormous sample size. Think about it - if the whole card was sampled at only the corners, then by definition, the entire card would be smooth and splotch-free because it would all be interpolated.

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Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)