Still very new to DS so bear with me.   If I use a photo/etc for a backdrop how do I get the figure in the scene to cast a shadow?   Or is that possible?

Also need help on understanding terms:  for example, in the store, are the " scenes" things you can actually put your figures into or are they photos?  Will my figure cast a shadow on these?

Thanks for any help.
Lyla

I use DS not too often..  but I can tell you that a figure can be put inside a scene..  a scene is a more sophisticated backdrop then a simple photo...  They come with a ground terrain and and even trees that seem to be 3D objects... all in the background..  you can further add more props to heighten the effect..   Yes your figure can cast a shadow..  depending on the type of background it is...

Hey Lyla,

  To have your figures cast shadows, select your figure and under the Misc settings, make sure that Cast Shadows is turned on. Then, for each light source in your scene, you need to check out the Shadow Type setting. The options are None, Deep Shadow Map and Raytraced. Choose either of the latter two to have shadows.

  Hope this helps.

Tony.

Thanks......I did what you said (I think) but still no shadows.   I have only a simple backdrop (jpeg) for the background.   I have the spotlight high and to one side  in the scene and shining on the figure....so there should be a shadow somewhere.

I have no scenes to try it on.....will have to find something somewhere if that is what is needed.

Thanks for the replies.

If you want to cast shadows on the ground (or a wall, etc.) in a backdrop then you need some kind os shadow catcher. If you have DAZ Studio advanced you can build one with Shader Mixer, or you can buy pwCatch from the DAZ store. These are shaders - you use something, such as a plane primitive or a stack of cube primitives, to stand in for the floor or whatever in the backdrop, apply the shader, and render.

Another approach which may work, and doesn't cost money, is to place a floor under the figure's feet using a plane primitive, or use scaled cubes to build walls, and in the Surfaces palette (view>tabs>Surfaces, use the Advanced tab) give the primitives the following settings: Diffuse colour white, strength 100%, Ambient colour white, strength 100%, Opacity strength 100%, specular strength, reflection strength, refraction strength 0%. Now render that, save as tiff or png, then delete the primitives and render just your figure, again save as tiff or png.

Now, in your image editor open the two renders and a copy of the backdrop. In the render with the primitives, if it already has a transparent background (so you see the items but not the backdrop) copy it and paste it over the original background and set the layer mode to multiply: if it doesn't have a transparent background you will need to check the manual or help file for the image editor to see how to load a selection from an alpha channel so that you can select the items without any backdrop. Finally, you want the figure without the primitives - again, just copy and paste if it's already isolated or select, copy and paste if not but leave this as the normal blending mode. With luck that will add shadows to your backdrop.

You have to buy additional stuff to make shadows?......That sure sounds silly, doesn't it?

Thanks for the info, RHaseltine, but the other approach is much too complicated for me.

There is another way!
You can create a plane or a wall and have your shadows cast onto them, using the technique with Shadow Capture the plane or wall will become invisible except where the shadows are. I believe a demo video explaining how to do this is on You-Tube.

Or you can use the Movie Maker, this is very useful too.

Cheers.

a plane old jpg image loaded as a background will not catch shadows!!! you must have a background wall and floor to catch the shadows.....
go here to my tut and get some freebies to create what ya want to do..
http://pub12.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=974621624&frmid=7878&msgid=848136&cmd=show

Lyla,

  Check out this tutorial on using a plane for backgrounds:

  forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php

  Tony.

Thanks everyone.....will check out the tuts and the freebies to see if I can figure this out.  :-)

Here is a sample of what I was saying before about using Shadow-capture. By modifying the Shader-mixer settings you can create shadows on a plane to suit the background image.

Thanks everyone, with all of your help.....I have managed to make a simple shadow.  
Lyla