So here it is with shadows applied... thanks to all for the input, and I agree with everyone that it certainly is more realistic. But I'm confused... in the first, shadowless rendering, I had only sunlight and shadows disabled in the Sky Lab. It seems that all the radial lights' shadows were disabled as well by this action. Do the Sky Lab light/shadow settings always override individual radial light shadow settings, or am I missing something? In other words, must I always have Sky Lab shadows enabled in order to have radial lights cast a shadow? Thanks again!

Yep, if you have shadows set to off, it affects all lights. Also, whatever level you have shadows set to for sunlite will also apply to all other lights. The default "90" makes shadows way too intense and black for almost any scene. I keep the shadow setting at around 35 for better realism.

Tsk! You didn't polish the table...... Regards The Bryster

Much better.

Aahhh !! Yes. much better, but my eyes are confused on the light sources - and to my eyes the shadows appear to me too light for the brightness in the room. I am far from an accomplished artist so take it with a grain of salt, but it is what I noticed. Keep trying at this it is starting to look good !! - but the table needs pledge, or a little reflection. - TJ

The shadows look light because there are few if any parts of the room in total shadow; there is always at least one light source shining on any given area. The key with shadows, IMO, is have the shadows where you want rather than where a literal render would put them. I often turn shadows off for all light sources except one, because for a given image I would rather not have multiple shadows criss-crossing everywhere. I think the picture above is pretty good.

I'm going to experiment with the lights and shadows, and yeah, I'll polish the table. Look for another post soon.

The ceiling and right wall are getting blasted by too much light for the kind of bulbs you have. Are the ceiling lamps really that bright? Is there sunlight blasting in from the left of the picture? The middle window looks like a reflection of a bright sky. Much brighter than any indoor bulb. But it is still good. I myself am going to be using Bryce for interiors. Ray Dream Studio 5 just doesn't look real compared to what Bryce 5 can do. SHONNER http://www.shonner.com/shonart.htm