Question: Getting invisible objects to cast shadows in Maxwell for SketchUp?

sakahane — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:27:42 -0800

In Maxwell for SketchUp, is there a way I can get a transparent object to cast a shadow?

I'd like to render a cut plan view of a building which will give me a sense of the direct and ambient sunlight in each room. In SketchUp itself, I can use a transparent PNG texture on the ceiling/roof to occlude sunlight while looking into the building from above, but Maxwell (being much more accurate I guess) lets the sun in.

I've thought about extruding the walls to above and behind the camera, but I don't think this is an option because it won't take into account light coming in through skylights and voids; and going room by room placing the camera just under the ceiling would involve too much perspective distortion. So is there a way to get an invisible Maxwell material to cast a shadow, or another way to do this?

I'm using only Maxwell for SketchUp, but I do have access to the full Maxwell Suite at university. I'm considering a switch to VRay at the moment because it seems to ignore the transparency of PNG textures by default, but would prefer to learn to do this with Maxwell if possible.

By: sakahane

sakahane — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:41:22 -0800

My sincere apologies—objects can be hidden form the camera but made to affect the lighting of the scene if they are grouped in SketchUp, and you right click > Maxwell > From Camera > Enabled.

Comments on: Getting invisible objects to cast shadows in Maxwell for SketchUp?

Question: Getting invisible objects to cast shadows in Maxwell for SketchUp?

By: sakahane