Nodes issue, shadow catcher is visible

Question

My earlier issue was a problem with jagged edges. I found that if I remove the ID Mask Index: 1 output from the Mix Fac input, the edges are crisp, but the shadow catcher mesh becomes visible, see below.

Requested by Mentalist:

Now I can't figure out how to get the shadowcatcher to be invisible again. Can someone help figure this out?

Can you show us what the output from ID Mask Index 2 looks like? — Mentalist, Mar 10 '17 at 12:00
That is exactly what I mean. Thanks! I'll give this some thought. — Mentalist, Mar 10 '17 at 12:25
Sure. Oops...I should have asked you for the output from ID Mask 1 too, since you said that one was working. Can you also show that for comparison? — Mentalist, Mar 10 '17 at 12:29
I have questions. 1. Did you create this following a tutorial, and if so what tutorial? 2. Are you aware of the new Shadow Catcher feature? It might save you from hassle and headache. — Mentalist, Mar 10 '17 at 16:10
Yes! And yes! But I for some reason can't get that version running at work. This is the tutorial https://youtu.be/wjWoglMYXBE — Robert Zuman, Mar 10 '17 at 19:55

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:57

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What I've realized, after watching the tutorial, putting this together myself, and then looking at your node setup again, is that by disconnecting ID Mask: Index 1 you have broken your node setup. And with the Mix Node's Factor set to 1 there is no meaning in having a Mix Node at all (combining 0% of one image with 100% of another). Sliding it to anything less than 1 won't help either, because it needs the ID Mask to mask your car object back in.

If I were you, I would revisit your original problem with eliminating the jagged edges instead of trying to hack the node setup.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:57

Community

1

answered Mar 12 '17 at 14:23

Mentalist

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Now, I realize the answer of "it's broken because you broke it" doesn't help you get your project done, so I'll offer an idea: If you have jagged edges and are unable to pin down the cause in time to meet your deadline, consider taking a brute force approach, like rendering at double the final resolution and then scaling down. That's just one idea I can offer, without having studied your original problem. It's not a good way because your render time will go way up, but it might be faster than spending days troubleshooting your compositing setup. – Mentalist Mar 12 '17 at 14:23
Hey man! I tried the clamping, which sadly didn't work. I also tried clamp on the mix node after the multiply node, and then tried different combinations but nothing changed. Then I tried to get on http://graphicall.org/1200 which took about 7 minutes to load.. I think there's something wrong with their hosting. Anyway, the experimental version with shadowcatcher works! It's so easy! :) Thanks for your help and time everyone, especially Mr. Mentalist! – Robert Zuman Mar 12 '17 at 14:30
@RobertZuman Great! I'm glad you found a solution. Examining this has been interesting/educational for me as well. Cheers. – Mentalist Mar 12 '17 at 14:38
:D Cheers man, happy endeavours! – Robert Zuman Mar 12 '17 at 14:55

Nodes issue, shadow catcher is visible

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