As the title states, I'm trying to get one object to take hard shadows from a very small Area, Sun, or point light, while in the same scene as another object which will take soft shadows from a very large, rather diffuse light source like a large Aera light or HDRI. These objects overlap one another, so compositing is impossible without getting crazy with roto (as far as I know). Light linking would be my go to except Cycles has yet to support it.

For more detail, I'm trying to surround a toon-shaded object with hard shadows, with a Principled Shader object with soft shadows.

That's when I found this: https://developer.blender.org/D1985

I've looked into Blenderman (is 22 supported yet?) which I know also supports light-linking, but I'd prefer to stay in Cycles if possible..

Anyone have any tips, or know anything I might have missed before I install this patch? Thanks!

  • $\begingroup$ You might consider the method given in the answer to this question $\endgroup$ – Robin Betts Sep 25 '18 at 14:19
  • $\begingroup$ While it would be really convenient to be able to use GPU rendering without being restricted to the CPU for OSL, beggars can't be choosers and this solves all my other problems. Thank you very much!! $\endgroup$ – Wyatt Hall Sep 25 '18 at 19:40
  • $\begingroup$ It's not just CPU/GPU.. for every ray that hits a light carrying this shader, one gets fired back to find out where it came from. But used judiciously, it might be OK for your needs,, I hope so! $\endgroup$ – Robin Betts Sep 25 '18 at 20:04

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