Creating directional light shadows in Three.JS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Question

Creating directional light shadows in Three.JS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Can shadows be generated using a DirectionalLight?

When I utilize SpotLight, shadows are visible. However, when I switch to DirectionalLight, the shadow functionality doesn't seem to work.

javascript three.js

Answer 1

Answer №1

Remember that the effectiveness of shadow maps can vary depending on the scale of your scene. For example, in a setup where one unit distance represents one meter and objects are only 0.4 meters in size, adjustments may be necessary to ensure shadows behave as expected. Here are some key steps to consider:

Check and adjust the near/far planes of the shadow camera based on your scene's dimensions.
Ensure the top/left/bottom/right values of the shadow camera are appropriate to prevent overly large shadow 'pixels' that could go unnoticed.

Let's delve into how to tackle this challenge effectively.

Troubleshooting

To gain insight into how shadows are being rendered per light source, enable debug rendering with CameraHelper:

scene.add(new THREE.CameraHelper(camera))

In older versions of Three.js, you can use:

light.shadowCameraVisible = true;

This visualization highlights the volume used for shadow calculations, helping optimize shadow coverage around objects – even more tightly than illustrated here.

Implementation

Below are code snippets to aid in fine-tuning shadow behavior.

var light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff);
light.position.set(0, 2, 2);
light.target.position.set(0, 0, 0);
light.castShadow = true;
light.shadowDarkness = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraVisible = true; // for debugging purposes
// Define boundaries of the yellow box in the visualization
light.shadowCameraNear = 2;
light.shadowCameraFar = 5;
light.shadowCameraLeft = -0.5;
light.shadowCameraRight = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraTop = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraBottom = -0.5;
scene.add(light);

Ensure specified object(s) cast shadows:

object.castShadow = true;

Guarantee designated object(s) receive shadows:

object.receiveShadow = true;

Lastly, configure settings on the WebGLRenderer:

renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true });
renderer.setSize(canvasWidth, canvasHeight);
renderer.shadowMapEnabled = true;
renderer.shadowMapSoft = true;

Answer 2

Remember that the effectiveness of shadow maps can vary depending on the scale of your scene. For example, in a setup where one unit distance represents one meter and objects are only 0.4 meters in size, adjustments may be necessary to ensure shadows behave as expected. Here are some key steps to consider:

Check and adjust the near/far planes of the shadow camera based on your scene's dimensions.
Ensure the top/left/bottom/right values of the shadow camera are appropriate to prevent overly large shadow 'pixels' that could go unnoticed.

Let's delve into how to tackle this challenge effectively.

Troubleshooting

To gain insight into how shadows are being rendered per light source, enable debug rendering with CameraHelper:

scene.add(new THREE.CameraHelper(camera))

In older versions of Three.js, you can use:

light.shadowCameraVisible = true;

This visualization highlights the volume used for shadow calculations, helping optimize shadow coverage around objects – even more tightly than illustrated here.

Implementation

Below are code snippets to aid in fine-tuning shadow behavior.

var light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff);
light.position.set(0, 2, 2);
light.target.position.set(0, 0, 0);
light.castShadow = true;
light.shadowDarkness = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraVisible = true; // for debugging purposes
// Define boundaries of the yellow box in the visualization
light.shadowCameraNear = 2;
light.shadowCameraFar = 5;
light.shadowCameraLeft = -0.5;
light.shadowCameraRight = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraTop = 0.5;
light.shadowCameraBottom = -0.5;
scene.add(light);

Ensure specified object(s) cast shadows:

object.castShadow = true;

Guarantee designated object(s) receive shadows:

object.receiveShadow = true;

Lastly, configure settings on the WebGLRenderer:

renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true });
renderer.setSize(canvasWidth, canvasHeight);
renderer.shadowMapEnabled = true;
renderer.shadowMapSoft = true;

Answer 3

Answer №2

Absolutely, directional lights can be used to create shadows in your scene. Just avoid using MeshBasicMaterial as it does not support shadows. Instead, opt for MeshLambertMaterial or MeshPhongMaterial.

To enable shadows in the renderer, you'll need to include these settings:

renderer.shadowMapEnabled = true;
renderer.shadowMapSoft = true;

renderer.shadowCameraNear = 3;
renderer.shadowCameraFar = camera.far;
renderer.shadowCameraFov = 50;

renderer.shadowMapBias = 0.0039;
renderer.shadowMapDarkness = 0.5;
renderer.shadowMapWidth = 1024;
renderer.shadowMapHeight = 1024;

Make sure to set shadow casting and receiving properties for each object and light like so:

dirLight.castShadow = true;
object.castShadow = true;
otherObject.receiveShadow = true;

Assuming proper positioning of the light and objects, the shadow cast by dirLight will fall on otherObject from object.

[EDIT]: Check out this working demo for a practical example.

Answer 4

Absolutely, directional lights can be used to create shadows in your scene. Just avoid using MeshBasicMaterial as it does not support shadows. Instead, opt for MeshLambertMaterial or MeshPhongMaterial.

To enable shadows in the renderer, you'll need to include these settings:

renderer.shadowMapEnabled = true;
renderer.shadowMapSoft = true;

renderer.shadowCameraNear = 3;
renderer.shadowCameraFar = camera.far;
renderer.shadowCameraFov = 50;

renderer.shadowMapBias = 0.0039;
renderer.shadowMapDarkness = 0.5;
renderer.shadowMapWidth = 1024;
renderer.shadowMapHeight = 1024;

Make sure to set shadow casting and receiving properties for each object and light like so:

dirLight.castShadow = true;
object.castShadow = true;
otherObject.receiveShadow = true;

Assuming proper positioning of the light and objects, the shadow cast by dirLight will fall on otherObject from object.

[EDIT]: Check out this working demo for a practical example.

Answer 5

Answer №3

Changes in r139.2 include the following attributes:

renderer.shadowMap.enabled = true;
renderer.shadowMap.type = THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap; //THREE.BasicShadowMap | THREE.PCFShadowMap |  THREE.VSMShadowMap | THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap

renderer.shadowMap.soft = true;
renderer.shadowMap.bias = -0.0001;
renderer.shadowMap.darkness = 1;
renderer.shadowMap.width = 2048;
renderer.shadowMap.height = 2048;

Example usage:

const spotLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight();
spotLight.castShadow = true;
scene.add(spotLight);
spotLight.position.set(0, 8, 0);

//Object casting shadows
const cube = new THREE.Mesh(new THREE.BoxGeometry(1,1,1), new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({color: 0x00ff00}));
cube.castShadow = true;
scene.add(cube);

//Plane floor receiving shadows
const planeShadow = new THREE.Mesh(new THREE.PlaneGeometry(3, 3), new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial()); 
planeShadow.name = "FloorShadow";
planeShadow.renderOrder = -2;
planeShadow.lookAt(new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0));
planeShadow.receiveShadow = true;
planeShadow.position.set(0, 0, 0);
scene.add(planeShadow);

For more information or additional examples, please refer to this link [https://sbcode.net/threejs/directional-light-shadow/]

Answer 6

Changes in r139.2 include the following attributes:

renderer.shadowMap.enabled = true;
renderer.shadowMap.type = THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap; //THREE.BasicShadowMap | THREE.PCFShadowMap |  THREE.VSMShadowMap | THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap

renderer.shadowMap.soft = true;
renderer.shadowMap.bias = -0.0001;
renderer.shadowMap.darkness = 1;
renderer.shadowMap.width = 2048;
renderer.shadowMap.height = 2048;

Example usage:

const spotLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight();
spotLight.castShadow = true;
scene.add(spotLight);
spotLight.position.set(0, 8, 0);

//Object casting shadows
const cube = new THREE.Mesh(new THREE.BoxGeometry(1,1,1), new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({color: 0x00ff00}));
cube.castShadow = true;
scene.add(cube);

//Plane floor receiving shadows
const planeShadow = new THREE.Mesh(new THREE.PlaneGeometry(3, 3), new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial()); 
planeShadow.name = "FloorShadow";
planeShadow.renderOrder = -2;
planeShadow.lookAt(new THREE.Vector3(0, 1, 0));
planeShadow.receiveShadow = true;
planeShadow.position.set(0, 0, 0);
scene.add(planeShadow);

For more information or additional examples, please refer to this link [https://sbcode.net/threejs/directional-light-shadow/]

Creating directional light shadows in Three.JS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Answer №1

Troubleshooting

Implementation

Answer №2

Answer №3

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