Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 200)

194 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Layers and properties
Last updated 12/21/2009
Metal The contribution of the layer color to the color of the specular highlight. 100% specifies that the highlight color
is the color of the layer. For example, with a Metal value of 100%, an image of a gold ring reflects golden light. 0%
specifies that the color of the specular highlight is the color of the light source. For example, a layer with a Metal value
of 0% under a white light has a white highlight.
More Help topics
“ 3D layers ” on page 179
“ Create a light and change light settings ” on page 189
Specify resolution to use for rendering shadows
The Advanced 3D rendering plug-in is used to render compositions containing intersecting 3D layers. To render
shadows, the plug-in uses shadow maps, which are images rendered from the point of view of each light source.
Normally, shadow resolution is computed automatically based on the composition resolution and the quality settings
of the layers. If normal resolution doesn’t create the quality you want, or renders too slowly, you can adjust the shadow
map resolution. For example, if shadows are blurry and the Shadow Diffusion material option is set to 0, increase the
shadow map resolution. Or, if shadows render too slowly, decrease the shadow map resolution.
When a shadow-casting layer intersects another layer, sometimes a small gap occurs behind the intersection that is
supposed to be shadowed. To decrease the size of the gap, increase the shadow map resolution.
1 Choose Composition > Composition Settings, click the Advanced tab, and click Options.
2 Choose a value (in pixels) from the Shadow Map Resolution menu.
Choose Comp Size or a resolution larger than the composition size for best results. Lower resolutions may result in
shadows that appear blurry.