I created a model using a bezier curve with a bevel object. I animated it rotating and for some reason as it spins, the shadows do not seem to translate very well. For example the shadow on the lower side will suddenly disappear as the object rotates.
I thought this issue was because of lighting along, so instead of rotating the object, I tried rotating the camera. That way the object could stay in place with no lighting changes. But…to my surprise the issue is still there (as shown in the above GIF animation). So it seems to be more a of a angle / perspective issue in Blender.
:spin:
My next idea is to convert those arrows into a mesh. If that doesn’t work, I will make them shadeless with UV texture of pre-rendered shadows. It should work, but it’s a huge pain in the butt to go this far out of the way for it.
I am using Blender for a freelance job with a quick deadline. I need a solution quick.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
I hope this problem will be fixed in a future release of Blender.
Ok. Know one could find a solution here…but I did figure something out after all. In case you find yourself with the same problem, here is what I did to fix it:
I simply remodeled the arrow as a mesh from scratch.
Then used a subdivided lattice to deform my arrows (bend + twist).
Then I used smooth (press “T” to bring up the options window (left side), then click smooth). Afters applying smooth there were some soft shading problems still.
The final part was to add an “Edge Split” modifier. This did the job. It Allows the smooth shading for the more flat surface, but allows a sharp edge for the corners. One of the most helpful modifiers I’ve found yet.
Thanks. Yes, that is one of the first things I attempted. After converting the mesh was an awful mess that had its own set of issues. That’s why I decided to make a new clean model from scratch. The arrow was simple enough that it only took 30 seconds to make.
