Learning Blender: A Hands-On Guide to Creating 3D Animated Characters

Setting Up Render Layers

You now need to separate Jim from his shadow so you can control the shadows separately in the compositor. This is simple enough because the Render Layers feature allows you to separate elements in different layers and composite them later.

1. First, you need Jim and the floor to exist in different layers of the scene. If you’ve followed this chapter’s instructions to the letter, you should have Jim in one layer and his rig in the one below (layer number 11, in the bottom row). Now, select the floor, press M, and select another layer. Jim’s model could be in the first layer, while the floor could be in the second one.

Tip

While in Object Mode, you can select the visible layers in the scene on the 3D View header. Press ...