Adding Ambient Occlusion

Ambient Occlusion can be easily added to any Light Shading system provided that it contains at least two Volume Objects.

  1. Start by setting up a simple Surface Map rig with at least Volume Objects—see Creating a Cast Shadow Effect.

    NOTE In this example, the shading system does not have Cast Shadow, Light Shader and Tone Shader nodes. That way, the only shading effect will be the Ambient Occlusion node, and its effect will be easier to see.

  2. In the Node Library view, in the Shading category, select an Ambient Occlusion node and drag it to the Node view.

  3. Connect the output port of the Surface Map node to the left input port of the Ambient Occlusion node.

  4. Connect the output port of the Composite node combining all your Volume Object nodes to the right input port of the Ambient Occlusion node.

  5. Connect the output port of the Ambient Occlusion node to the scene’s main Composite node, left of the port connecting that Composite node to the Composite that combines your Volume Object nodes. This will ensure that the shading effect is applied on top of the artwork.

    NOTE Contrary to other shading effects, the Ambient Occlusion node does not require a Light Position node. This is because the Ambient Occlusion shades the surface with screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO). It calculates the amount a surface is exposed to ambient lighting, For example, surfaces that are in deep crevices are shaded darker as less light is reflected from nearby surfaces in these areas.

  6. In the toolbar below the Camera view, click on the Render View button to preview the ambient occlusion effect.

    TIP As demonstrated in the screenshot above, adding Ambient Occlusion to your shading system helps outline separate surfaces. Additionally, it can help amplify the volume of your objects.