Fake Shadow from Heightmap - Blender Node Setup

Hello Everyone!

I previously worked on a node setup that allows you to generate fake shadows from a heightmap.

You might have encountered situations where the shading from bump maps just wouldnt cut it and would lack some depth. While I was working on my Parallax Occlusion Node Setup I developed a small yet simple solution for that. By tracking the light source of your desire, it would use your heightmap to create some kind of shadow map which can be laid over in the material.

So here is out it works:

The setup is using three node groups, two of which can be edited by the user.

The first group is called HeightMapShadow and has five Inputs:

1. Vector: Connect your mapping vector here.
2. Light Position: Input the position of the light. Either through drivers or using the Object Position Vector of the TextureCoordinate Node
3. Shadow Softness: Controls the softness of the shadow (recommended: 0.025)
4. Shadow Length: Controls the length of the shadow.
5. Shadow Threshold: Controls how much of the shadow is blocked by the heightmap. Higher values result in less shadows while low values might result in artifacts

Secondly there is the Heightmap Group

This group can be entered in order to exchange the heightmap to one of your desire.

Additionally, should you use the texture coordinate solution in using the object coordinates of the chosen lamp, remember to subtract it from the world position in order to avoid any issues:

Overall I hope you guys like this setup. If you have any questions reach out to me, I might be able to help.

This Node Setup is free, however a small donation is always appreciated ;)

Regards

Robin aka MrRolord