Shadows

Shadows

Makes the position of objects relative to the grid more pronounced.  This can look crowded if you have many objects.  Try turning shadows on for individual objects.  When used on scenes with time, they are different from Time Trails in that they do not leave a “trail” of the object’s position through time. They only allow the viewer to see the object’s position on the axis in that instance of time.

Shadows aid primarily in depth perception.  They render differently depending on whether the user is viewing the corner or center grid.  They also help identify the behavior of objects according to a single variable when multiple settings are applied to large sets of objects.

Shadows should be used when objects overlap each other due to position variables - this lets you see that a smaller object is “inside” a larger object.

Show Shadow: turns on and off shadow on X, Y, and Z axes

Style: allows you to choose different types of shadows (see below for image example):

Thread: A line that connects the center of the object to the axis plane

Border: An outlined, transparent ring that appears flat on the axis plane

Fill: A black filled ring that appears flat on the axis plane (by using Fill and Border, you will get the effect of a black circle outlined with the default/override color on the axis plane)

Column: Fills the space between the object and axis plane with a column. The thickness of the column will depend on the size of the object (generally not used with Thread because the column will cover the Thread line)

Demarcations: Additional rings that run straightly through the space between the object and axis plane.  Rings appear at each grid line (if used with Thread, the Thread line will run through the center of each ring)