Trees Foliage Shadows Problem Unity

Lyrup

Dear Polycounters,

First of all, this is my first post here, so I hope I'm clear enough in showcasing the current problem I'm facing, and posting this in the correct section.

So here it goes;
I have a little problem in Unity concerning the shadows of treetops for a stylized 3D game.

Here are some images to illustrate:
My meshes consists of two seperate parts, the base and the leaves:
I did the transfer vertex normals trick so that it shades nicely.



Situation 1:


Situation 2:


Situation 3:


In situation 2, the leaves mesh casts a shadow, and because it receives its own shadow, the result is a very messy look crowded with blots of shadows.
What I'm trying to achieve is the smooth leaves surface in situation 3, but without losing the leaves' shadows on the surface of the receiving object.
In other words, it would be ideal if I could select the leaves' mesh, tell it to cast shadows, receive shadows, but not cast its own shadow on itself... if that makes any sense to you guys.

How can I solve this?
Thanks in advance!

Eric Chadwick

You could try adjusting the shadow bias and/or cutoff, so the self-shadow doesn't appear on the faces that are close to the shadow-casters.

You could also see if a Layer could be used, somehow. 

Lyrup

Hey Eric!

Adjusting shadow bias seems to be exactly what I've been looking for! The result is great so far!
I'm a complete noob for not having found that myself lol.
Unless this causes any problems for any other shadows in the scene this should be the right solution.




Thanks a ton!

Eric Chadwick

 Make sure to test where the trunk meets the ground. The bias might affect the shadow connection there.