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Is there a way to prevent a single object from casting shadows? If I shut down "Cast Shadows" on the light source then all shadows will be lost. That is not what I want. I want to be able to prevent a single object from casting shadows.

A use case may be a laser. If I were to use a cylinder to model my laser, and that laser was positioned between a wall and a light source it will cast a shadow on the wall, but it should not cast a shadow.

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  • $\begingroup$ I recommend breaking this kind of post into several different questions. You are free to place as many questions as you want, but we prefer if you keep each post to a narrow subject (this also helps other people searching for solutions) $\endgroup$
    – zeffii
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 17:24
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    $\begingroup$ There are some valid questions in there, but they should be submitted separately. The rest of this does not belong as a question on stack exchange, it's more suitable to a discussion forum like blenderartists. $\endgroup$
    – brecht
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 17:58
  • $\begingroup$ Ok, which ones do you consider valid? $\endgroup$
    – 00Ghz
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 19:29
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    $\begingroup$ You just need to split up your questions, check other questions here that are voted up, if you want to discuss many topics at once and general workflow issues, use a forum. $\endgroup$
    – ideasman42
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 20:43

4 Answers 4

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Objects not casting shadows? easy, un-tick the shadow box.

enter image description here
In Cycles 2.79+, Ray Visibility was renamed to Cycles Settings.

As for the lighting, Cycles simulates the physical behaviour of light with some reasonable accuracy. All techniques used in real photography can be applied to lighting setups in cycles, The video also discusses the composite of various render passes, I think you'll find they are all possible in Blender. Be specific about what you want to know and you will get accurate answers.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, one less thing to worry about. Ok, next thing. What about making a light cast only specular like in the video? Is that the Glossy option? $\endgroup$
    – 00Ghz
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 17:50
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    $\begingroup$ @00Ghz you can ask several questions here so feel free to ask, each post should have only one question to limit the scope. $\endgroup$
    – iKlsR
    Commented Jun 9, 2013 at 18:01
  • $\begingroup$ In Blender 2.79, this is under Material >> Shadow >> Cast $\endgroup$
    – Regular Jo
    Commented Jul 31, 2018 at 17:55
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For 2.8 and for rendering I found selecting the shadow mode to None to be working. It's under material settings.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ What's the context for this screen? I can't seem to find a "Settings" panel like that anywhere. $\endgroup$
    – Ajedi32
    Commented Aug 27, 2019 at 20:43
  • $\begingroup$ @Ajedi32 it's in the materials tab. $\endgroup$
    – lesolorzanov
    Commented May 6, 2020 at 18:10
  • $\begingroup$ It is working for me, maybe it was a bug back then. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – lesolorzanov
    Commented May 6, 2020 at 18:10
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    $\begingroup$ This is how to do it in Eevee. The other solutions are for Cycles. $\endgroup$
    – jwrush
    Commented Jul 5, 2021 at 16:00
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In v2.83 I found the setting as follows:

Selecting the object and then, in the sidebar, going to Object Properties->Visibility->Ray Visibility->Shadow (check/uncheck).

Note: Changing the material properties did not remove the shadow cast by the object.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ In Blender 3.6.1 I don't see any Ray Visibility section when in Visibility when I have a mesh selected. Has it moved? $\endgroup$
    – trusktr
    Commented Nov 13 at 7:35
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Cycles, Blender 2.79

Select the object, and in Properties / Object / Cycles Settings, disable Shadow.

shadow settings

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  • $\begingroup$ How is this answer different from the existing answer, except for bold text and a larger screenshot? $\endgroup$
    – Leander
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 20:11
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    $\begingroup$ @Leander "Ray Visibility" in the other answer looks like a section that doesn't exist in 2.79 $\endgroup$
    – qubodup
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 20:16
  • $\begingroup$ The section was renamed, I edited the other answer. You can also suggest edits to other answers to improve them anytime. $\endgroup$
    – Leander
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 20:24
  • $\begingroup$ The comment by Regular Joe made me think the answer might be something different because materials were mentioned. Thus decided to make new answer. I'd suggest updating screenshot or splitting your answer into two for different version/(ranges?) with # headers. cheers $\endgroup$
    – qubodup
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 20:30
  • $\begingroup$ Sounds legit, I'll add some images later. $\endgroup$
    – Leander
    Commented Dec 23, 2018 at 20:34

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