that spec looks too grey to be seen in a scene??? its near black??? specular is much brighter, unless you are overdriving it somehow with an effect??

the only time i have used blend modes in AE is for SPX?? it seems a problem in the render
im lazy and im not sure i know what you mean.., shadow preset?? never heard of it and i imagine it to not be automatic anyway. i use alphsa and PS to craete shadow maps.., best learn about rendering images into PS, converting to alpha, and mapping them appropriately to the compositor??

this might help, im lost here as i think what you are asking for is a complete lesson in maya rendering from near scatch and thats too labour intensive for me.

go forth, research, the answers are ther.., and you will feel good when you find them.., good luck

check this; https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...es_layers.html

and this

https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...ader_glow.html

far better put than i could do

M

are you using maya software??? theres a gotcha with mental ray, one of those, 'check this or it wont work things' but i forget.., im still learning too, it never stops, there is always more ??