Working with Lights

Here are some general tips about working with lights:

• One way to begin your work on lighting a scene is to convert the default lighting into light objects by using the command Add Default Lights to Scene.

• You can turn the display of light objects on and off with an option in the Display panel. See Procedures.

• You can use the Place Highlight button to change a light's position. See Procedures, below.

• A Light viewport can be a useful way to adjust lights other than omni lights.

Procedures

To create a light:

1. On the Create panel, click Lights.

2. In the Object Type rollout, click the type of light you want to create.

3. Click in a viewport to create the light. This step varies slightly depending on the type of light. For example, if the light has a target, you drag and click to set the targetÆs location.

   Light objects replace the default lighting. As soon as you create a light, the default lighting is turned off. If you delete all lights in the scene, the default lighting is restored.

4. Set the creation parameters.

   Like all objects, lights have a name, a color, and a General Parameters rollout.

To create shadows, do one of the following:

• In the General Parameters rollout, turn on Cast Shadows. Adjust shadow parameters in the Shadow Parameters rollout and the additional (Shadow Map or Ray Traced Shadows) shadow rollouts.

• Right-click the light, and turn on Cast Shadows in the Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrant of the quad menu.

  Turning on Cast Shadows also turns on the On toggle in the Shadow Parameters rollout, and vice versa.

  Shadows are not visible in shaded viewports.

  Tip: To turn shadows on or off for multiple lights, select the lights and then use the Light Lister.

  You can set an object to not cast or not receive shadows. By default, objects do both. See Object Properties.

To control the display of light objects:

1. On the Display control panel, in the Hide By Category rollout, turn on Lights.

   All light objects in the scene disappear, but the lighting itself is unchanged.

   Light objects can cast light whether or not their display is turned off. The Zoom Extents commands are affected by whether light icons are displayed or not. When lights are displayed, Zoom Extents and Zoom Extents All include the lights in the zoom.

2. Turn off Lights to redisplay all lights in the viewport.

To change a light's parameters:

1. Select the light.

   Tip: Lights are hard to select by clicking. Use the keyboard shortcut H to select the light by name.

2. Open the Modify panel.

3. Change the light's parameters in the General Parameters rollout and other rollouts available for that light.

To position a light so it highlights a face:

1. Activate the viewport where you want to place the highlight, and make sure that the object you want to highlight is visible in it.

   The result of Place Highlight depends on what is visible in the viewport.

2. Select a light object.

3. On the Main toolbar, click Place Highlight.

   If the button is not visible on the toolbar, choose it from the Align flyout.

4. Drag over the object to place the highlight.

   When you place an omni, free spot, or free direct light, the program displays a face normal for the face the mouse indicates.

   When you place a target spotlight or direct light, the program displays the light's target and the base of its cone.

5. Release the mouse when the normal or target display indicates the face you want to highlight.

   The light now has a new position and orientation. You can see the highlight illumination in shaded viewports that show the face you chose.

   Place Highlight works with any kind of selected object. You can also use Place Highlight with a selection set of multiple objects. All objects maintain their initial distance from the face.

   Another way to use Place Highlight is to choose Tools menu > Place Highlight in step 3, above.

   Note: For objects with materials, the appearance of the highlight depends on the material's specular properties.