LIGHTS

Lights are objects that mimic real lightings, such as indoor or office lamps, lighting equipment used on stage and film sets, and even the sun. There are several types of lighting objects that each project a different light, imitating the different light sources that exist in the real world.

Function group Create > Lights

Objects menu > Lights

If no lighting is set in a scene, the program uses the default lighting settings in the rendering and shading windows. Add lighting to a scene to make it more realistic. Lighting improves the definition and the three-dimensional aspect of a scene. In addition to general lighting effects, you can use lights to project images.

Light objects are substituted for default lighting. As soon as you create lighting, the default lighting is off. If you delete all the lights in the scene, the default lighting is activated again. The default lighting is composed of two invisible lights: one is located on the left above the stage and the other on the right under the stage.

Tip: You can start working on scene lighting by converting default lighting to light objects using the Add Default Lighting to Scene command.

Note: The lighting of a scene is also affected by the Ambient Light setting in the Environment and Effects group Environment dialog box.

Types of lights

3ds Max includes two types of light: standard and photometric. These three types are displayed in the windows as light objects. They have many common parameters, including shadow generators.

Photometric lights

The photometric lights use photometric values (light energy), which allow you to define the lights with as much respect as possible to reality. You can define their distribution, intensity, color temperature and other characteristics of the actual lights. You can also import specific photometric files available from lighting manufacturers to design lighting based on commercially available products.

Tip: For the most accurate photorealistic lighting, use photometric lights and mental ray rendering. When rendering with mental ray, use the final grouping and the mental ray photographic exposure control. With this configuration, you can also perform a lighting analysis of your model.

Standard lights

Lights are objects that mimic real lightings, such as indoor or office lamps, lighting equipment used on stage and film sets, and even the sun. There are several types of light objects that each project a different light, imitating different light sources. Unlike photometric lights, standard lights do not have intensity values based on physical models.

Tips

You can animate the location of the light, but also it's color, intensity, and some of its other creative settings.

You can use the Place Reflect command to change the position of a light.

Light windows can be useful for adjusting lights other than Omni-directional lights.

To simulate solar lighting, use daylight or solar system, which allows you to set the date, time and geographical location of your model. The Daylight system is a photometric system, while the solar system uses a standard directional light.

Note: The standard light dome is different from daylight photometric lights. The light dome must be used with the light throw.

Also, read about INDUSTRIAL LIGHTING