These topics provide a general introduction to using lights in 3ds Max.
In general, these are the reasons to use light objects:
The default illumination in viewports might not be bright enough, or it might not illuminate all faces of a complicated object.
Guidelines for Lighting has suggestions about making lighting appear realistic.
All kinds of lights can cast shadows. Also, you can selectively control whether an object casts or receives shadows. See Shadow Parameters.
All kinds of lights can project still or animated maps. See the Projector Map group in the Advanced Effects rollout.
Light objects don't render, so to model a source of illumination, you also need to create geometry that corresponds to the light source. Use a self-illuminating material to make the geometry appear as if it's emitting light.
You can visualize commercially available lighting in your model by creating photometric lights based on manufacturer's photometric data files. By experimenting with different fixtures, and varying the light intensity and color temperature, you can design a lighting system that produces the results you want. See Photometric Lights: Web Distribution.
The procedures in this topic apply to both standard and photometric lights.
This topic describes light in the real world. When you light a scene, it can be helpful to know how light naturally behaves.
Lighting in 3ds Max simulates natural lighting. However, standard lights are simpler than natural lighting. Using photometric lights with a radiosity solutionwith your lights provides a better model of the real world.
The guidelines for lighting used by photographers, filmmakers, and stage designers can also help you set up the lighting for scenes in 3ds Max.
Once you have placed lights in your scene, you can use transforms to change a light's position or orientation.
If your system has a graphics card that supports the SM (Shader Model) 2.0 or 3.0 standard, and you use the Nitrous driver or the Direct3D driver, you can preview shadows in shaded viewports.
You animate lights by using transforms or changing creation parameters on different keyframes while the Auto Key button is on. During animation, light transforms and parameter values are interpolated between keyframes.
The Light Include/Exclude tool is a modeless dialog that lets you include or exclude objects on a light-by-light basis. When excluded, an object is not illuminated by the selected light and receives no shadows.
The Light Lister is a modeless dialog that lets you control a number of features for each light. You can also make global settings that affect every light in your scene.
