What are lights?
Lights
are independent sources of illumination in your scene. They can
be used to create highlights, dramatic lighting, or emphasize important
parts of your models. Unlike the environment light or IBL, lights
are objects within Showcase, and can be positioned, edited, grouped,
hidden or added to alternatives. They are represented in your scene
with 3D “grips.”
NoteIn Hardware Rendering
mode lights do not cast shadows, while in Ray Tracing mode, lights
can cast shadows based on their properties.
Create a light
To create new lights
in your scene:
- Press the L key (or select Scene
> Lights) to open the Lights interface.
- Select the objects to illuminate.
NoteWhen a light is first
created, the objects currently selected will be automatically associated
with the new light. This association aids in automatic placement
of the light, and shows the illumination of the light.
- Click the Create button
and select Create Spot Light (a directional
cone of light) or Create Point Light (a sphere
of light).
- A light with default properties is created
and automatically placed above and to the right of the objects being
illuminated, based on the current view.
NoteThe Light is represented
in the scene by a 3D icon, called a “grip,” which represents the
type of light created. The grip shows the position and orientation of
the light, and can be selected like other objects in the scene for
editing and transformations.
Edit light properties
To edit the properties
of a light:
- In
the Lights interface, right-click a light icon and select Properties.
- Adjust the light properties to see interactive
changes.
Select other lights in
the scene to view and edit their properties while the Light Properties
dialog box is still open.