The
following are attributes for mental ray area lights created using
a Maya area light.
- Use Light Shape
-
When on, creates a mental
ray for Maya area light. This option is disabled by default.
- Type
-
This is the shape of
the area light source. Select from the drop-down list: Rectangle, Disc, Sphere, Cylinder and User.
The default is Rectangle.
Select User if
you wish to use your own light shader to define the light shape.
- High Samples
-
This represents the total number
of sample points emitted from the light. The default is 8. Values
greater than 8 increase the quality by reducing graininess, but
may increase rendering cost.
- High Sample Limit
-
To reduce rendering cost
and time, it is not necessary to use a high number of sample points after
a light ray has been reflected or refracted several times. This
attribute represents the number of bounces that the light ray should
go through before it uses the Low Samples values instead.
- Low Samples
-
- Visible
-
This can be used if you
want the area light object to be visible when rendered. The default
is off.
- Shape Intensity
-
Use in conjunction with
the Visible option when you want
the area light to be visible in your render. Use the slider to increase
or decrease the intensity of the area light object in your render.
This attribute does not
affect the intensity of the light being given off; it only affects
the visible portion of the light. For example, by increasing the
shape intensity, the area light in your render appears brighter,
but the objects in your scene do not become more well lit.