Light parameters are message
attributes. Connect any output attribute of a light node (not the
shape node) to, for example, the desired element of a light array
of your custom material shader.
These extensions should
enable you to create pretty much any shading network supported by
mental ray. It can be either exported to a file or rendered from
within Maya. Some restrictions apply:
- Cooperation between proprietary mental
ray shaders and the Maya base shader library is not always seamlessly
possible. Although much work has been put into making the Maya base
shaders compatible with standard mental ray shaders, some restrictions
still apply. Custom shaders might thus have to be designed in a
special way, if cooperation between the Maya base shader library
and custom shaders is desired.
- The mental ray Phenomenizer represents
a shader declaration, not a definition. Therefore, it cannot be
directly linked into a shading network.