3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [243]
If you select the Lights menu or the Lights category in the Create panel, you'll notice another subcategory called Photometric. Photometric lights are based on photometric values, which are the values of light energy. The lights found in this subcategory include Free and Target lights.
Cross-Reference
The Photometric category also includes a mr Sky Portal option that is used to focus lights coming in from an external source. This feature is covered in Chapter 47, “Rendering with mental ray and iray.” •
To make choosing the right light easier, Max includes a Templates rollout for photometric lights that lets you set the configuration for a number of different common real-world lights, including 40, 60, 75, and 100W light bulbs, a number of Halogen spotlights, recessed lights, fluorescent lights, and even street and stadium lights.
Note
Whenever a photometric light is created, a warning dialog box appears, informing you that it is recommended that the Logarithmic Exposure Control be enabled. It also offers you an option to enable this setting. You can learn more about this feature in Chapter 46, “Using Atmospheric and Render Effects.” •
Creating and Positioning Light Objects
Max, in its default setup, can create many different types of light. Each has different properties and features. To create a light, just select Create⇒Lights and choose the lights type or click the Lights category button in the Create panel. Then click the button for the type of light you want to create and drag in a viewport to create it. Most light types are created with a single click, but you create Target lights by clicking at the light's position and dragging to the position of the target.
Transforming lights
Lights can be transformed just like other geometric objects. To transform a light, click one of the transformation buttons and then select and drag the light.
Target lights can have the light and the target transformed independently, or you can select both the light and target by clicking the line that connects them. Target lights can be rotated around the X and Y axes only if the light and target are selected together. A target light can spin about its local Z-axis even if the target isn't selected. Scaling a target light increases its cone or cylinder. Scaling a Target Direct light with only the light selected increases the diameter of the light's beam, but if the light and target are selected, then the diameter and distance are scaled.
An easy way to select or deselect the target is to right-click the light and choose Select Target from the pop-up menu. All transformations work on free lights.
Viewing lights and shadows in the viewport
Lights and shadows can be displayed in the viewports if you are using the Nitrous or the Direct3D display driver. You can check to see if your video card supports interactive lights and shadows using the Help⇒Diagnose Video Hardware menu command. This command runs a script and returns the results to the MAXScript Listener window.
If your graphics card supports viewport shadows, you can enable them using the Lighting and Shadows submenu under the viewport Shading label or in the Visual Style & Appearance panel of the Viewport Configuration dialog box. If you're using the Nitrous display driver, then the same menu also includes an option for enabling Ambient Occlusion.
The Viewport Lighting and Shadows quadmenu and the Views menu also include options to lock and unlock the selected light, and to display the effects of the selected light. Figure 20.4 shows a snowman with shadows enabled in the viewport.
FIGURE 20.4
By enabling viewport shadows, you can view shadows in real time.
Listing lights
The Tools⇒Light