3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [244]
FIGURE 20.5
The Light Lister dialog box includes a comprehensive list of light settings in one place.
If the General Settings option is selected, then a separate rollout opens with all the typical settings, including Multiplier, Color, Shadows, Map Size, and so on. You can apply these changes to the Selected Lights or to All Lights. The Light Lister provides an easy way to change the parameters of many lights at once.
If either the All Lights option or the Selected Lights option is selected, then the parameters are listed in the Lights rollout. Using this rollout, you can change the settings for any of the listed lights that affect all lights. The Refresh button updates the Light Lister dialog box if a new light has been added to the scene or if any parameters have been altered in the Modify panel.
Note
If several lights are instanced, then only one of the instanced lights appears in the Light Lister dialog box, but each of the instanced lights can be selected from a drop-down list. •
Placing highlights
The Place Highlight feature enables you to control the position and orientation of a light in order to achieve a highlight in a precise location. To use this feature, you must select a light object in the scene and then choose Tools⇒Align⇒Place Highlight, or click the Place Highlight flyout button on the toolbar. The cursor changes to the Place Highlight icon. Click a point on the object in the scene where you want the highlight to be positioned, and the selected light repositions itself to create a specular highlight at the exact location where you clicked. The light's position is determined by the Angle of Incidence between the highlight point and the light.
Tip
If you click and drag on the object surface, then a small blue vector points from the surface of the object. The light is positioned inline with this vector when the mouse button is released. This is helpful when trying to precisely place a light. •
Tutorial: Lighting the snowman's face
You can use the Place Highlight feature to position a light for our snowman. To place a highlight, follow these steps:
1. Open the Snowman.max file from the Chap 20 directory on the CD.
This file contains a simple snowman created using primitive objects.
2. Select the Create⇒Lights⇒Standard Lights⇒Target Spotlight menu command, and position the spot light below and to the left of the Snowman model.
3. To place the highlight so it shows the Snowman's face, select the spot light and then choose Tools⇒Align⇒Place Highlight. Then click and drag on the Snowman's face where the highlight should be located, just above his right eye.
Figure 20.6 shows the results.
FIGURE 20.6
The snowman, after the lights have been automatically repositioned using the Place Highlights command
Note
The effect of lights can be fully seen in the viewport if the Best or Good shading option is enabled. •
Viewing a Scene from a Light
You can configure viewports to display the view from any light, with the exception of an Omni light. To do so, click the viewport Point-of-View label and then select Lights and the light name at the top of the pop-up menu.
Note
The keyboard shortcut for making the active viewport a Light view is the $ (the dollar sign that appears above the 4) key. If more than one light exists, then the Select Light dialog box appears and lets you select which light to use. This can be used only on spot and direct lights. •
Light viewport controls
When a viewport is changed to show a light view, the Viewport Navigation buttons in the lower-right corner of the screen change into Light Navigation controls. Table 20.1 describes