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 and scaled only if the light and target are selected together. 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 popup menu. All transformations work on free lights.

Listing lights

The Tools Light Lister menu command opens the Light Lister dialog box, shown in Figure 27.5, where you can see at a quick glance all the details for all the lights in the scene. This dialog box also lets you change the light settings. It includes two rollouts: Configuration, which lets you select to see All Lights, the Selected Lights, or the General Settings that apply to all lights; and Lights, which holds details on each individual light.

Figure 27.5: 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.

Placing highlights

The Place Highlight (Ctrl+H) 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 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.

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 27 directory on the DVD.

   This file contains a simple snowman created using primitive objects.

2. Select the Create Lights Standard Lights Omni menu command, and position the Omni light below and to the left of the Snowman model.

3. To place the highlight so it shows the Snowman's face, select the Omni light and then choose Tools Place Highlight (or press Ctrl+H). Then click the Snowman's face where the highlight should be located, just above his right eye.

Figure 27.6 shows the results.

Figure 27.6: The snowman, after the lights have been automatically repositioned using the Place Highlights command

Note 

The effect of lights cannot be fully seen in the viewport To see the rendered result of a light, render the scene or view the scene in the ActiveShade window. You can open the ActiveShade window with the Rendering ActiveShade Floater menu command.