Managing Multiple Lights

Introduction to Lighting

Lighting a Scene with Standard Lights

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Lighting and Rendering > Introduction to Lighting > 

Choosing a Shadow Type

Both photometric and standard lights use shadow-mapped shadows by default. 3ds Max offers some alternate ways to generate shadows, as this lesson demonstrates.

Set up the scene:

• In the \tutorials\lights directory, open the file shadows.max.

  The scene is a classical sculpture against a plain white background. It is lit by three omni lights, but only one of them, Omni01, is shadow-casting.

Render the scene:

• On the main toolbar, click Quick Render.

  

  The statue's shadow is shadow mapped. It has a fairly sharp-edged outline.

Create a soft-edged shadow:

1. On the main toolbar, click Select By Name. Use the Select Objects dialog to select Omni01, and then go to the Modify panel.
2. Open the Shadow Map Parameters rollout. Change the value of Sample Range to 10.0.
3. Click Quick Render.

   

   The edge of the shadow is softer. Shadow-mapped shadows can have soft edges, but ray-traced shadows cannot.

Use a ray-traced shadow:

1. On the General Parameters rollout, in the Shadows group, choose Ray Traced Shadows from the drop-down list.
2. Click Quick Render.

   

   This time the shadows are very hard edged.

   Note3ds Max offers two kinds of ray-traced shadows: Advanced and “regular.” The advanced option has more ways to adjust shadow quality; otherwise, their behavior is similar.

Make the shadow lighter:

1. On the Shadow Parameters rollout, in the Shadow Parameters group, change the value of Density to 0.4 (equivalent to 40 percent).
2. Click Quick Render.

   

   The shadow is now lighter. Options on the Shadow Parameters rollout are independent of which kind of shadow you are generating.

Use an area shadow:

1. On the Shadow Parameters rollout, change the value of Density back to 0.85.
2. On the General Parameters rollout, in the Shadows group, change the shadow type from Ray Traced Shadows to Area Shadows.
3. Open the Area Shadows rollout, which is now displayed. In the Basic Options group, make sure that Rectangle Light is chosen. In the Area Light Dimensions group, change the Length and Width to both equal 5.0.
4. Click Quick Render.

   

   This time the results are even more diffuse than a soft-edged shadow-mapped shadow. Area shadows simulate shadows cast by an area of light, such as a window or skylight, rather than from a point source like a spotlight.

   TipPhotometric lights also provide true area lights and linear lights.

Save your work:

• Save the scene as my_area_shadow.max.