)| Toolbar: | Rendering > Lighting () |
| Menu: | View > Rendering > Lighting |
| Keyboard: | LIGHTING |
| Alias: | LIGHT |
The Lighting command activates the Lighting dialog box which allows you to specify how your drawing or scene is lit. You can control placement of the lights, light color, and light intensity. The Lighting dialog box, illustrated below, includes four buttons in the upper left corner of the window that allow you to select a preset lighting configuration. To the right of those buttons is a list of all of the lights currently defined in the drawing and buttons that allow you to add or delete from the list of lights. The change the characteristics of a particular light in the drawing, you first click on the name of the light in the light list. In the upper right corner of the window, the name of the selected light will be shown, as well as the color of the light and the light type.
Various other light parameters will be shown in the middle section of the window depending on the particular light type. Three types of lights are available to use in your drawing, Ambient light, Point lights, and Distant lights. An Ambient light illuminates the entire scene evenly (depending on the Ambient component of the Material finish). It does not cast shadows or change with viewing angle. A Point light represents light eminating from a single point in the drawing. Shadows will be cast by surfaces in the drawing and you will see highlights where the light reflects off of the surfaces. Point lights can also have a size or diameter to them so that they cast soft shadows. A Distant light represents a light from a large distance away from the surfaces in the drawing (e.g. the sun). All of the light rays are essentially parallel to each other so the shadows cast by the light have sharp edges.
The quickest way to specify a lighting configuration is to select one of the several preset light configurations provided including "Eye Light," "Side Light," "Sun Light," and "Back Light." All of these options add a small amount of ambient light and then a single point light. The Eye Light places the point light at the eye position for the scene. The Side Light option adds the point light at the upper right side of the scene. The Sun Light option adds a slightly yellowish light at a fixed point in the drawing coordinate system. The Back Light option adds the light behind and above the scene. Examples are shown below of the preset lighting on an example sphere.
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In addition to these preset lighting configurations, you can add individual lights by clicking on the "Add" button to the right of the list. You can delete lights by first clicking on the light in the list and then clicking on the "Delete" button to the right of the list. When you click on a light in the list it becomes selected and the parameters for that light are shown in the lower part of the window. Once you have selected the light of interest you can modify its parameters using the controls in the lower part of the window. For details on modifying the parameters of Ambient lights, Point lights, and Distant lights, please click on their respective help pages.
Lighting settings are stored in the drawing.
