Lights in Lighting Styles

Create and edit lights in lighting styles.

Access:

On the ribbon, click Render tab Scene panel Lighting Styles . In the Studio browser, double-click the icon in front of a light style.

In the Lighting Styles dialog box, styles list, click a light.

General tab

Controls the type and placement of a light.

Type	Specifies one of the following light types to control the amount of illumination provided by the light. The default is Directional. Directional simulates parallel beams of light from a single direction in space, from a light source that is an infinite distance away, such as the sun. Point simulates light emitted in all directions from a single point in space, such as a light bulb. The target is used to create and edit point lights, and does not affect where the light falls. Spot simulates a conical light emitted from a single point in space in a particular direction, such as a stage light.
On/Off	Light On turns the light on in the lighting style. The default is On. Light Off turns lights on or off. When you turn off a light, the light color face changes to black, and in the browser the light icon in the lighting style tree is disabled.
Placement	Target sets a target point on the model when you click anywhere on the model, or sets the target on the view plane at the same view distance as the existing target when you click in space. Move the mouse over a surface to display a preview of the new light target/direction. Position sets the position of the light when you click along the direction line of the light. The direction line extends to the standard direction line distance if that distance is longer than the current light distance. or sets the position at the click point when you click anywhere on the model, or sets the position on the view plane at the same view distance as the existing position when you click a point in space.
Flip	Click the button on the right to reverse the direction of the light. The position and target are swapped as long as the button on the right is pressed. The default is Normal (not reversed).

Illumination tab

Determines how lights of any type emit light and cast shadows.

Intensity	Specifies the amount of illumination provided by the light. The default is 0 in a range of 0 to 100.
Color	Specifies the color of the light. The default color is white.

Shadows tab

Defines the shadows in the lighting style. Available when you select a lighting style in the lighting styles tree.

Type	No Shadow. Sharp Shadows. Default. Soft Shadows. Take more time to compute, but are more realistic.
Quality	Low (256x256) resolution. Medium (512x512) resolution. Default. High (1024x1024) resolution. Available only if Soft Shadows is selected.
Density	Controls the intensity or amount of illumination from the light in the scene with a slider. In a range from 0 to 100, the default density is 0.
Light Parameters	Specifies the spherical diameter of the soft shadow cast. We recommend the diameter value greater than the diameter of the part or assembly being rendered, or the area of interest being rendered.

Directional tab

Sets properties for directional lights. Available only when the light type on the General tab is set to Directional.

Latitude	Drag the slider or enter a value to specify the latitude angle of the light off the XY plane. The values are based on inputs when creating the light. The range is from -90.0 to 90.0 degrees.
Longitude	Drag the slider or enter a value to specify the longitude angle of the light off of the YZ plane. The values are based on inputs when creating the light. The range is from -180.0 to 180.0 degrees.

Point tab

Sets properties for point lights. Available only when the light type on the General tab is set to Point.

Position	Specifies values for the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the position of the light source.
Decay	Specifies a value selected from the list to describe how light diminishes with distance from the light: None, Inverse, or Inverse Square.
Start Distance	Specifies the distance (a length value) from the light source, at which light decay begins. Not available if the Decay value selected is None. The default value is None, and 0.0.

Spot tab

Sets properties for spot lights. Available only when the light type on the General tab is set to Spot.

Position	Specifies values for the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the position of the light source.
Target	Specifies values for the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the target of the light.
Decay	Specifies a value from the list to describe how light diminishes with distance from the light: None, Inverse, or Inverse Square.
Start Distance	Specifies the distance (a length value) from the light source, at which light decay begins. Not available if the selected Decay value is None. The default value is None, and 0.0.
Hotspot	Specifies the angle of the spot light. The default is 45 degrees in a range of 1.0 to 150.0 degrees.
Falloff	Specifies the falloff angle of the spot light. The default is 50.0 degrees in a range of 1.0 to 150.0 degrees.

Lighting Styles dialog box, Light context menu commands

In the Lighting Styles dialog box, in the list of styles, you can right-click any light and access the following commands:

Rename Light	When selected, places the light name in edit mode, Enter the new name and click outside the edit field.
New Light	Displays the New Light definition dialog box. Make the desired selections and settings and click OK to add the new light.
Delete Light	Deletes the selected light from the selected style.
Create Local Light	Using the selected light settings, creates a new local light. The local light node populates the Local Light folder in the Scene browser.

Lighting Styles, Light browser node context menu commands

In the browser, in the list of lights under the Lighting Style node, you can right-click any light and access the following commands:

Copy Light	Creates a new light using the selected light parameters. The new light is slightly offset from the selected light.
Edit	Displays the Edit dialog box for the selected light. You can change light type, parameters, and position.
Move	Activates the 3D Move command so the light can be repositioned. Click and drag a triad arrow to reposition the light.
Enabled	Enabled lights are selectable and affect the scene. When disabled, the light is selectable in the browser and does not affect the scene
Delete	Deletes selected light. The node is removed from the local light folder and graphics region.
Animate Light	Displays the Animate Light dialog box. You define the light position and parameters for the end of the current animation action.
Visibility	Toggles the visibility of the light in the scene. Light effects are still visible in the scene.