Lighting


This lesson shows you how to use lighting to add character and atmosphere to the scene. In the real world, light is what defines the shape and form of  objects.
This lesson introduces you to various lighting models and effects.

    Initial Setup
    You start by opening the fruit bowl file from Lesson 11.
    1. From the file menu select Open Scene.
    2. Select the scene you saved from the Texture Mapping Assignment.

    Retrieve the Candle Object
    3. Once the file is opened, select Import->File from the file menu.
    4. In the file-lister, select candle.mb file.
    5. Click the import button to import the candle. You have now merged
        two files into one 3D scene so they can be saved together.

An ambient light is a non directional light that fills the dark sides of objects and gives scenes a natural appearance. Since light doesn't bounce off surfaces in Maya,
ambient light is an effective way of simulating the reflected light you see in real life. Ambient light is often used as a secondary light source, supporting a stronger light
type such as a directional light or spot light.

    Create an Ambient Light
    1. From the multilister, select Edit->Create.
    2. Click on the Lights tab to see the possible choices for lights.
    3. Click the Ambient Light icon to create an ambient light.

    4. In the Multilister, click on the light tab to see the lights
       currently in you scene.

    Edit some of the Light Parameters
    1. Double-Click the Ambient Light icon to bring up the Attribute editor.
    2. Change the RGB values of the light to 0.39 for Red, 0.39 for Green, and
        0.39 for Blue.
    3. Change the value of the Ambient Shade to 0.5.

A directional light is similar to a distant light source such as the sun. It is made up of parallel rays of light that all follow the same direction.

    Create a Directional Light
    1. From the multilister, select Edit->Create
    2. Select the Directional Light icon from the list of lights.
    3. Close the Create Render Node tab.

    Rotate the Light
    4. Within Maya, select the directional light.

    5. In the channel box, change the rotation values to 45 for X, and 35
        for Z.
 
You will now learn how to render your scene using the Maya renderer.
 
    Render the Scene
    1. From the main menu, select Render->Render into New Window.
    2. The following dialog should appear.

 

We will now add a light to the candle. Using glow and halo features, you can make a point light look like a candle flame. The flow effects are
also animatible so you can also make the candle flicker. While the following settings produce a realistic candle flame, keep in mind that there
are also many other ways to simulate a flame in Maya.

    Create and place a point light
    1. From the multilister, select Edit->Create. From the Create Render Node
        dialog, select Point Light.
    2. Use the front and top windows. and place the point light into its
        proper position on top of the candle.

       

    Open the Light editor and edit the Glow and Halo
    3. In the Multilister, double-click the point light you just created to
        open the Light editor.
    4. In the light effects section, next to Light Glow, select the Map...
        button. This creates an opticalFX node in the Multilister and connects
        it to the point light. The opticalFX attribute editor is displayed.
    5. To create the flame, change the Glow Type to LINEAR, and change the
        Halo Type to RIM HALO.
    6. Switch back to the Point Light editor. Change the intensity of the
        Point light to 0.5.
    7. Click the white color sample, and in the Color editor change the
        following HSV values: Hue to 56, Sat to 0.675, Value to 1.
    8. Open the Glow effects section again. In the Glow attributes sub-section
        change the Intensity value to 0.5 and the Spread values are set to
        0.25.
    9. Scroll down and open the Halo Attributes section. Change the halo
        intensity to 0.10 and Spread to 0.75.
    10. Close the Attribute Editor, and the Multilister.

    Render the Final Image
    1. Open up the Render View window.
    2. Select Render->Render->persp. This will render the final
        image.
    3. Next, Select Images->Save to Disk...
    4. In the save image dialog, save the image as MyFruitBowl.
 

    Save the file
    1. From the file menu select File->Save scene as...
    2. Save the file as myfruitbowl_final.

Conclusion
    You have how taken a project from wire model to rendered image. You have applied shaders, and rendered those images photo-realistically.