Creating a Light Source

You can create a light source.

Light sources let you illuminate the objects to be rendered as you want for example, by highlighting a specific element in your scene, thus focusing the viewer's attention.

Related Topics
More about Creating a Light Source
Adjusting Light Source Parameters
Creating Real Time Ground Shadows

  1. Click Create Spot Light in Scene Editor toolbar (Create Light sub-toolbar) to create a light source with a conical shape.



    Important: The representation of the light source displayed above corresponds to the default representation mode (i.e. wireframe display). You can choose to display the light source in shading mode by selecting the appropriate option in Tools > Options > Infrastructure > Real Time Rendering > Display.

  2. You can interactively manipulate the light source:




    • The source point (1) rotates the spot around its target point
    • The target point (2) rotates the spot around its source point
    • The upper green manipulator translates and rotates the spot around its target point
    • The lower green manipulator translates and rotates the spot around its source point. It also lets you modify the attenuation end.

  3. To activate or deactivate a light source, right-click it in the specification tree and select Hide/Show.

    Light sources illuminating the scene are said to be active. Otherwise, they are inactive and do not cast any light.

    Important: Due to OpenGL limitations, some active lights may not be seen in the 3D window though they are defined as being "active". In that case, a warning sign identifies the light in the specification tree. On most platforms, up to 8 lights can be seen at the same time, however this number may be higher depending on the graphics card.

    You are now ready to Adjusting Light Source Parameters.