need help with lighting

# 1 19-03-2007 , 10:18 PM

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Join Date: Mar 2007

Posts: 7

hi I'm attempting to model the interior of a room and I cant seem to get the lighting right. I thought adding in a down light would be as simple as modeling it and chucking in a spot light but seems I was wrong.

heres what happened when I added in a spot light:
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As u can see it doesn't flow down naturally like a normal light would. I don't want it to start off from a point

heres what happened when I tried using a area light:
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The area light just doesn't flow down enough, plus some of the light escapes from outside the light box.

I tried experimenting with just using an object as a light source:
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here I experimented with GI lighting and had a red cylinder inside the down light but as you can see the intensity is wayy to low.

Can anyone help me out here? All I need is a way to setup a realistic down light.

thanks in advance

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# 2 20-03-2007 , 04:29 AM

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either:

adjust the cone of the spotligt so it's a bit wider and give it a bit of a penumbra so that it falls off.

or

Use a point light which as long as you make sure the geometry above casts shadows light wont escape upwards or around the room.

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# 3 20-03-2007 , 05:13 PM

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Originally posted by Alan
either:

adjust the cone of the spotligt so it's a bit wider and give it a bit of a penumbra so that it falls off.

or

Use a point light which as long as you make sure the geometry above casts shadows light wont escape upwards or around the room.

A

Originally Posted by

Very valid. you can simply scale it in the needed direction to give it the effects that you need. The problem with a point light is that it has no decay, so it'll be constant no matter how far away it is from its object.

Sparticus

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# 4 20-03-2007 , 08:40 PM

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Hey thanks for the advice but I tried it and it didn't really get the effect I wanted.

Do you know how to make it so the light comes down evenly in a straight line rather than spreading out from a point?

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# 5 21-03-2007 , 02:04 AM

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Very valid. you can simply scale it in the needed direction to give it the effects that you need. The problem with a point light is that it has no decay, so it'll be constant no matter how far away it is from its object.

Originally Posted by

what? it does have a decay rate... it's right there under the emit diffuse check box. Please check your info before you post such a definitive statement.

Here is something i put together to show you what I'm talking about:

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