8

Intensity/Color/Attenuation Parameters 1191
The Decay controls are an additional way to make
alightfadeout.
Tip: When lights are attenuated, t he light might
betoobrightonnearsurfacesortoodimonfar
surfaces. If you se e this in renderings, exposure
control can help correct the problem. It adjusts the
larger dynamic range of the (simulated) physical
scene, into the smaller dynamic range of the
display. See
Environment Panel (page 3–268) for
additional information on exposure control.
Pr ocedur es
To choose the color of a light using the color selector:
1.
Click the color swatch next to the On check box.
Amodal
Color Selector (page 1–157) is
displayed.
2. UsetheColorSelectortochooseanewcolor,
and then click OK.
Shaded viewpor ts update to show the new light
color, which also appears in renderings.
To change a light’s intensity:
• Increase the light’s Multiplier v alue.
To use attenuation:
1.
SettheStartandEndvalues.
2. Turn on Us e.
A ttenuation is now in effect for this light when
the scene is shaded or rendered.
Note: You can a lso change the decay type (and
values) to reduce the light’s intensity over
distance.
To s ee t he attenuat ion ra nge in vi ewpor ts:
• Set Show for far or near attenuation.
You can preview the effect of attenuation in
shaded viewports only if you turn this on as an
option in
viewport preferences (page 3–874) .
Interfa ce
Multiplier—Amplifies the power of the light by a
positive or negative amount. For example, if you
set the
multiplier (page 3–1071) to 2, the light will
be twice a s bright. Multipliers are a ls o useful for
subtracting lig ht and selectively placing dark areas
in the scene. Default=1.0.
Using this parameter to increase intensity can
cause colors to appear "burned out." It can also
generate colors not usable in videos. In general,
leave Multiplier set to its default of 1.0 except for
special effects and special cases.
High Multiplier values wash out colors. For
example, if you set a spotlig ht to be red but then
increase its Multiplier to 10, the light is white in the
hotspot and red only in the falloff area, where the
Mu ltiplier isn’t applied.
Negative Multiplier values result in "dark light."
That is, the light darkens objects instead of
illuminating them.
Co lor Swatch—Shows the color of the li ght.
Clicking the color swatch displays the
Color
Selector (page 1–157)
so you can choose a color
for the light.