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Directional Parameters 1193
Di recti ona l Pa r amet er s
Create a standard Target Direct or Free Direct light. >
Direc tional Parameters rollout
The Directional Parameters rollout appears when
you create or select a
target direct (page 2–1145) or
free direct (page 2–1147) light. These parameters
control
hotspots (page 3–1048) and falloff (p age
3–1048)
.
Pr ocedur es
To see the dir ectional cone in v iewpor ts:
Theconeisalwaysvisiblewhilethelightisselected.
Thissettingkeepstheconevisiblewhenthelight
is unselected.
1. Select the spotlig ht.
2. In the Directional Parameters rollout > Light
Cone group, turn on Show Cone.
3. Select another object, deselecting the light.
A wireframe outline of the light’s cone appears.
The hotspot region is outlined in light blue, and
the falloff region is outlined in dark gray.
Theconeisalwaysvisiblewhilethelightis
selected.
Tip: The hotspot and falloff borders are not
v isible in shaded viewports. Use the cone values
to adjust hotspot and fal loff in the viewport.
Renderthescenetoseethefulleffectofthe
light’s border.
To adjust the hotspot and falloff:
• Use the Hotspot and Falloff spinners to increase
ordecreasethesizeofthehotspotandfalloff
regions. For directional lights, Hotspot and
Falloff are expressed in u nits.
By default, t he falloff va lue is always constrained
tobeatleasttwodegreesortwounitsgreater
thanthehotspotvalue. Thesizeofthis
constraint is a preference that you can change
in the
Rendering p anel (page 3–863) of the
Preferences dialog. The falloff value can range
from 0 to 10,000 units.
When the hotspot and falloff values are equal,
the light casts a hard-edged beam.
To set the shape of the light beam:
1.
Choose either Rectangle or Circle.
The shape of the light’s cone changes to reflect
the shape you chose.
2. If you chose Circle, y ou are done. If you chose
Rectangle, you c an now adjust the
aspect ratio
(page 3–1005)
of the rectangular light u sing the
spinner labeled Aspect.
To change a rectangular light’s aspect ratio:
1.
Choose Rectangle, as described above.
2. Change the Aspect value to the aspect ratio that
you want.
The Bitmap Fit button is anothe r way to se t the
aspect ratio. It is mainly used with projections.
Interfa ce
Light Cone group
These par ameters control
hotspots (p age 3–1048)
and falloff (page 3–1048) for spotlights.
Show Cone—Turns display of the cone on or off.