2012

Table Of Contents
You can use a command to create a light, or you can use a button on the
Lights toolbar or the Lights panel on the ribbon. You can use the Properties
Inspector palette to change the color of a selected light or other properties.
You can also store a light and its properties on a tool palette and use it again
in the same drawing or another drawing.
Guidelines for Lighting
The guidelines for lighting used by photographers, filmmakers, and stage
designers can help you set up the lighting for scenes.
Your choice of lighting depends on whether your scene simulates natural or
artificial illumination. Naturally lit scenes, such as daylight or moonlight, get
their most important illumination from a single light source. Artificially lit
scenes, on the other hand, often have multiple light sources of similar
intensity.
Natural Light
For practical purposes at ground level, sunlight has parallel rays coming from
a single direction. The direction and angle vary depending on the time of day,
the latitude, and the season.
In clear weather, the color of sunlight is a pale yellow: for example, RGB values
of 250, 255, 175 (HSV 45, 80, 255). Cloudy weather can tint sunlight blue,
shading into dark gray for stormy weather. Particles in the air can give sunlight
an orange or brownish tint. At sunrise and sunset, the color can be more
orange or red than yellow.
Shadows are more distinct the clearer the day is, and can be essential for
bringing out the three-dimensionality of a naturally lit scene.
A directional light can also simulate moonlight, which is white but dim
compared to the sun.
Artificial Light
A scene illuminated by point lights, spotlights, or distant lights is artificially
illuminated. Therefore, it can be helpful to know how light behaves.
When light rays strike a surface, the surface reflects them, or at least some of
them, enabling us to see the surface. The appearance of a surface depends on
the light that strikes it combined with the properties of the surface material,
such as color, smoothness, and opacity.
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