Using Light

Creating Light Sources

The Light Tool allows you to place multiple sources of light in your drawing. You can create three types of light:

. Light Type Description
Directional Most closely approximates the Sun used in previous versions of VectorWorks. A directional light source will project light with parallel rays.
Point Works like a bare light bulb. A point light source will radiate light in all directions from its location in your drawing.
Spot Works like a flashlight, or a conventional spotlight, allowing you to change the direction and diffusion of light. A spotlight source projects light beams in the direction you specify, using the beam characteristics you set.

Adding Light Sources

To add a light source

    1. Select any 3D view.

    2. Select the Light Tool from the 3D Tools palette.

    3. Click the desired mode button.

    Options are: Directional Light, Point Light, or Spot Light.

    4. Click the Light Preferences mode button or click anywhere in the Drawing Area.

    The Light Preferences dialog box appears. This dialog box appears the first time you try to use the Light Tool. You can then set defaults that will apply every time you use the tool in this drawing.

    5. Turn the light On or Off.

    If you want to view the effects of this light in your drawing when you render in 3D, click On.

    If you want to temporarily hide the light in your drawing, click Off.

    6. Set the brightness of the light.

    You can either type the percentage you want to use in the textbox after Brightness or drag the slider to the brightness setting.

    Note: You can type values greater than 100% if you want to overlight the scene.

    7. Enter other desired criteria.

    If you want to change the light's Color, click the color wheel. In the dialog box that appears, click the color you want to use and then click OK.

    If your QuickDraw 3D rendering program supports shadow casting and you want the light to Cast Shadows, click this checkbox.

    If you are creating a Point Light, select the distance falloff function you want to use from the Dist Falloff pulldown menu.

    If you are creating a Spot Light:

    Specify the spread and beam you want the light to use. You can type angle values in the textboxes after Spread and Beam, or you can drag the point handles in the illustration box.

    Select the distance falloff function you want to use from the Dist Falloff pulldown.

    Select the beam angle falloff function you want to use from the Ang Falloff pulldown.

Option Explanation
Distance Falloff Rate of intensity change as you move along the beam away from the light source. (Spot and Point type only)
Angle Falloff Rate of intensity change between the beam and the spread. (Spot only)
Beam Cone of light that doesn't change intensity.(Spot type only)
Spread Cone of light larger than the beam that is controlled by the angle falloff. (Spot only)

    8. Click OK.

    The standard arrow cursor has changed into tiny cross-hairs (crossed lines).

    9. Click the point in your drawing where you want to place the light object that you specified in the Light Preferences dialog box.

Setting Ambient Light

The Set Ambient Light command allows you to set the level of ambient light in the rendering. Ambient light varies the intensity of hues of color with no shading. It makes hues brighter or duller towards black.

To set ambient light

    1. Make sure you are in the layer that you want to create/change the ambient light setting for.

    2. From the View menu, select Lighting and then Set Layer Ambient.

    The Set Ambient Light dialog box appears.

    3. Enter the desired criteria.

    Decide whether you want ambient lighting On or Off in the active layer.

    If you want to set a Color for the ambient light, click the color wheel. In the dialog box that appears, click the color you want to use.

    Select the Brightness setting you want to use. You can either type a number in the textbox or use the slider bar to pick a percentage.

    4. Click OK.

    Note: Your drawing must be rendered with QuickDraw 3D for you to see new ambient light settings.

Setting Sun Position

You can simulate the Sun by the Set Sun Position command. You could also produce shadow diagrams by placing three suns at different time settings. Giving each light a different color would make each shadow a bit different.

Note: If you do not select a directional light, VectorWorks will create a new one and not change the settings of the existing one.

To set sun position

    1. Click the directional light (sun) you want to change.

    2. From the View menu, select Lighting and then Set Sun Position.

    The Set Sun Position dialog box appears.

    3. Tell VectorWorks the location of the site of your drawing.

    Type the Latitude and specify whether it is N or S of the equator.

    Type the Longitude and specify whether it is E or W of the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England.

    Select the Time Zone Meridian from the pulldown menu. This sets the time zone for the time settings entered in the dialog box in later steps.

    VectorWorks assumes that the top of your page is due North. To change this setting, type the difference in degrees in the textbox inside the Page North section.

    4. Set the Month and Day you want to use in their respective pulldown menus.

    5. Set the time.

    You can specify AM and PM hours to the minute, as well as click the Daylight Savings checkbox, if needed.

    VectorWorks displays the Results of your settings (showing Azimuth, Elevation, and True Solar Time).

    6. Click OK.

    If you selected a directional light before choosing the Set Sun Position command, the tool modifies the angles of the light to the new azimuth and elevation. If no light was selected, the tool creates a new directional light with those angles.

Modifying Light

All light options can be modified via the Object Info palette. To change these light settings, make your changes directly through the palette. You may need to expand the palette to see all of the lighting options.

Lights are considered to be objects in VectorWorks. You can delete them just as you delete any other object.

Note: Some QD3D lighting options were set as VectorWorks Preferences. If modifying your lights does not achieve the desired effect, check that your preferences are set up as you want them.



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