check out http://www.simplylightwave.com



________________________________
From: spiritspark <fernandobartra@...>
To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, November 1, 2009 6:49:56 PM
Subject: [LW] lightwave resources


Dear Lightwave Friends:

I have a question.
What are the best online resources for lightwave 3d ?
(ex as in Flay).
Thank you !!!

rednova




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

www.flay.com is a good site for hunting down plug-ins and more.

Shaun


   ----- Original Message -----
   From: spiritspark
   To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 12:49 AM
   Subject: [LW] lightwave resources


     Dear Lightwave Friends:

   I have a question.
   What are the best online resources for lightwave 3d ?
   (ex as in Flay).
   Thank you !!!

   rednova





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There you are some useful
http://www.foundation3d.com/forums/
http://lwplugindb.com/
http://turbosquid.com/
http://renderosity.com/
http://www.presetcentral.com/
http://wtools3d.com/
http://www.spinquad.com/forums/index.php
German site: http://rendering.de/
Spanish site full of links: http://lightwaveamigos.com/





________________________________
De: William Johnson <wisemasterchief@...>
Para: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
Enviado: lun,2 noviembre, 2009 13:17
Asunto: Re: [LW] lightwave resources


check out http://www.simplyli ghtwave.com

____________ _________ _________ __
From: spiritspark <fernandobartra@ hotmail.com>
To: lw3d@yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sun, November 1, 2009 6:49:56 PM
Subject: [LW] lightwave resources

Dear Lightwave Friends:

I have a question.
What are the best online resources for lightwave 3d ?
(ex as in Flay).
Thank you !!!

rednova

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I am trying to simulate the display of a Panasonic projector reflected off a
mirror.  The image needs to be reflected from a mirror to a projection screen.
It seems like Lightwave is not able to do this, or I'm missing something.

I have set up 2 mirrors, with a spotlight used as the projector.  I have
assigned an image to the light.  I have set up a camera to look along the axis
of the light into the first mirror. The image is projected onto the glass and
frame of the first mirror, but apparently not reflected onto the 2nd mirror.  I
can see the second mirror, and even a  3rd and 4th, but none of the even
numbered mirrors have the image projection, only the odd numbers.

Any suggestions?  Is it even possible in Lightwave?  Does anyone know if 3D
Studio can do this?

Thanks,

Mark M.

A method I favor is to use textures to drive an endomorph as in this example.
The reason is I get far more control then I would get from using particles. Plus
I can also see the results in opengl in realtime and make instant adjustments.
http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/examples/staph2.mov

-Larry

> I think I got it to work..
>
> Made a separate scene with the emitter standing still, turned off all
> velocity on the particles so they are born and go nowhere.  Saved off
> the PFX.
>
> Loaded the emitter object into the 'real' scene, load the PFX into it,
> and set it's 'Playback Mode' to 'Parent Key' which allows the entire
> mass of particles to be moved post-dynamics.
>
>
> Bob
>

> A method I favor is to use textures to drive an endomorph as in this example.

Excellent!  I'd also like the Reader's Digest version of how to set up all those
little endomorphing s.cocci objects.  Or is it just one ball, tentacle, and
scaling
endomorph object particle cloned and saved as a single layer object?  Was a
simple
gradient keyframed for scale used to 'activate' the now single/combined
endomorph
of the that single object?  Or did you really have to manually place every one
of
those s.cocci objects?



Dean A. Scott, mfa
Owner / Animator
chrusion | FX
------------------------
http://www.chrusion.com

A method I favor is to use textures to drive an endomorph as in this example.
The reason is I get far more control then I would get from using particles. Plus
I can also see the results in opengl in realtime and make instant adjustments.
http://www.3dtrainingonline.com/examples/staph2.mov

-Larry

> I think I got it to work..
>
> Made a separate scene with the emitter standing still, turned off all
> velocity on the particles so they are born and go nowhere.  Saved off
> the PFX.
>
> Loaded the emitter object into the 'real' scene, load the PFX into it,
> and set it's 'Playback Mode' to 'Parent Key' which allows the entire
> mass of particles to be moved post-dynamics.
>
>
> Bob
>

Dean A. Scott wrote:
>> A method I favor is to use textures to drive an endomorph as in this example.
>
> Excellent!  I'd also like the Reader's Digest version of how to set up all
those
> little endomorphing s.cocci objects.

Yes I'm not sure I understand the method either.  In my case I was using
particles/hypervoxels as I just needed to have lots of these things
popping on and I had no time to direct it.  Also since the voxels were
fine for my usage, I didn't need a custom object but it would have been
nice..


|  Bob Maple
|
|  When love is gone, there's always justice.  And when justice is gone,
|  there's always force.  And when force is gone, there's always Mom.
|  Hi, Mom!   -Laurie Anderson

Tecnnically its a single object.
I used point clone plus to scatter then bacteria around.
I didnt use a gradient but rather an imae map because a gradient
wouldnt work. The image map could easily be changed to give more control.
This is one of the tutorials BTW, off my Displacements and Endomorphs DVDs. :)

-Larry

>
> Excellent!  I'd also like the Reader's Digest version of how to set up all
those
> little endomorphing s.cocci objects.  Or is it just one ball, tentacle, and
scaling
> endomorph object particle cloned and saved as a single layer object?  Was a
simple
> gradient keyframed for scale used to 'activate' the now single/combined
endomorph
> of the that single object?  Or did you really have to manually place every one
of
> those s.cocci objects?
>
>
>
> Dean A. Scott, mfa
> Owner / Animator
> chrusion | FX
> ------------------------
> http://www.chrusion.com
>

Hi,

You might find the following URL helpful:
http://www.creativecrash.com/alias/home

EFT


On 11/1/09 7:49 PM, "spiritspark" <fernandobartra@...> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Dear Lightwave Friends:
>
> I have a question.
> What are the best online resources for lightwave 3d ?
> (ex as in Flay).
> Thank you !!!
>
> rednova
>
>
>
>
>>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com, "marklynn3" <marklynn@...> wrote:
> I have set up 2 mirrors, with a spotlight used as the projector.  I have
assigned an image to the light.  I have set up a camera to look along the axis
of the light into the first mirror. The image is projected onto the glass and
frame of the first mirror, but apparently not reflected onto the 2nd mirror.  I
can see the second mirror, and even a  3rd and 4th, but none of the even
numbered mirrors have the image projection, only the odd numbers.
>
> Any suggestions?  Is it even possible in Lightwave?  Does anyone know if 3D
Studio can do this?
> Mark M.

That's a VERY interesting bug/limitation, and I encourage you to pack up all the
pieces and email it to Chuck Baker so NewTek can pick it apart.

As a practical matter, I would just FAKE IT.  Position the final light in such a
way that it SEEMS to be a reflection from a mirror, but in actuality is a direct
projection from a spot light.

No reason to obsess about replicating the behaviour of real photons.

Also try:
www.lwplugindb.com

>
> Dear Lightwave Friends:
>
> I have a question.
> What are the best online resources for lightwave 3d ?
> (ex as in Flay).
> Thank you !!!
>
> rednova
>

Thanks for the input.  It IS a very interesting limitation.  Not sure it's a
bug, though, because I don't know the design intent.  The image projected
from a light doesn't seem to have any relation to something like a lens
size, which would be nice.  For example, if you vary the cone angle of the
spotlight, the image size doesn't change. (I'm sure it's not really designed
to work that way either)  A work-around might be to figure out the
dimensions of an image for a particular lens and aspect ratio, and apply it
that way.

At any rate, although faking it is possible, there is a very real
application for the simulation.  A lot of money and trial and error could be
saved if the results of true projections through various lens, mirror and
distance combinations could be simulated.  One of the things I use Lightwave
for is to help me with mechanical analysis.

I like your suggestion of sending it all to Chuck Baker for evaluation.  I
have to say though, that I posed this same question to support, and haven't
heard anything back in more than a week.  How does one go about sending a
file to Chuck?

Thanks again,

Mark Morehead

Design Engineer/Consultant
Certified SolidWorks Professional
From: lw3d@yahoogroups.com [mailto:lw3d@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Jeric_Synergy
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 11:07 AM
To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LW] Re: image projection


--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com <mailto:lw3d%40yahoogroups.com> , "marklynn3"
<marklynn@...> wrote:
> I have set up 2 mirrors, with a spotlight used as the projector. I have
assigned an image to the light. I have set up a camera to look along the
axis of the light into the first mirror. The image is projected onto the
glass and frame of the first mirror, but apparently not reflected onto the
2nd mirror. I can see the second mirror, and even a 3rd and 4th, but none of
the even numbered mirrors have the image projection, only the odd numbers.
>
> Any suggestions? Is it even possible in Lightwave? Does anyone know if 3D
Studio can do this?
> Mark M.

That's a VERY interesting bug/limitation, and I encourage you to pack up all
the pieces and email it to Chuck Baker so NewTek can pick it apart.

As a practical matter, I would just FAKE IT. Position the final light in
such a way that it SEEMS to be a reflection from a mirror, but in actuality
is a direct projection from a spot light.

No reason to obsess about replicating the behaviour of real photons.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi All,



Looking for a couple of video tutorials on Weld UV and Heal UV.  If someone
could post some links it would be much appreciated.



Thanks,



Adam





To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
From: marklynn@...
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:49:36 -0800
Subject: RE: [LW] Re: image projection





Thanks for the input. It IS a very interesting limitation. Not sure it's a
bug, though, because I don't know the design intent. The image projected
from a light doesn't seem to have any relation to something like a lens
size, which would be nice. For example, if you vary the cone angle of the
spotlight, the image size doesn't change. (I'm sure it's not really designed
to work that way either) A work-around might be to figure out the
dimensions of an image for a particular lens and aspect ratio, and apply it
that way.

At any rate, although faking it is possible, there is a very real
application for the simulation. A lot of money and trial and error could be
saved if the results of true projections through various lens, mirror and
distance combinations could be simulated. One of the things I use Lightwave
for is to help me with mechanical analysis.

I like your suggestion of sending it all to Chuck Baker for evaluation. I
have to say though, that I posed this same question to support, and haven't
heard anything back in more than a week. How does one go about sending a
file to Chuck?

Thanks again,

Mark Morehead

Design Engineer/Consultant
Certified SolidWorks Professional
From: lw3d@yahoogroups.com [mailto:lw3d@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Jeric_Synergy
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 11:07 AM
To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LW] Re: image projection


--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com <mailto:lw3d%40yahoogroups.com> , "marklynn3"
<marklynn@...> wrote:
> I have set up 2 mirrors, with a spotlight used as the projector. I have
assigned an image to the light. I have set up a camera to look along the
axis of the light into the first mirror. The image is projected onto the
glass and frame of the first mirror, but apparently not reflected onto the
2nd mirror. I can see the second mirror, and even a 3rd and 4th, but none of
the even numbered mirrors have the image projection, only the odd numbers.
>
> Any suggestions? Is it even possible in Lightwave? Does anyone know if 3D
Studio can do this?
> Mark M.

That's a VERY interesting bug/limitation, and I encourage you to pack up all
the pieces and email it to Chuck Baker so NewTek can pick it apart.

As a practical matter, I would just FAKE IT. Position the final light in
such a way that it SEEMS to be a reflection from a mirror, but in actuality
is a direct projection from a spot light.

No reason to obsess about replicating the behaviour of real photons.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





_________________________________________________________________
Ready. Set. Get a great deal on Windows 7. See fantastic deals on Windows 7 now
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691818

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Morehead" <marklynn@...> wrote:

> I like your suggestion of sending it all to Chuck Baker
> for evaluation.  I
> have to say though, that I posed this same
> question to support, and haven't
> heard anything back in more than a week.  How does
> one go about sending a
> file to Chuck?
>
> Mark Morehead
>
> Design Engineer/Consultant
> Certified SolidWorks Professional
> From: lw3d@yahoogroups.com [mailto:lw3d@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of

Chuck's not hard to find:  I suggest you PM him through the official NewTek
forums: here's a link, page search for "Chuck":

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569

This link is more informative:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73226

Best would always be to use the bug reporting system, instructions are here:

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73226

We can have an engineer evaluate the issue and see if it's actually
outside the design parameters or just a bug.  If the latter we can
see if we can fix for the forthcoming maintenance update. If it's
outside the design parameters then any redesign effort would likely
have to be reserved for the next feature update.

At 19:49 11/4/2009, Mark Morehead wrote:
>
>
>Thanks for the input. It IS a very interesting limitation. Not sure it's a
>bug, though, because I don't know the design intent. The image projected
>from a light doesn't seem to have any relation to something like a lens
>size, which would be nice. For example, if you vary the cone angle of the
>spotlight, the image size doesn't change. (I'm sure it's not really designed
>to work that way either) A work-around might be to figure out the
>dimensions of an image for a particular lens and aspect ratio, and apply it
>that way.
>
>At any rate, although faking it is possible, there is a very real
>application for the simulation. A lot of money and trial and error could be
>saved if the results of true projections through various lens, mirror and
>distance combinations could be simulated. One of the things I use Lightwave
>for is to help me with mechanical analysis.
>
>I like your suggestion of sending it all to Chuck Baker for evaluation. I
>have to say though, that I posed this same question to support, and haven't
>heard anything back in more than a week. How does one go about sending a
>file to Chuck?
>
>Thanks again,
>
>Mark Morehead


=========================================
Chuck Baker
3D Development Mgr., NewTek, Inc.
http://www.newtek.com/
For Bug Reports and Feature Requests:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73226
=========================================

Place spotlights at each mirror or at the last mirror as needed.
Tell the spotlights to project the image you need projected.
This should allow you to fake the effect. You can even turn on volumetrics for
each spot to get a hint of the image being projected thru space.

-Larry


>
> I am trying to simulate the display of a Panasonic projector reflected off a
mirror.  The image needs to be reflected from a mirror to a projection screen.
It seems like Lightwave is not able to do this, or I'm missing something.
>
> I have set up 2 mirrors, with a spotlight used as the projector.  I have
assigned an image to the light.  I have set up a camera to look along the axis
of the light into the first mirror. The image is projected onto the glass and
frame of the first mirror, but apparently not reflected onto the 2nd mirror.  I
can see the second mirror, and even a  3rd and 4th, but none of the even
numbered mirrors have the image projection, only the odd numbers.
>
> Any suggestions?  Is it even possible in Lightwave?  Does anyone know if 3D
Studio can do this?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark M.
>

I've been working on lighting a character that's running, basically
in one direction.  I have tried various methods based on
key/back/fill but can't get anything I like.  I mean, I'm getting
mood light all over the place, but that's the problem.  What I want
is an evenly lit 'channel', or elongated pool of light, but so far my
methods either suffer from overlapping lights, which create hot
spots, or sporadic areas that are too dark.  I want to avoid putting
in lots of 'special' extra lights.  I also want to avoid parenting a
light to the character.  I'd like to wind up with a lit area that a
character could walk into and move around in and be well lit (on
average). This seems to be the way to go for a general use lighting
technique.  I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it's proving to be
frustrating.  For example, at the moment, for the keys, I'm working
on lining them up from one side and keeping them close together with
a narrow spot beam to avoid overlaps.

Should I create 'barn doors' for the lights, and then butt them up
against each other?  Should I create an elongated object, and turn it
into a light?  I have books such as one called TV Lighting Methods,
which shows various light placement techniques, and naturally I have
one of Nicholas Boughen's books, but it's an older version for LW
7.5, so it doesn't have the latest lights and techniques.

Also, since I have 21 lights so far, this wouldn't be possible
without FPrime (latest version).  I'm running the latest version of
LW on a Mac dual 1.42 GHz G4 running 10.5.7

Would anyone like to make a suggestion?

Thanks,
Greg Reyna

am guessing you could HDRI maps and a few area Area lights..but then render
times might skyrocket.  just my 25cents thoughts!





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hmm, I think that you might expect lighting changes when a character run
thru an enviroment, it's a natural phenomenon, unless he's running in a
sunny day, but even so... there are always shadows and stuff..

So my opinion is to keep the variations you have, and maybe do a render pass
with a distant light, so you have a even light "channel" you can compose
later.

What kind of light are those 21 lights? spot?

You could take advantage of the ambient light LW have aswell..


I did a run once, but it was a cellshaded animation =P

-Felipe




2009/11/17 emmanuel unogu <evilkid007@...>

>
>
> am guessing you could HDRI maps and a few area Area lights..but then render
> times might skyrocket.  just my 25cents thoughts!
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

you have alot of cool lighting tools at your disposal, including a linear
light. You could run it down the middle of your corridor.

Also, not knowing the effect you are trying to achive, there is the option
of HDRI images. Sometimes you could use a regular image for the lighting and
exaggerated the light intensity. (esp. if you are focusing on the 'running
man')

Also, there is a really neat plugin to LW called LightBitch. That uses
regular background images, to generate a solution of lights that will
simulate HDRI lights, but you can use lower power directional lights etc for
the effect.

Also, if you use LightBitch, you can attach the light array the program
generates to the character. It won't be like having a light attached to the
character, it will be having a lighting rig attached to the character. They
use those in BSG and Star Trek to light the Star Ships correctly...

Just some random thoughts... good luck...

Will

On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM, Greg Reyna <greyna@...> wrote:

>
>
> I've been working on lighting a character that's running, basically
> in one direction. I have tried various methods based on
> key/back/fill but can't get anything I like. I mean, I'm getting
> mood light all over the place, but that's the problem. What I want
> is an evenly lit 'channel', or elongated pool of light, but so far my
> methods either suffer from overlapping lights, which create hot
> spots, or sporadic areas that are too dark. I want to avoid putting
> in lots of 'special' extra lights. I also want to avoid parenting a
> light to the character. I'd like to wind up with a lit area that a
> character could walk into and move around in and be well lit (on
> average). This seems to be the way to go for a general use lighting
> technique. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it's proving to be
> frustrating. For example, at the moment, for the keys, I'm working
> on lining them up from one side and keeping them close together with
> a narrow spot beam to avoid overlaps.
>
> Should I create 'barn doors' for the lights, and then butt them up
> against each other? Should I create an elongated object, and turn it
> into a light? I have books such as one called TV Lighting Methods,
> which shows various light placement techniques, and naturally I have
> one of Nicholas Boughen's books, but it's an older version for LW
> 7.5, so it doesn't have the latest lights and techniques.
>
> Also, since I have 21 lights so far, this wouldn't be possible
> without FPrime (latest version). I'm running the latest version of
> LW on a Mac dual 1.42 GHz G4 running 10.5.7
>
> Would anyone like to make a suggestion?
>
> Thanks,
> Greg Reyna
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

You can use a light array of distant lights for your ambient light, and another
distant light for your key light; this way you get a constant directional key
light regardless of where your character is in the scene.

best,

lernie.


--- On Wed, 11/18/09, Will Silver <willsilver@...> wrote:

> From: Will Silver <willsilver@...>
> Subject: Re: [LW] Lighting a run
> To: lw3d@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 12:44 PM
> you have alot of cool lighting tools
> at your disposal, including a linear
> light. You could run it down the middle of your corridor.
>
> Also, not knowing the effect you are trying to achive,
> there is the option
> of HDRI images. Sometimes you could use a regular image for
> the lighting and
> exaggerated the light intensity. (esp. if you are focusing
> on the 'running
> man')
>
> Also, there is a really neat plugin to LW called
> LightBitch. That uses
> regular background images, to generate a solution of lights
> that will
> simulate HDRI lights, but you can use lower power
> directional lights etc for
> the effect.
>
> Also, if you use LightBitch, you can attach the light array
> the program
> generates to the character. It won't be like having a light
> attached to the
> character, it will be having a lighting rig attached to the
> character. They
> use those in BSG and Star Trek to light the Star Ships
> correctly...
>
> Just some random thoughts... good luck...
>
> Will
>
> On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM, Greg Reyna <greyna@...>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > I've been working on lighting a character that's
> running, basically
> > in one direction. I have tried various methods based
> on
> > key/back/fill but can't get anything I like. I mean,
> I'm getting
> > mood light all over the place, but that's the problem.
> What I want
> > is an evenly lit 'channel', or elongated pool of
> light, but so far my
> > methods either suffer from overlapping lights, which
> create hot
> > spots, or sporadic areas that are too dark. I want to
> avoid putting
> > in lots of 'special' extra lights. I also want to
> avoid parenting a
> > light to the character. I'd like to wind up with a lit
> area that a
> > character could walk into and move around in and be
> well lit (on
> > average). This seems to be the way to go for a general
> use lighting
> > technique. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it's
> proving to be
> > frustrating. For example, at the moment, for the keys,
> I'm working
> > on lining them up from one side and keeping them close
> together with
> > a narrow spot beam to avoid overlaps.
> >
> > Should I create 'barn doors' for the lights, and then
> butt them up
> > against each other? Should I create an elongated
> object, and turn it
> > into a light? I have books such as one called TV
> Lighting Methods,
> > which shows various light placement techniques, and
> naturally I have
> > one of Nicholas Boughen's books, but it's an older
> version for LW
> > 7.5, so it doesn't have the latest lights and
> techniques.
> >
> > Also, since I have 21 lights so far, this wouldn't be
> possible
> > without FPrime (latest version). I'm running the
> latest version of
> > LW on a Mac dual 1.42 GHz G4 running 10.5.7
> >
> > Would anyone like to make a suggestion?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Greg Reyna
> > 
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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>
>
>

I set up Render Globals to 'Overlay Frame Number' on rendered frames
but now every time I save the scene, LW opens a second requester to
ask me if I want to change the Data Overlay Label to [the name of
scene].  I don't see a way to shut this off.  In Render Globals
there's an input field next to 'Overlay Frame Number', is there a
magic word to enter in there to stop this extra requester?

In General Prefs, I have Alert Level set to Low.

Thanks,
Greg Reyna

Thanks guys for the ideas.  I'm trying out various things and thought
I'd run this by you to see what you'd say.  I will try out your
suggestions.  I know, I'm trying to learn to light.  People make
careers out of this, so I'm not expecting miracles overnight!  I need
to better understand how to generally light a stage area with
multiple lights.  For the long haul, this seems like a good thing to
know how to do.

The idea I started with was to establish some highlights that would
help shape the character's contours as he moved, with the light being
more or less consistent throughout, and then afterwards add
brightness overall.  I've tried various combinations of lighting
positions with and without Radiosity, and Global Illumination. (all
spotlights so far)  Now I'm working on hitting him with key and back
lights and no fill so I can see the highlights clearly.  I tried
adding Fresnel, but don't understand it well enough yet.  Parenting
lights to the character has worked for me before, but this time I
want to learn to light an area for this running man that would also
work if other characters moved in and out of it.  Maybe this is a
'proscenium' approach (as if I'm lighting a play), but I want to try
it.

Greg



>you have alot of cool lighting tools at your disposal, including a linear
>light. You could run it down the middle of your corridor.
>
>Also, not knowing the effect you are trying to achive, there is the option
>of HDRI images. Sometimes you could use a regular image for the lighting and
>exaggerated the light intensity. (esp. if you are focusing on the 'running
>man')
>
>Also, there is a really neat plugin to LW called LightBitch. That uses
>regular background images, to generate a solution of lights that will
>simulate HDRI lights, but you can use lower power directional lights etc for
>the effect.
>
>Also, if you use LightBitch, you can attach the light array the program
>generates to the character. It won't be like having a light attached to the
>character, it will be having a lighting rig attached to the character. They
>use those in BSG and Star Trek to light the Star Ships correctly...
>
>Just some random thoughts... good luck...
>
>Will
>
>On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 11:40 AM, Greg Reyna <greyna@...> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>  I've been working on lighting a character that's running, basically
>>  in one direction. I have tried various methods based on
>>  key/back/fill but can't get anything I like. I mean, I'm getting
>>  mood light all over the place, but that's the problem. What I want
>>  is an evenly lit 'channel', or elongated pool of light, but so far my
>>  methods either suffer from overlapping lights, which create hot
>>  spots, or sporadic areas that are too dark. I want to avoid putting
>>  in lots of 'special' extra lights. I also want to avoid parenting a
>>  light to the character. I'd like to wind up with a lit area that a
>>  character could walk into and move around in and be well lit (on
>>  average). This seems to be the way to go for a general use lighting
>>  technique. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it's proving to be
>>  frustrating. For example, at the moment, for the keys, I'm working
>>  on lining them up from one side and keeping them close together with
>>  a narrow spot beam to avoid overlaps.
>>
>>  Should I create 'barn doors' for the lights, and then butt them up
>>  against each other? Should I create an elongated object, and turn it
>>  into a light? I have books such as one called TV Lighting Methods,
>>  which shows various light placement techniques, and naturally I have
>>  one of Nicholas Boughen's books, but it's an older version for LW
>>  7.5, so it doesn't have the latest lights and techniques.
>>
>>  Also, since I have 21 lights so far, this wouldn't be possible
>>  without FPrime (latest version). I'm running the latest version of
>>  LW on a Mac dual 1.42 GHz G4 running 10.5.7
>>
>>  Would anyone like to make a suggestion?
>>
>>  Thanks,
>>  Greg Reyna
>>
>>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
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--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com, Lernie Ang <faulknermano@...> wrote:
>
> You can use a light array of distant lights for your ambient light, and
another distant light for your key light; this way you get a constant
directional key light regardless of where your character is in the scene.
> best,
> lernie.

Given that (supposedly) only the rotation of a distant light matters, I'm
surprised this would work-- a matrix of lights where the location doesn't matter
seems redundant.  ???

You know, you could use different lights for the character and the
background. Distant lights for the character, spots and areas for the
background...

Just a thought...

Will

On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:11 AM, Jeric_Synergy <jeric_synergy@...>wrote:

>
>
> --- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com <lw3d%40yahoogroups.com>, Lernie Ang
> <faulknermano@...> wrote:
> >
> > You can use a light array of distant lights for your ambient light, and
> another distant light for your key light; this way you get a constant
> directional key light regardless of where your character is in the scene.
> > best,
> > lernie.
>
> Given that (supposedly) only the rotation of a distant light matters, I'm
> surprised this would work-- a matrix of lights where the location doesn't
> matter seems redundant. ???
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

an evenly lit 'channel', or elongated pool of light

You would want to make an LW object, like the headlights of the Delorean back in
LW5.6.

You could also leave the character running in place, and move the hallway with
light and cone parented.

I also would work in Ambient as suggested.

GoodLuck

You're right, I found that the array doesn't make any difference, so
I zeroed out the intensity of all the array lights except the center
one, #5 (the others are parented to #5).  I had all 9 lights set at
12% intensity, so instead I set the #5 light to 108% (12x9), and the
render is identical to having all lights set at 12. (Ambient
Intensity is off.  The only light in the scene is from whatever light
I'm working with)

This Distant light I'm calling #5 is about 10 meters directly above,
and pointing straight down toward the 1.5 meter-tall character, who
is running from +Z toward -Z.  I changed the #5 light to a point
light, then an area light, then a spotlight, and each of these
renders of the character are identical (falloff is off), the only
thing that changes is the light falling on different parts of the
ground and a high wall object set up on one side.  (there is a subtle
difference between the render of the Distant light and the others).
I didn't expect this.   I thought each of the lights would be
distinctive.  I'm guessing that having no falloff has something to do
with this.

Leaving the light in its 10 meter high position, I reset #5 as a
Distant light and angled it 45 degrees on the Pitch toward the +Z
(the direction the character is coming from), this lit him up at a
steep angle from the front.  I tried 22 degrees, because the shadows
were deeper than I liked, and the change to a lower angle was
obvious, and better.  Then as a test, I moved the #5 light on its Z
axis, far away toward the -Z and there was no difference in the
render from when the light was directly above him.  I moved the light
in the opposite direction--far toward the +Z--and again, no
difference.

I had a Key light in position down at the end of the run (set to zero
intensity), so I decided to use the overhead #5 light to light him
from the back.  Without changing the light's position, I changed the
Pitch to 135 degrees so it was tilted toward the -Z (the direction
the character is going).  This lit him from the back as expected.
Then I turned on the Key light which is also a Distant light, and is
positioned way down at the end of the run, about one meter higher
than the character.  It's pointed toward him (+Z), and HPB are set to
zero.  This renders nicely with light on the front, and on the back
of the character with a contour-defining shadow area along his side.
I'll see how this looks when animated, and go on from there.

I'm only concerned with the character for the time being.  The wall I
have set up parallel to the run has a crowd mapped on it, like
they're sitting in the stands of a basketball game.  The character is
bouncing a basketball, running and changing direction after a while.
I've tried various things like HDRI, and different configurations of
Radiosity, but I think I need to learn more about this basic stuff
first.  (I need a different HDRI picture to light this, the ones I
found didn't do too well)  I'd like to continue to build this up from
complete darkness, and see what I can learn.

Thanks,
Greg


>
>
>--- In <mailto:lw3d%40yahoogroups.com>lw3d@yahoogroups.com, Lernie
>Ang <faulknermano@...> wrote:
>>
>>  You can use a light array of distant lights for your ambient
>>light, and another distant light for your key light; this way you
>>get a constant directional key light regardless of where your
>>character is in the scene.
>>  best,
>>  lernie.
>
>Given that (supposedly) only the rotation of a distant light
>matters, I'm surprised this would work-- a matrix of lights where
>the location doesn't matter seems redundant. ???

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

TMK, all this POSITIONING of Distant lights is immaterial: the only thing that
matters is their rotation.  Sometimes I've seen raytracing shadows that
contradict this, but I'd have to double check.

As to the similarity of lights:  10 meters is 30 feet (obviously) and in my RW
work that's a long way for a spotlight.  The working surface of a video light,
like an ARRI, is between 5 and 8 inches: imagine how small an angle that
subtends at 30 ft and you can see why the look is basically the same as a
distant light.  (LW's spots are actually points, not 5" across, so it's even
worse.)  You probably wouldn't see much difference until the light is with ~12
feet of the subject.

For any kind of realism, always include some falloff in your lights.

--- In lw3d@yahoogroups.com, Greg Reyna <greyna@...> wrote:
>
> and pointing straight down toward the 1.5 meter-tall character, who
> is running from +Z toward -Z.  I changed the #5 light to a point
> light, then an area light, then a spotlight, and each of these
> renders of the character are identical (falloff is off), the only
> thing that changes is the light falling on different parts of the
> ground and a high wall object set up on one side.  (there is a subtle
> difference between the render of the Distant light and the others).
> I didn't expect this.   I thought each of the lights would be
> distinctive.  I'm guessing that having no falloff has something to do
> with this.

On Nov 22, 2009, at 2:25 PM, Jeric_Synergy wrote:

> TMK



So... which definition of TMK do you mean?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tmk

(I'm half serious... I had no idea of what you meant).

By the way... you are absolutely right about distant lights.
———————
James Burns
http://jamesburnsdesign.com




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]