CompuServe Messages

>> The idea is to light the painted surface, not to make the entire >> plastic part light. I interpret from your description that you are most concerned about how the light from certain angles reflects off the part and hits a viewing surface. Is this for some sort of optical comparison? In any event, what you describe is a ray-trace effect, where each "ray" of light follows a path from a light source through various reflections and refractions finally landing somewhere in the field of view. (Purists please forgive this over-simplified description!) As it presently stands, 3DS does not have this capability. Michael Bassier here on the forum is working on a raytrace engine for 3DS that may have some use in your application. – Dave