#R3 Projector Lights
8 messages in this thread
Having played with my friends 3dS R3 (I am still waiting for mine to
arrive) I am intrigued by the potential of the projector lights.
Smoke IPAS is one of my favorite ways to show stage light beams from
above. The only way I know to do this is build a cone and map smoke
to it. Although it reaches the desired effect, it has its own set of
problems..cone blocks other lights that would normally light the
objects within it.
Objective: Using projector lights, create moving smoke beams from the
light source. This is called a "gobo" effect in the real world. Any
ideas, or am I dreaming? Mike
MS: …show stage light beams from above. The only way I know to do
this is build a cone and map smoke to it. Although it reaches the
desired effect, it has its own set of problems..cone blocks other
lights that would normally light the objects within it. You've got
the right idea. Just Modify/Object/Attributes on the cone and tell
it not to cast shadows.
>>You've got the right idea. Just Modify/Object/Attributes on the
cone and tell it not to cast shadows………..
David, Thanks for the advice, the cone casting a shadow is not usually
my problem….its lighting the "thing" that is inside the cone. I
have worked around this by putting an omni or very broad falloff
spotlight very close to "thing".
>> ….its lighting the "thing" that is inside the cone.
>> I have worked around this by putting an omni or very broad falloff spotlight
>> very close to "thing".
I have just completed a project with a couple of stage lights showing
a beam (semi-transparent cone) with the text inside the cone being
lit by a 3DS spotlight. The spotlight's cone exactly matches the
stage light's beam and the beam's attributes for shadows are turned
off (as in David's suggestion). The spotlight's target and the light
beam are linked to the stage light in the KF and all worked as
expected. The spotlight lights the text (inside the cone) as the
beam is passing over it. Should work, and I hope this helps. -Ralph
PS Just read Martin's message…almost forgot to mention you will
need to exclude the beam from the spotlight. Thanks Martin!
3dsr3 has this incredibly useful feature for lights which allows the
exclusion of objects. This means your other lights could be told to
exclude the cone object, then it wouldn't be blocking anything. Check
out the chapel mesh on the r3 cd-rom. Look it carefully and see the
way the used projector lights and also geometry to simulate the rays
of light streaming through a complex stained-glass window. Very
educational!
I read about this in the new release features awhile back and it
sounds like my ticket! If we could just get smoke IPAS or fog to
cover entire scene and read the beams (no matter what shape) of light
shining through it. I'd like to make a flic of that great 57 Chevy
model driving over the Golden Gate in the fog, at night, with its
headlights going from low to high beam! Thanks for your reply, and I
enjoyed your work on the CD.
I like your Chevy/Golden Gate/Fog idea – go for it! I'm sure there's a
way of doing it. I'm glad you liked my work on the cd-rom. In
addition to the images there are plenty of meshes I donated, so you
may be able to enjoy it some more <g>.
From the docs about projector lights, the gobo effect you describe is
exactly what this was meant to do.