By increasing their
size, you soften their shadows. Don??™t forget to keyframe any size changes.You can use
the Size tool on the Modify tab.Try it out!
Inside LightWave v9 170
Chapter 4 Lighting 171
Figure 4.30 You can resize an area light for softer shadows, and by bringing the light intensity
down, the light??™s effect is not as hot.
Sizing a light might seem odd, but it helps spread the amount of light and thereby the
shadow as well.Notice in Figure 4.30 that the shadow is soft and very realistic. Area lights
take a long time to render, but they produce the best results.
Here are a few more things to remember when using area lights:
?—? Quality settings can be adjusted. The default Area Light Quality setting of 4 results
in 16 samples per area light.Values of 2 and 3 result in 4 and 9 samples per area
light, respectively.
?—? Linear lights perform like area lights but emit light from a two-point polygonal
shape, similar to a fluorescent tube.
?—? You can mix spotlights, distant lights, point lights, and linear lights with area
lights for added effects.
The Material Connection
Earlier in the chapter we mentioned that textures play a key role in how your lighting
affects your objects.
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