Aslan Court lighting question

nowefgnowefg Posts: 557
edited December 1969 in The Commons

Hi,

I bought Jack Tomalin's Aslan Court, and have experimented a bit, and done a few renders with it. It's an interesting space.

The Daz installer, though, only provides a link to online documentation; no offline readme, and I use Daz on an offline machine, so there's no way via the product to get information about Aslan, and I have questions about working with the lights.

There doesn't seem to be any way to modify the lighting in preview. For example, I can wink-off or remove the Omnifreaker light altogether, but that has no effect on what I see in preview. This is new, and confusing, as Omnifreaker normally is quite evident in preview if added or removed.

Also, all those area lights, which also don't "go away" when winked out or removed. The only change I was able to effect was to wink-out all lights, which goes from totally illuminated to totally black as the last light is winked out. And, what are the "headlamp-blockers"? Are they lights or shades, and how does one utilize them?

I tried adding some spot and distant lights of my own, which needs to be do-able for the set to have any scene-utility for me, (for example, if I wanted to add a close-up figure grouping with candles, or other specific accent lighting,) but that also had no effect on the preview.

So this is new ground -- lighting that doesn't show changes in preview, and I can't add my own, seemingly. That seriously curtails the usefulness of Tomalin's set, which is also a new experience. Sacrament and Marrakesh are totally adaptable re lighting, because I have to add lights myself. That Aslan comes with lights looked like a great time-saver and major selling point, but if I can't work with them, there's no point to having them. Except, of course, that Tomalin's scene renders out beautifully with his lights in place. Is there no way to keep that great mood effect he's designed, while adding accents of my own?

Has anyone worked with Aslan, re lighting, and can advise?

Comments

  • SimonJMSimonJM Posts: 5,997
    edited December 1969

    What you have is an 'overall' UberEnv, plus a couple of sets of UberArea lights (which is why the headlmap blockers are there - they tell Daz Studio not to use the default 'headlamp' utilised when there are no lights present). The UberEnv gives the 'ambient lighting' effect, the UberAreas are split between representing the lights in the chandelier in the ceiling, the lantersn around the walls and, I think, the effect of light coming in through the ceiling.
    If I recall, UberArea lights will emit light in the render even when made not visible, which sounds a little like what you are getting. To modify those lights you will need to go to the Surfaces tab and tweak things there.

  • nowefgnowefg Posts: 557
    edited December 1969

    Thanks, SimonJM,

    Where I'm tripping up is with, first, the UberEnv; normally, if I add or remove that from a scene, the effect on lighting is a totally visible change in the preview lighting. This is a great thing, in that I can change the UberEnv color or intensity and get some idea of how the render will be affected.

    With Aslan, I see no difference at all, whether the UberEnv is on, winked-off, or completely removed from the scene. This is the problematic element, that changes are not visible in preview.

    Thanks for the heads-up on Area lights, which I've not worked with before. If they're just prop lights, I don't suppose they are what's causing the lack of change in preview.

    As I said, this is kind of a big problem, if my own lights, added to the existing lighting, are not noticeable at all in preview. Normally, even with UberEnv in place, added lights are completely visible in effect and can be visible rotated or color-shifted, with an immediate impact on preview.

    With Aslan, I'm not getting that functionality for some reason.

  • Daz Jack TomalinDaz Jack Tomalin Posts: 13,480
    edited December 1969

    Hey,

    Not sure exactly what issues you are having - I've used the same UberEnv/UberArea lights (as Simon said) as I do with all my other lights presets.

    If you there is a particular set that is causing your problems, and wont switch off using the hide icon, all i can suggest is deleting them from the scene completely, to see if you can isolate the set.

    When I set lights like this up, I always work with the least amount, so I would suggest setting your own lighting up first (like you mention, a spot light etc) save the scene, then add my lights in. Delete what you don't want and then mix the two to get a good balance.

    I hope that helps :)

  • nowefgnowefg Posts: 557
    edited December 1969

    Thanks, Jack,

    If you there is a particular set that is causing your problems, and wont switch off using the hide icon, all i can suggest is deleting them from the scene completely, to see if you can isolate the set.

    When I set lights like this up, I always work with the least amount, so I would suggest setting your own lighting up first (like you mention, a spot light etc) save the scene, then add my lights in. Delete what you don’t want and then mix the two to get a good balance.

    I appreciate the protocol you're outlining, but that is what's not working.

    Once your lights are in the scene, I can remove them via the scene tab, one at a time starting with The UberEnv, but there is never any change in the preview lighting, until all lights have been removed, at which point the scene goes black. So, there's no way to "delete what you don't want" in way that is visible in preview. Is that how it's supposed to work?

    As I said, normally, if I add or remove UberEnv, I see an immediate change in the preview lighting. With Aslan, that doesn't happen; removing UberEnv has no effect on the preview lighting at all. This is what's throwing me.

    It sounds like you're saying it shouldn't be working that way; that if i delete a light, I should see a difference in preview. No?

  • Daz Jack TomalinDaz Jack Tomalin Posts: 13,480
    edited April 2013

    nowefg said:
    Thanks, Jack,

    If you there is a particular set that is causing your problems, and wont switch off using the hide icon, all i can suggest is deleting them from the scene completely, to see if you can isolate the set.

    When I set lights like this up, I always work with the least amount, so I would suggest setting your own lighting up first (like you mention, a spot light etc) save the scene, then add my lights in. Delete what you don’t want and then mix the two to get a good balance.

    I appreciate the protocol you're outlining, but that is what's not working.

    Once your lights are in the scene, I can remove them via the scene tab, one at a time starting with The UberEnv, but there is never any change in the preview lighting, until all lights have been removed, at which point the scene goes black. So, there's no way to "delete what you don't want" in way that is visible in preview. Is that how it's supposed to work?

    As I said, normally, if I add or remove UberEnv, I see an immediate change in the preview lighting. With Aslan, that doesn't happen; removing UberEnv has no effect on the preview lighting at all. This is what's throwing me.

    It sounds like you're saying it shouldn't be working that way; that if i delete a light, I should see a difference in preview. No?

    In all honesty, I can't say I've ever really used the OpenGL preview to provide feedback like that. Which is why I've never noticed - but like I say, I haven't really done anything different to my other lights, so unsure what's causing the problem with the preview in this particular instance.

    Sadly neither UberEnv/UberArea are my creation, they are built into DS and I just used them in the light set. If I get the chance later today, I will have a look at the Anderson Hall lights and see if I can work out whats different.

    Post edited by Daz Jack Tomalin on
  • nowefgnowefg Posts: 557
    edited December 1969

    Thank you, again,

    In all honesty, I can’t say I’ve ever really used the OpenGL preview to provide feedback like that. Which is why I’ve never noticed

    Interesting. I can't imagine working in any other way; seems built-in to Studio. You add a light, you see a difference; rotate the light, the highlights shift...

    Delete a light, it goes away.

    Seriously, I can't image setting up scene lighting from pure guesswork, when the preview provides such great immediate feedback. It doesn't show the final render result, of course, or shadows, but light direction and angle are clearly, automatically, visible in preview. Add more lights, they change the lighting in preview. It's not so much looking for feedback, as using the tool.

    Looking forward to hearing.

  • Daz Jack TomalinDaz Jack Tomalin Posts: 13,480
    edited December 1969

    Quick question, have you tried adding a custom light in first?

    I've just loaded Aslan in, then a spotlight - the preview works as it should. I then added in the lightset, and the scene was then fully lit, with the spotlight preview essentially removed.

    I think the issue is with the number of openGL lights you can have in a scene.. and after a certain number those are ignored (and as a result you wont see any difference to the preview)... in which case the only solution is to add in your own lights first (so you can see the change in preview) and then the light set :)

  • nowefgnowefg Posts: 557
    edited December 1969

    Hey, thanks, Jack,

    I think you've nailed it.

    No, I didn't try that order, my lights first, then yours, but I bet it will work. I'd forgotten about the eight light limit.

    Exciting.

  • Daz Jack TomalinDaz Jack Tomalin Posts: 13,480
    edited December 1969

    nowefg said:
    Hey, thanks, Jack,

    I think you've nailed it.

    No, I didn't try that order, my lights first, then yours, but I bet it will work. I'd forgotten about the eight light limit.

    Exciting.

    Glad to have solved it, enjoy the set :)

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