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DAZ Studio Light Props - How Do They work?

Mage 13X13Mage 13X13 Posts: 435
edited December 1969 in Daz Studio Discussion

There is a little known group of props in DAZ Studio's Light Presets Under the Lights & Cameras tab. Several props that emit light can be found in it, and they can be edited several ways. This is as much as I know about them, but I would love to know a lot more. There is hardly any art that I have found that uses them, so I figure that it might not be as well known as it should be. I played a little with a couple of them today to see what I could do with them.

One was the Light Disk object which I used to test Color changes in different parameter channels, Intensity, Scale, and Fall Off. I found that the closer it is to a regular object in the scene, the more light it would cast on the object.

The second one was the Light Globe object. I was expecting this one to work like a light bulb, so I created a Flashlight in my favorite modeler, and placed a Light Globe inside the reflector cone. I used the "Reflect Me" Chrome Shader on the reflector cone to help intensify and redirect the light. A Lens I made was placed over that, which I had made just 10% opaque. The light should have passed through the Lens, but it did not. Only two surfaces were between the outside of the Lens and the Inside of the Reflector Cone; the inner Lens surface, and the outer Lens Surface. When I put a Spotlight in the position of the Light Globe it shone through with no problem. It has a different issue though! If you look into the business end of the flashlight, you cannot see the light source like you would in a real flashlight!

I noted that they are actually made of at least two items, and those are not parented together. If you move one, the other stays behind. It becomes necessary to move the other part to where the other one has been placed. Which I suspect is a mistake I made, if what I think is true. I think maybe the second item is needed to provide a target on the surface of a model, for the light to be directed toward. Is this True or False?

So I have started this thread to see what I can find out about the Light Props. I have some upcoming models that could benefit from the use of Light Props, acting as localized light sources. I will appreciate any and all info folks can provide on this subject.

Thank you!

Comments

  • BlackFeather1973BlackFeather1973 Posts: 739
    edited December 1969

    These are Arealights, surfaces that act as light sources. It's properties are actually located in the surfaces tab instead of the parameters tab.
    When you load one of these lights, a second object will be loaded in the scene as well, a so called headlamp blocker. Daz Studio does not recognize arealights as actual lights, so when there are no other lights in the scene the preview window will be totally black. The headlamp blocker is just a fake light to solve this, it has no effect on your render.
    Szark has an in-depth tutorial thread on arealights here : http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/14536/

  • Mage 13X13Mage 13X13 Posts: 435
    edited December 1969

    BlackFeather1973 said:
    These are Arealights, surfaces that act as light sources. It's properties are actually located in the surfaces tab instead of the parameters tab.
    When you load one of these lights, a second object will be loaded in the scene as well, a so called headlamp blocker. Daz Studio does not recognize arealights as actual lights, so when there are no other lights in the scene the preview window will be totally black. The headlamp blocker is just a fake light to solve this, it has no effect on your render.
    Szark has an in-depth tutorial thread on arealights here : http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/14536/

    Thank you for your response, and the link to the tutorial. I have horrible search skills it seems, so when someone posts links for me it is a huge help! I will follow the link and check out the tutorial. Knowing what to do to achieve a goal is half the battle!
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