Page 605 - Kitab3DsMax

Chapter 20: Using Lights and Basic Lighting Techniques

Specifying date and time
The Time section of the Control Parameters rollout lets you define a time and date. The Time Zone value is
the number of offset hours for your current time zone. You can also set the time to be converted for
Daylight Saving Time.
Specifying location
Clicking the Get Location button in the Control Parameters rollout opens the Geographic Location dialog
box, shown in Figure 20.12, which displays a map or a list of cities. Selecting a location using this dialog
box automatically updates the Latitude and Longitude values. In addition to the Get Location button, you
can enter Latitude and Longitude values directly in the Control Parameters rollout.

FIGURE 20.12
The Geographic Location dialog box lets you specify where you want to use the Sunlight system. You have many
different cities to choose from.

The Daylight system also includes an option to set the Sky value from Clear to Partly Cloudy to Cloudy.

Tutorial: Animating a day in 20 seconds
You can animate the Sunlight system to show an entire day from sunrise to sundown in a short number of
frames. In this tutorial, you focus on an old tree positioned somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona, on Christmas.
The tree certainly won’t move, but watch its shadows.
To use the Sunlight system to animate shadows, follow these steps:
1. Open the Sunlight system.max file from the Chap 20 directory on the DVD.
This file includes a tree mesh created by Zygote.
2. Add a Sunlight System by selecting the Systems category in the Create panel and clicking the
Sunlight button. Then drag in the Top view to create the Compass helper, and click again to cre-
ate the light. In the Control Parameters rollout (found in the Motion panel), enter 12/25 and the
current year for the Date and an early morning hour for the Time.
3. Click the Get Location button, locate Phoenix in the Cities list, and click OK. Rotate the compass
helper in the Top view so that north is pointing toward the top of the viewport.

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