TAPESTRY: The Art of Representation and Abstraction

Rhino + V-Ray: Lighting

The usual suspects

Rhino includes distant, point, and spot lights. V-Ray supports these light types.

Some novel characters

Bounce Lights

This is a novel way of positioning a regular spotlight. By selecting an object in the scene and a position on the object, you provide Rhino with the information needed to identify a surface normal. Rhino then constructs (or moves) a spot light to shine into the model from a point along that normal, and targets it to the point on the surface you indicated. A great way to place light on an object.

In addition to BounceLight, Rhino has a variety of light-positioning options which use existing cameras or current views to (re)position lights. Again, good ways to light an object, but not so useful if the light is meant to originate at a fixture in the scene.

Linear Lights

A linear light is, as the name suggests, a glowing line of light in the scene, similar to a flourescent bulb. It will only render correctly in one of the rendering plug-ins, as it is harder to render, and it will produce soft shadows and illumination.

Rectangular Lights

A rectangle light is, as the name suggests, a glowing area of light in the scene, similar to a recessed flourescent ceiling fixture or an indirectly illuminated window. It will only render correctly in one of the rendering plug-ins, as it is harder to render, and it will produce soft shadows and illumination.

Area lights may emit light from only one side, or from both.

Unless you take steps to stop it, your Rhino Rectangle light will not only illuminate your V-Ray scene, it will appear (as a rectangle) in that scene! To prevent this from happening, place the light on a layer that is not visiblel, but set the rendering options to include hidden lights.

The usual suspects

Some novel characters

Bounce Lights

Linear Lights

Rectangular Lights

Related Video Tutorials