481 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Learning Objectives After completing this chapter, you will be able to: ✓ Describe the types of lighting in AutoCAD. ✓ List the user-created lights available in AutoCAD. ✓ Change the properties of lights. ✓ Add a background to your scene and control its appearance. In the movie industry, it has often been said that “Lighting is everything.” That statement also rings true when creating realistic scenes in AutoCAD. If lights are used incorrectly, the scene will be washed-out with light or too dark to see anything. In Chapter 16, you were introduced to lighting. You learned how to adjust lighting by turning off the default lights and adding sunlight. In this chapter, you will learn all about the lights available in AutoCAD, as well as tips and tricks to help make your scene look its best. Types of Lights Types of Lights Ambient light is like natural light just before sunrise. It is the same intensity everywhere. All faces of the object receive the same amount of ambient light. Ambient light cannot create highlights, nor can it be concentrated in one area. AutoCAD does not have an ambient light setting. Instead, it relies on indirect illumination, which is discussed in Chapter 19. A point light is like a lightbulb. Light rays from a point light shine out in all directions. A point light can create highlights. The intensity of a point light falls off, or weakens, over distance. A target point light is the same as a standard point light except that a target is specifi ed. The illumination of the target point light is directed toward the target. A distant light is a directed light source with parallel light rays. This acts much like the sun. Rays from a distant light strike all objects in your model on the same side and with the same intensity. The direction and intensity of a distant light can be changed. A spotlight is like a distant light, but it projects in a cone shape. Its light rays are not parallel. A spotlight is placed closer to the object than a distant light. Spotlights have a hotspot and a falloff. The light from a standard spotlight is directed toward a target. A free spotlight is the same as a standard spotlight, but without a target. Lighting CHAPTER 18 18