3ds Max 9 Bible

I hope you have found this chapter enlightening. (Sorry about the bad pun, but I need to work them in where I can.) Max has many different lights, each with plenty of controls. Learning to master these controls can take you a long way toward increasing the realism of the scene. In this chapter, you've accomplished the following:

• Learned the basics of lighting

• Discovered Max's standard and photometric light types

• Created and positioned light objects

• Learned to change the viewport view to a light

• Used the Sunlight and Daylight systems

• Used the Volume Light atmospheric effect

• Added projection maps to lights

• Used raytraced shadows to create a stained-glass window

In the next chapter, we cover advanced lighting, specifically light tracing and radiosity. Advanced lighting can take your lighting solutions from mediocre to outstanding.