Tutorials ModelCraft help Walkthroughs
Light a model with lamps
Put lamps, spotlights and light panels in a model so rendered pictures can show rooms at night or lit interiors, with soft shadows.
Written for ModelCraft 0.5. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
Lamps light rendered pictures. They don't change the 3D view, where each lamp shows as a small mark in its own color.
Add a lamp
- In the Lights section on the right, click Lamp, Spotlight or Light panel.
- Click where it goes. Snapping works as when drawing.
- On a ceiling or wall a lamp hangs 25 cm off the face, on the side you are looking from; a light panel lies on the face and shines away from it.
- A spotlight takes two clicks: where it is, then what it points at.
The new lamp is selected in Lights, ready to change.
Change a lamp
Click a lamp's name in Lights, or its mark in the view with Select. Then:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Brightness (lumens) | How much light it gives. A household bulb is about 800 lumens; a bright ceiling panel 3000 |
| Color | Warm (a home bulb), Neutral or Daylight, or any color |
| Beam (degrees) | A spotlight's cone, edge to edge |
| Bulb size, Width, Depth | Bigger bulbs and panels give softer shadows |
| Red (x), Green (y), Height | Where it is |
The tick beside a lamp's name switches it on or off. Delete the light removes it. Each change is one step: ⌃ZCtrl+Z undoes it. Lamps are saved in the .modelcraft file.
Pictures at night
In Render a picture…, tick Use another date and time for this picture and pick an evening hour. With the sun down the sky goes dark and only the lamps light the model. Raise Brightness in the dialog if the picture is too dark, or add lamps.