12. Setting illumination data

On the Light tab in the Scenery data window the light conditions of the scenery are defined. They affect the illumination and model shading and thus they are of great importance for a plausible image effect of the model and the whole scenery:

At first, set the position of the sun: Activate the option Show sun and drag the sun icon with held left mouse button in the Location panorama window onto its real position:

Now activate the Model option in the View menu. Drag the model in front of the camera location in the location panorama while holding the left mouse button pressed and using the mouse wheel. Move it around until the model and its shadows are well visible:

Now set the intensity of the direct and indirect light with help of the Intensity sliders in the groups Sunlight and Ambient Light. By using the pipette function you can choose a color for the light directly in the location panorama, e.g. a reddish colored sunset light on a white surface.

In the group Model shadow you can set the shadow properties. The Intensity and Color values determine the color of the shadow. If you detect a shadow in the location panorama which is falling on a white surface, you can select the shadow color of this position using the pipette function. The opacity will determine to which extent the shadow will cover the ground. With Fuzziness you can set the softness of shadow edges. The Opacity distance gradient and Fuzziness distance gradient values are indicating how much the opacity and fuzziness will decrease while the flying attitude is increasing.

In the Mist & Fog group you can set mist and fog conditions. To do so, select one of the modes linear, exp or exp2 from the list box. To set the mist and fog color use the functions Intensity and Color or select the color directly in the location panorama by using the pipette function. Using fog mode Linear you can set the distance from the location at which the fog effect should be applied or where it will reach its maximum intensity with Start/End. With the fog modes exp and exp2 the density is defined using the slider Density .

Drag the model in the location panorama window to different positions using the mouse and the mouse wheel and make sure that the model and its shadow will always create a plausible and realistic image effect.

 

Following topic: Defining starting positions