Adding IES Profile Lights to Scenes

You can drag existing IES profile lights into scenes. You can also create IES profile lights by adding area lights to scenes and then editing parameters to make them IES profile lights.

Dragging IES Profile Lights into Scenes

You can drag IES profile lights from the File Libraries tab into your scenes.

  1. In the Palette, on the File Libraries tab, select Lights from the list.
  2. Drag an .ies file from the Palette into the scene and drop it in the location for the light.
    The profile is placed using the Pick Position method and normal to the surface under the pointer.
    You can also drag .ies files directly from File Explorer into the scene.
  3. Optional: To make adjustments to the light, on the Scenes tab, select the light in the tree. Then you can:
    • Adjust the parameters of the light, such as Brightness and Color.
    • Use the Object Manipulation Tools (main toolbar) to adjust the position and direction of the light.
      To move the position and the target simultaneously, right-drag the arrow handles.
In Preview render mode, IES profile lights are represented as standard area lights. This provides enough information to adjust placement of the light, but does not represent the light profile accurately. Use Fast or Accurate modes for accurate representation of the light profile.

Creating IES Profile Lights from Area Lights

You can create IES profile lights by adding area lights to scenes and then editing parameters to make them IES profile lights.

You can use these lights as placeholders if, for example, you have not yet decided on or obtained a specific IES profile to use.

  1. In the Palette, on the Scenes tab, click Add > New Light > Pick Position.
  2. In the viewport, click a location for the light.
  3. In the Palette, for Type, select IES Profile.
    A default IES profile is used. Now or later, you can change to a specific IES profile.
  4. To change to a specific IES profile:
    1. On the Scenes tab, select the light in the tree.
    2. For IES Profile, click , browse to an .ies file, and click Open.