You
can
adjust the direction, intensity, and color of light in the shaded view of a model. You can
add light sources of various types, and modify their characteristics to illuminate the model
as needed.
You can change the appearance of the model to enhance or reduce the effect of lighting properties.
Light Types
There are several types of light source:
Ambient light
|
Illuminates the model evenly from all directions. In a room with white walls, the level of ambient light is high, because the light reflects off the walls and other objects.
|
Directional light
|
Comes from a source that is infinitely far away from the model. It is a columned light source consisting of parallel rays from a single direction, like the sun.
|
Point light
|
Comes from a very small light source located at a specific coordinate in the model space. This type of light source emits light in all directions. The effect is like a tiny light bulb floating in space.
|
Spot light
|
Comes from a restricted, focused light with a cone-shaped beam that is brightest at its center. A spot light can be aimed at a specific area of the model. You can adjust the position and distance of the light source relative to the model, and you can adjust the angle through which the beam spreads.
|
System Lighting Defaults
By default, the
Lights
folder under
Scene, Lights, and Cameras in the DisplayManager
contains one
Ambient light and three
Directional lights. The default lights are set by the
scene.
When PhotoView 360 is added in, the
Lights
folder is renamed to
SOLIDWORKS Lights
and a
PhotoView 360
Lights
folder also appears. The default
lighting for PhotoView 360 is
Primary PhotoView 360 Lighting
(scene environment). The scene
environment is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image that surrounds the scene
spherically, creating realistic light and reflections.
- You can turn the Ambient
light on or off, but you cannot delete it or add additional Ambient lights.
- You can turn the Directional light sources on or off, or delete them. You can
also add additional Directional light
sources.
- By default, directional, spot, and
point lights are on in SOLIDWORKS and off in PhotoView
360.
- The maximum number of light sources in any document is nine (the
Ambient light and eight others in any
combination).