Direct and Indirect Illumination
The direct and indirect light energy received by an object can be adjusted individually with the object's surface attributes.
This can be done to reduce the intensity of light received from light sources or global illumination for a particular object.
When combined with lightmaps, unique lighting effects can be expressed using the light sources in the scene and rendering speed can be improved.
| Basic | Standard | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| O | O | O |
Usage
Direct and indirect illumination can be adjusted from the Advanced Shading dialog in the Surface Window.
- Direct Illumination
- Specifies the level of direct illumination received.
- Smaller values result in a darker object (less direct illumination), while larger values result in a brighter object (more direct illumination).
- A value of 0.0 will skip the direct illumination calculation, speeding up rendering.
- Indirect Illumination
- Specifies the level of indirect illumination received.
- Smaller values result in a darker object (less indirect illumination), while larger values result in a brighter object (more indirect illumination).
- A value of 0.0 will skip the indirect illumination calculation, speeding up rendering.
Improving Rendering Speed
Direct or indirect illumination values of 0.0 will skip the intensity calculation for the object, improving rendering speed.
- Direct Illumination
- When using global illumination, lowering the direct illumination value for objects that will not be lit directly, such as objects surrounded by walls and only lit indirectly, is effective in improving rendering speed.
- Indirect Illumination
- Lowering the indirect illumination for objects that receive very little global illumination, such as transparent objects with very weak diffuse color or reflective mirrors, is effective in improving rendering speed.