ANIMATING LIGHTS AND CAMERAS

You can virtually animate any object in Max. This would include lights and cameras. The same principle is applied when animating these objects. All you need to do is set up the scene and plan-out the animation sequence for the lights and cameras. For example, let’s say you are trying to light up a scene using various light colors. First, set the Autokey for the initial light. After that you can continue by changing the color of the light and setting your Autokey as well.

Figure 5-9. Animating light color.

For cameras, it’s very easy. You can either pan or zoom around the scene. Most animations include panning while zooming is used when you want to focus on a subject in the scene.

Figure 5-10. Zooming in the camera.

There’s much to explore if you want to animate lights and cameras. You can move them, rotate them and pretty much anything that is doable in Max can be animated. As the saying goes, the sky is the limit.

Try This!

1. Load the lighting.max from http://www.mediafire.com/?2pathhocnwd4wy8.

2. Move the Track Slider to Frame 100 and press the ‘Autokey’ button.

3. Select the ‘Sunlight’ object. Go to the ‘Intensity/Color/Attenuation’ and change its light color to black.

4. Now, select the ‘Camera01’ object and zoom in on the lamp.

5. Press the Autokey button again and click on the Play button to see how the sunlight and camera is animated.

You have seen the different techniques in animating objects in your scene. Just a review, bones are used to move most objects such as characters and mechanical devices. In addition, when doing facial animations morphing is best used. Lastly, bring life to your scenes by animating lights and cameras for more theatrical effects.

Lights! Camera! Render!

All right! Now you have the idea on how to place lights and cameras in your scenes. You can practice more by doing the exercise I have prepared for you.

Try This!

1. Download the lighting.max from the link below. You’ll light up this scene using 2 Omni lights and 1 target direct.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2pathhocnwd4wy8

2. Notice that we have 3 light sources. The light bulb is the primary light while the lamp and the window will provide for the ambience effect of the room. Place an Omni light just below the light bulb object.

3. Set the following Intensity and Color parameters of the light bulb.

Color: R 255, G 240, B 180
Multiplier: 1.25

4. In the ‘Far Attenuation’ group, check on the ‘Use’ box and change the following parameters.

Start: 1000
End: 2000
Use: On

5. Now, let’s add shadow effects to the main source of light. Go to the General Parameters and Shadow Parameters to change the following values.

Object Shadows: On
Type: Shadow Map
Color: R 125, G 135, B 60
Density: 0.7

6. Copy the light bulb and place it inside the lamp shade.

7. Set the color of this light to R 180, G 250, B 245 and change the value for the Multiplier back to 1.0.

8. Let’s add an atmospheric effect to the light emitted by the lamp. Open the ‘Atmosphere Effects’ roll-out and click on the ‘Add’ button. Choose ‘Volume Light’ and click the ‘OK’ button. Now, select the Volume Light and click on the ‘Setup’ button.

9. Look for the ‘Volume Light Parameters’ roll-out and make the necessary changes.

Attenuation Color: R 0, G 125, B 75
Use Attenuation Color: On
Density: 1
Max Light %: 20

10. It’s time to add the sunlight. Place a Target Direct outside the room and make sure the target passes through the window.

11. Set the following values accordingly. These will create a warm light.

General Parameters
Cast Shadows: On
Color: R 250, G 245, B 215
Multiplier: 2.0

Directional Parameters
Hotspot: 300
Falloff: 400
Light Cone Type: Rectangle

Shadow Parameters
Object Shadows Type: Shadow Map
Color: R 100, G 90, B 0

Far Attenuation
Start: 6000
End: 7000
Use: On

12. Go to the Atmosphere & Effects roll-out and add a Volume Light. Once you’re done, select Volume Light and click on the Setup button.

13. Scroll down and look for the Volume Light Parameters and set the following values.

Attenuation Color: R 190, G 200, B 0
Use Attenuation Color: On
Density: 2

14. Set the values for the ‘Global Tint’ as follows. R 210, G 215, B 130 this will give tint effect to all the lights in the scene.

15. Your scene should look similar to that of the rendered image below.

Next stop, you’ll learn how to animate your objects in the scene!