Shade 10 Glow Effector
From ShadeCamp
Glow Effector
Glow Effector Overview
The Glow Effector generates lens flares for distant lights, point lights, spotlights, and highlights on an object, in rendered images.
Lens flare is a phenomenon of optical systems, which includes the flare seen when a camera is trained on a strong light such as sunlight, and diffraction of the light.
Glow Effector Limitations
The following functions are not available in Shade 10 Standard:
• Setting Lens Flare for lights except distant lights (the Glow Effector custom information is unavailable)
• Drawing highlight flare (the HighlightFlare tab and the Repaint highlight flare button are not displayed in the Glow Effector dialog)
• Outputting to real color and exporting highlight flare images (the Information tab and the Real color value text box are not displayed in the Glow Effector dialog)
Using Glow Effector
1. Set the position of the light source. Changing the position of the light will change the lens flare.
Note: The only parameter of a light source which affects the lens flare is the direction and intensity. Lens flare is only generated when the light source is visible within the rendered screen (that is, positioned as a backlight).
The Glow Effector generates lens flares for distant lights, point lights, spotlights, and highlights on an object. There is no limit on the number of lights.
2. Display the Rendering options in the Image window and choose Glow Effector from the Effector pull-down menu.
By clicking the Set... button to the right of the Effector pull-down menu, the GlowEffector dialog box is displayed, allowing you to make the lens flare settings. For details on the settings, refer to the Glow Effector Reference below.
3. Click the Render button to render an image.
The lens flare is synthesized after rendering. The Progress Bar appears at the upper left of the Image window when the lens flare calculation is in progress.
Glow Effector Reference
GlowEffector Dialog
Choose Glow Effector from the Effector pulldown menu and click the Set... button to open the GlowEffector dialog box.
This dialog box allows you to specify the various lens flare expressions. The settings are as follows:
When changing the Glow Effector setting, the preview on the left side of the window will be updated in real time, allowing you to check the effect.
By clicking the mouse on the preview, you can change the position of the lens flare (position of the distant light).
Example of the preview updated
Whole setup Tab
LensFlare Settings
Int. text box
Adjusts the intensity of the lens flare
Int. value: 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, from the top
Scale Text Box
Adjusts the size of the lens flare.
Scale value: 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, from the top
Streak Base Settings
Sets the streaks (radial light rays).
Random-streak quantity text box
Specifies the quantity of random streaks. 0 will turn the random streaks off. The default value is 1.0.
Random-streak quantity: 0 (off), 0.5, and 1.0, from the top
Add star-streak Pull-down Menu
Sets the star streaks. You can choose from nothing, straight, cross, hexagon, or octagon.
Add star-streak pull-down menu: nothing, straight, cross, hexagon, and octagon, from the top
Sharpness Text Box
Sets the sharpness of the streaks.
Sharpness text box: 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, from the top
Angle Text Box
By typing an angle in this text box, you can tilt the streaks.
Tilting the streaks at 45 degrees, with the cross star streaks on
Spectrum Check Box
Plots a spectrum on the tip of the streaks.
Spectrum check box ON (top) and OFF (bottom)
LensFlare Tab
LensFlare Set Pull-down Menu
Select a prepared lens flare set. After selecting this parameter, you can also make changes to the settings.
Distant Light Information
Distance Light pull-down menu
Use this pull-down menu to select a preset distant light. When you select a distant light and type a value in the Brightness text box, you can change the brightness of the distant light.
Brightness text box
Specifies the brightness of the selected distant light. This parameter is similar to the Intensity text box in the Distant Light window.
Arranged Light Settings
Add flare ghost Check Box
Lens flare ghosts (reflections of the light source) are added for the arranged lights (point lights, spotlights, etc.) when this check box is on.
Add flare ghost check box ON and OFF
HighlightFlare Tab
Nothing
Highlight flares will not be generated.
Distribution Display
Select this option to detect the value to be entered in the Flare occurs intensity text box. This value is needed to generate the highlight flair. For details on how to detect this value, refer to the HighlightFlare Settings section described below.
Threshold Setup
After choosing Distribution display and detecting the value to be entered in the Flare occurs intensity text box, choose this option to generate the flare. For details on how to generate the highlight flare, refer to the HighlightFlare Settings section described below.
Flare occurs intensity Text Box
Using “Target value for Distribution display” as a guide, enter a vale in this text box to generate the highlight flare. For details on how to detect the target value, refer to the Setting highlight flares section below.
Tip: Glow Effector included in Shade 10 Professional allows you to check highlight flares in the preview window. To update the preview, click the Repaint highlight flare button.
HighlightFlare Settings
Flare attenuation function pull-down
menu
Set the attenuation of the light around the flare by choosing from: linear / square / 4th power.
linear, square, and 4th power, from the left
Flare scale Text Box
Adjusts the size of the highlight flare.
Highlight flare scale 1 (Left) and 2 (Right)
Flare intensity Text Box
Adjusts the intensity of the highlight flare.
Highlight flare intensity 1 (Left) and 2 (Right)
Streak scale Text Box
Adjusts the size of the streaks in the highlighted area.
Highlight streak scale 1 (Left) and 2 (Right)
Streak Intensity Text Box
Adjusts the intensity of the streaks in the highlighted area.
Highlight streak intensity 1 (Left) and 2 (Right)
Sampling interval Text Box
With the default setting (1), highlight flares are calculated for each pixel. By increasing the interval, the rendering time can be shortened.
This parameter functions as a solution for highresolution output such as DTP, but also decreases the quality of the highlight flare. Use this parameter to suit your purpose.
Information Tab
Drawing output
Real color output Check Box
When this check box is on, the information generated by Glow Effector is exported to Real color. Turning this check box off will let the program recalculate the flares.
Export highlight flare image Check Box
When this check box is on, the objects in the scene are not rendered, and only the flares or streaks generated by Glow Effector are exported in Real color.
When generating high-resolution images, you can adjust or synthesize the intensity using photoretouching software.
Repaint highlight flare Button
Click this button to repaint the highlight flares in the preview
Real color value
When distribution display is selected from the HighlightFlare: Illumination pull-down menu, if you move the mouse cursor in the preview, the real color value for the cursor location is displayed.
Setting Highlight Flares
In order to generate highlight flares, you need to choose the Distribution display option and specify the brightness at which flares occur. The procedure is as follows:
1. After rendering your objects, display the contextual menu within the Image window and choose Glow Effector… to display the GlowEffector dialog box.
2. In the GlowEffector dialog box, choose Distribution display from the HighlightFlare: Illumination pulldown menu.
Next, click the Repaint highlight flare button. The message box appears, showing the detected color band values.
3. Enter an appropriate value into the Flare occurs intensity text box, that is within the minimummaximum range of all three selected maximum Real color RGB values (values up to two decimal places can be entered ).
After adjusting all other parameters, click the Repaint highlight flare to obtain an image with highlight flares.
4. After you finish repeating the adjustments and previewing, click the Start button to close the GlowEffector dialog box.
The highlight flares are drawn in the rendered image.
Animation Highlight Flares
Choose Distribution display in the HighlightFlare tab in the GlowEffector dialog box and specify your settings, then execute animation rendering. The maximum Real color values for each frame are displayed in the Message window.
When the animation rendering terminates, the overall maximum real color values for all the resolutions so far are displayed.
To generate correct highlight flares in the animation, use these values to choose an appropriate value for the Flare occurs intensity text box.
Applying Glow Effector
Enable Individual Settings for Light Sources
Select a point light or a spotlight and choose Set Glow Effector Light attributes… from the Custom tool in the Toolbox to display the Glow Effector Settings dialog box. This dialog box enables individual settings for light sources.
Glow Effector Settings Dialog Box
Add lens flare Check Box
Sets whether or not to display lens flares for the light source. Lens flares are displayed when this check box is on.
Add lens streaks Check Box
Sets whether or not to display streaks. Streaks are displayed when this check box is on.
Add LensFlareGhosts Check Box
Sets whether or not to display lens flare ghosts. Lens flare ghosts are displayed when this check box is on.
Lens Flare Animation Using Flythru
You can create an animation in which the lens flare changes while moving the camera using Flythru.
When Objects Block the Light Source
If there is an object in front of the light source it will block the light. If the object is transparent, the lens flare will be diminished gets weaker in inverse proportion to the transparency of the object.
When the transparency of the object in front of the light source is 0, 0.5, or 1.0, from the top
Backgrounds and Glow Effector
More effective results can be realized by setting a background and using the Glow Effector.
