LightTouch (LT for short) implements an advanced light
placement and orientation tool which goes well beyond the Place Highlight
tool of 3ds Max. It was inspired by similar tools available in Maxon Cinema
4D.
It
has been tested in 3ds Max 2008, 3ds Max 2009 and 3ds Max 2010.
It should also work in 3ds Max 9 but not in earlier versions since it
uses DotNet.
INTRODUCTION
LT is an advanced light placement and orientation tool similar to the
Place Highlight option in 3ds Max.
It allows the
interactive selecting and
deselecting of one or more lights based on their angle to a specified
surface point,
tweaking of the distance to the
surface or light target,
placement of the light to produce
the desired diffuse or specular effects on the specified surface,
interactive shifting of the light
along a surface without changing the light's direction,
interactive rotation of the lights
around a specified surface point in polar coordinates based on the mouse moviement,
placement of the light's target on
the specified surface with optional Working Pivot support,
interactive adjustment of the
light's multiplier
The tool provides a set of MacroScripts
which can be used as icon buttons, menu items or keyboard shortcuts, and a
floating Options dialog.
VIDEO
INTRODUCTION
This Camtasia video shows the major features
of LT in action:
INSTALLATION
Donwload the ZIP file from the end of this
page.
LT!
consists of one .MS source file defining the Screen Manipulator helper
plugin, one .MCR file containing all MacroScripts, and 4 icon bitmap files
for large and small icon sizes.
The .MS file
can be copied into the \StdPlugs\Stdscripts folder, the \Plugins folder, or
any folder listed in the plugin.ini file.
It should NOT be copied into the
\Scripts\Startup folder!
The .BMP files should be copied into the \UI\Usericons
folder of 3ds Max
either in the User's Local Settings or the 3ds Max installation folder,
depending on the 3ds Max installation setup.
After launching 3ds Max, the Category "LightTouch"
will appear in the Customize User Interface dialog.
You can assign the ActionItems to keyboard shortcuts and/or place them in
toolbars or menus according to your preferences.
USING
LIGHTTOUCH
LT provides several light manipulation modes controlled by ActionItems (Icon
Buttons, or alternatively Menu Items or Keyboard Shortcuts) plus the mouse
and the CTRL, ALT and SHIFT keys on the keyboard.
Toggling LT On and Off
The main ActionItem of LT is the icon labeled "Toggle LightTouch On and
Off".
When enabled, LT will switch the
selection filter to Lights (disallowing the selection of anything else
in the scene) and will enable a timer which will be polling the state of
the keyboard keys to perform the requested operations. In this mode, the
mouse movement is captured directly and with the exception of selecting
and deselecting, no Left Mouse Button clicking is required to manipulate
the lights, resulting in a very fluid workflow. The text "LightTouch:"
will appear in the lower left corner of the currently active viewport.
When disabled, LT will switch the
selection filter to its previous state and the word "LightTouch:" will
disappear from the viewport. The timer will be deactivated and the tool
will be turned off completely.
Selecting (CTRL) and Deselecting (ALT) Lights By Normal Angle
LT lets you select the light that illuminates a given surface point under
the least angle to its normal.
By holding down the CTRL key and
moving the mouse across the surface of scene geometry objects, the light
with the least angle to the surface normal will be highlighted and
marked by a line connecting the mouse point and the light. The name of
the current Mode and the name of the light will be shown next to the
light.
To select the highlighted light, press
the Left Mouse Button.
To deselect the highlighted light,
hold down the ALT key and press the Left Mouse Button.
There are two additional option to
this mode: Select One Light Only and Don't Test Selected Lights.
When Select One Light Only option
is checked, selecting a light will automatically deselect any lights
that were previously selected.
When the Don't Test Selected
Lights option is checked, selected lights will not be considered by
this mode anymore and the tool will jump to the next unselected
light (if any).
Since the selection filter is set to
Lights, pressing CTRL + A (Select All) will select all lights in the
scene.
Target
Distance (SHIFT)
LT lets you move the light along its local Z axis away from and towards to
the target point. This applied to all light types, not only target spot
lights.
Hold down the SHIFT key and move the mouse
up and down in screen space to increase/decrease the target distance of
the selected lights.
If multiple lights are selected, each
light will move along its own local Z axis.
Target
Placement and Pivoting (CTRL+SHIFT)
LT lets you place the light's target at the surface point defined by the
mouse pointer.
Hold down the CTRL and SHIFT keys and
move the mouse over geometry objects to define the location of the
selected lights' target.
If multiple lights are selected, all
lights will be targeted at the same point.
If the Working Pivot of 3ds Max is
enabled (Use Working Pivot), the light will pivot around that point
while pointing at the selected target point. This move is useful for
targeting a light at a specific point while ensuring it passes through
another point in space, for example adjusting a light to shine into a
room at a specific object while always passing through the center of a
window opening (where the Working Pivot would be placed).
Move
Light In Diffuse Mode (CTRL+ALT)
LT lets you align a light's local Z axis to a surface normal, resulting in
maximum illumination at the selected point.
Make sure the Diffuse mode is enabled,
hold down the CTRL and ALT keys and move the mouse over geometry
objects. The existing target distance of each light will be used to
project the new position of the light along the surface's normal vector.
If multiple lights are selected, all
lights will be moved to shine along the SAME line, although their target
distances (and thus final distances to the surface point) will be
different.
Move
Light In Surface Shift Mode (CTRL+ALT)
LT lets you shift a light along geometry surfaces while preserving its
existing target distance and orientation. The shift starts at the first
clicked point and the light is offset as the mouse is moving.
Make sure the Surface Shift mode is
enabled, hold down the CTRL and ALT keys and move the mouse over
geometry objects. A line will be drawn to the selected light, showing
the distance of the light to the LT gizmo. This distance will be
preserved, resulting in the light being offset as the gizmo moves.
If multiple lights are selected, all
lights will be moved in parallel based on their original distance to the
first click point, keeping their existing target distances and
orienations.
Move
Light In Trackball Mode (CTRL+ALT)
LT lets you place a light at its existing target distance to a surface point
while changing its orientation in polar coordinates (azimuth and
zenith angles).
Make sure the Trackball mode is
enabled, place the mouse at the center of rotation and hold down the
CTRL and ALT keys. Now move the mouse horizontally in screen space to
define the azimuth angle and vertically to change the zenith.
The zenith plane is defined by the
surface normal at the mouse point and the Z axis of the light.
If multiple lights are selected, each
light will preserve its target distance and will use its initial
orientation as the base angle to increment.
To adjust the Azimuth only, open the
LightTouch Options dialog and enable the X mode. The vertical motion of
the mouse will be ignored.
To adjust the Zenith only, open the
LightTouch Options dialog and enable the Y mode. The vertical motion of
the mouse will be ignored.
Adjust
Light Multiplier (ALT+SHIFT)
LT lets you adjust the light's intensity by controlling the multiplier
value.
Press and hold the ALT and SHIFT keys
and move the mouse up and down in screen space to adjust the Multiplier
value of the selected lights.
Photometric lights use a Multiplier
expressed in %. The tool will adjust correspondingly. NOTE: Not
all Photometric classes were taken into account in version 0.5. This has
been fixed in v0.51. In v0.52, VRayLight is also supported with a factor
of 10.
If multiple lights are selected, each
light will be adjusted relatively to its original multiplier value, thus
boosting or dimming the scene illumination.
Place
Specular Highlight Mode (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT)
LT lets you place a light at its existing target distance to a surface point
while changing its orientation to produce a specular highlight at that
point. This is similar to the existing Place Highlight tool in 3ds Max, but
much more interactive, especially in combination with the other tools for
controlling Multiplier and Distance.
Press and hold the CTRL, ALT and SHIFT
keys and move the mouse over a surface to place the highlight. The light
position and direction will be set to cause the light to bounce back
into the viewer's position according to the surface normal and laws of
reflection.
If multiple lights are selected, all
lights will be placed along the same line but at their existing target
distances to the specular highlight point.
Disable Undo System
LT ships with the Undo System disabled. This is mainly because the script
uses theHold methods for low-level undo access and this functionality is
still being tested. You can enable the Undo System once and it will remain
enabled in future sessions. If you find it stable enough, keep in turned on.
If it appears to cause system exceptions, please report to the CGTalk thread
mentioned below.
To enable the Undo System, either
uncheck the Disable Undo System Icon, or open the LightTouch Options
dialog and uncheck the checkbox there.
When the LT Undo System is turned on,
light selection and changes to light properties like position,
orientation, target distance and position, multiplier etc will be
recorded in a single undo record which will contain all changes from the
first pressing of a keyboard CTRL/SHIFT/ALT combination until the
releasing of the keys or the beginning of a new combination. An Undo
record with the name of the performed LT operation will appear in the
3ds Max Undo buffer and the operation will be fully undoable.
When the Undo System is turned off,
changes to lights via LT will NOT be recorded in the Undo buffer.