New VrayLight shapes and targets

[möbius]

Hi there,

would it be possible to include some studiolight-shapes to the VrayLights. What i have in mind is primarily a circular shape and a polygonal shape with definable number of sides.
And as the Title says, Light-target option would be a cool feature because i find them even faster to position as moving and turning the lights by hand.

I know this features has been requested a lot of times now in the wishlist section but since in vray 2.0 the lights have a directional parameter i like to refresh the request for at least round shaped Lights (and targets ).

[WobiNich]

YES! Im totally with you. Some more shapes would be really really helpful. Circle, Cylinder, Box, Ngon.. Where all the 2d shapes should have the same directional paramter as the rectangle has...

[vlado]

The target is easy, for the rest you can always use a texture to make any planar shape you wish.

Best regards,
Vlado

[Raven]

Correct me if I'm wrong Vlado, I've only tied it once before, but doesn't it then use the image for all the light info. I'd like to create a softbox Matte that I can just add to the vray light. So I can still use Vrays colour temp, intensity etc.
When I did try it I seem to remember it changed the light to being white.

I may just be doing it wrong
Thanks

Gavin

[vlado]

Ah yes, there is that. The intensity will still work though, even with a texture mapped light. I guess we can add an option to multiply the texture by the light color.

Best regards,
Vlado

[simmsimaging]

A separate alpha channel for the vray light would also do the trick, much like the light material.

[Wobi]

I guess we can add an option to multiply the texture by the light color.

That would be nice

[möbius]

@simmsimaging
You can also put a Map with an integrated alpha into the map slot of the VrayLight.

@Vlado
Yes of course Vlado you can use maps to get your light shape, actually this is the way how i do it since i use Vray. Of cource there are so many lightshapes in studio lightning that really wouldn't make sense to integrate them as a standard light shapes. But nevertheless, i think that at least a circle is such a fairly common shape for a light that it would really make sense to have it as a Light type. Besides that Vray allready has a circular Light, but just as VraySun .

[WobiNich]

But nevertheless, i think that at least a circle is such a fairly common shape for a light that it would really make sense to have it as a Light type

Couldn't agree more...

[möbius]

Thanks.

And for some additional 3D shapes like the ones WobiNich suggested i definitly give my vote, too - Simply because i think that even if a Max photometric light has most of these i'm sure there're used quite often.

[gandhics]

If you want to have a "3d-shaped-light", I think IES light what you want.

[möbius]

No, It's not about the shape of the light itself but about the shape of the light object. Like for the VrayLight you can choose a Dome, Plane, Sphere and a Mesh as Light source there could further be a circle, Cylinder, Box and Ngon, where the first three are definitly not unfounded because like i said there're also available in other Max Lights. The Ngon maybe not but it in Studio-Lighting softboxes often has polygonal shapes.

[olly]

Would standard max primitives used as mesh lights (like the torus or a shape with a "turn to mesh" applied) give you the result / adaptability you're looking for?

[möbius]

Yes of course they would, but actually i'm not searching a solution for a specific problem, i am uttering a feature wish.

To summarize the whole topic in one sentence - I would like to have light shapes which i use really often and what are most common in real studio lighting (circle, Cylinder, Ngon ... ) available as a further standard "VrayLigth Type" so that you always have them quickly at your fingertips for a interesting studio light setup and don't have to do to much steps to generate them.

Further i like to say that it's really not my intention to have the VrayLight Type Rollout messed up with dozens of unnecessary shapes, e.g. i would never suggest to add a Torus as a Light Type, even though there are also used in real studio lighting. In this cases you can definitly use a mesh Light. But in my view - and i hope in yours as well - a circular light as example could definitly be a standard Light Type.