Light* Tutorial

by Tony Quach

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B. Preparing the model

• This is how my model looks like after all the layers are imported.

• Next to do is to check to make sure all the normals of the surfaces are facing the right way.

• The best way to do this is to isolate each layers and check them one at a time.

• Click on one or more surfaces to select them, then right click with your mouse and choose Orientation.

• You may see some surfaces will turn green at time. This means that those surfaces are oriented the wrong way.

• From the Surface Orientation (Figure e) dialog, click Reverse to flip these surfaces. From this dialog, you can keep selecting other surfaces and flip them. Orbit around your model to see other surfaces that might be hidden in the current view. Another option you have is to the Auto Orient button. As this button denotes, Light* will automatically flip the normals of the entire model for you to face the right direction. But I only use this sparingly because it is not very accurate if your view is not close enough to the model.

• Keep flipping the normals for all your layers until everything is oriented the right direction.

• Note: If you’re planning to do a scene with daylight, select all your window surfaces. Right-click on them and choose Process Control. From there you can choose to check Window or Opening, depending on your scene.

Another thing you should keep in mind is when modeling glass panes for a window. You should model the glass with an actual thickness rather than keeping it to a single line. This will allow Light* to do a more accurate processing.

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