Mesh and IES lighting

[Spectralis]

I've worked out how to change a material's emission to act as lighting. but how do I add an emissions node to a material if it doesn't already have one? I want to try turning sky domes into a light source.

Are there any tutorials or information about using mesh and IES lighting with the DAZ plugin? I'm really struggling to get to grips with this kind of lighting.

[linvanchene]

edited and removed by user

[Spectralis]

Thanks so much for your detailed explanation. That's really helpful. I wish this kind of information could be collated into a plugin manual for easy reference.

One point I'd like to clarify, if a material doesn't have an emissions node do I need to change it from glossy to diffuse so that I can add one? The sky dome material is glossy atm and I couldn't find an emission node or a way to add one but if I change it to diffuse then will an emission node appear?

[linvanchene]

edited and removed by user

[linvanchene]

edited and removed by user

[Spectralis]

I found this video tutorial about emissions which covers IES. Not sure if it applies to the DS plugin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tedj2lEKvuE

[SiliconAya]

3 additional things I've found with IES:
* You can also use them with the texture emission type, not just blackbody, so you can colour the light etc that way.
* When you use them on a plane primitive made in DS, you need to set the orientation-X to 180, so that the IES points in the same direction as the plane, which is up by default in DS. So when you select the plane in DS with Universal Tool, the light will now shine in the direction of the green (Y Translate) arrow.
* If you have Reality installed, don't use the Reality mesh lights for IES, as the above point doesn't apply. I've never been able to find an orientation that works with them, so I never get any light from them at all.

[Elele]

Is there a way to adjust the light power/intensity of a skydome without changing the image itself? I'd like to use a skydome too, but to get enough light from it, I need to turn up the intensity of the light and that also brightens the image to the point that it becomes useless.

Also, is there a way to get rid/tweak that white horizon when using the octane sky light? I would like to have a lighter blue horizon. I tried to adjust the colors but that changes the light dramatically.

[SiliconAya]

Is there a way to adjust the light power/intensity of a skydome without changing the image itself? I'd like to use a skydome too, but to get enough light from it, I need to turn up the intensity of the light and that also brightens the image to the point that it becomes useless.

Also, is there a way to get rid/tweak that white horizon when using the octane sky light? I would like to have a lighter blue horizon. I tried to adjust the colors but that changes the light dramatically.

You could try putting a slightly smaller copy of the skydome inside the first one and setting it's opacity to 0 and the brightness to what's needed to light the scene, while leaving the outer one just bright enough to look good. I haven't tried it myself so it might not look any good/work, but I've done it using a giant primitive sphere inside a skydome and making it into a mesh light to fake being the sun.

I don't know of a way to change the white horizon other than using Octane 2.0, which allows you to change the sky to a hdr image to use with the sun.

[Elele]

Sweet! I didn't know you could emit light with 0 opacity. That will do fine, thanks