rendering air

[RemcoT]

Is it possible to give the air in a drawing a certain density? So that I can see the beams of the lightsources. Do I need Renderworks for this??

[MikeB]

Sorry to tell you this but I know the Quick Draw 3-D engine can't, mostly becuse it cannot render transparency. As far as render works I really dont think it will either. For something that sophisticated you need 3-D max or Form Z. Hopefull someone will let me know if I'm wrong

[Josh]

Can one go the opposite way and render a beam in the air without a 3rd party app?

[MikeB]

Well, things have changed a lot in VW/RW in the 4 years since I first replied to this

I suppose with RW it is possible to creat a geometry to mimic a light cone, and then create a texture for it. With the new shaders introduced over the last few versions I think you could get a convincing result.

Good Luck

[Dave Donley]

Hello RemcoT:

This is called volumetric lighting/shadows. RenderWorks does not currently support this feature. It is a top wish among our Spotlight users.

[AndyM]

It can be done quite easily in fact there was even a tutorial somewhere. Just do a multiple extrude of a couple of circles (one is the beginning of beam and the other is the end) and apply a mostly transparent shader. The BIG hang up is that the beam itself will cast a slight shadow.

[Dave Donley]

In VW11 you can set the beam texture to not cast a shadow, so this might be an OK workaround for some.