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[Plugin] Align Camera Light

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  • A Offline
    Al Hart
    last edited by Al Hart 3 Nov 2009, 03:58

    Our next Rendering Tip is going to suggest that you use lights attached to the camera for easier illumination as you render a scene.

    Some rendering packages do not have the ability to snap a light to the camera, so I have provided the attached ruby script to help you align a camera light.

    Download IRender_align_camera_light.rb and place it in the SketchUp Plugins folder.

    [Edit: uploaded a new version with trace replaced by printf]
    irender_align_camera_light.rb

    How to use a Camera Light

    Step1 - create camera light

    http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/d/d0/Camera_light.jpg

    Create a component with one or more lights in it.

    The origin of the component should be in the location where it will snap to the camera.

    The blue axis will be aligned to the line from the camera to the eye.

    The green axis be aligned to the cameras up vector.

    The red axis will be aligned perpendicularly to the up vector - usually left and right of the camera.

    Place any geometry or attributes in the camera_light component which will help illuminate the scene. (The construction lines will not effect the scene)

    Do not place any geometry which will obstruct the camera.

    Save the component as 'camera_light'

    Step 2 - place camera_light component in a drawing

    http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/2/26/Camera_light.jpg2.jpg

    It does not matter where you place it, it will be snapped into position when you align it.

    Step 3 - Align Camera Light to camera

    http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/8/80/Camera_light.jpg2b.jpg

    Camera light placed in the model
    (Zoomed out a bit so that we can see it).

    Select Align Camera Light from the plugins menu. โ€Ž

    When aligned properly you will not be able to see it.

    For testing, it may be handy to zoom out to let you see how the camera has been placed.

    Step 4 - Render model with camera light

    http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/9/9e/Camera_light.jpg3.jpg

    Scene rendered with camera light.
    (Zoomed out a bit. Normally the camera light would not be visible)
    (Rendering made with IRender nXt)

    Tips

    • Two or more spotlights will usually provide the best effect.

    • Normally the camera light will not be your only light. It is intended to augment other lighting.

    Try it out
    Try this our with your renderer and let us know how it works.

    Al Hart

    http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/e/ef/Render_plus_colored30x30%29.PNG
    IRender nXt from Render Plus

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    • X Offline
      xrok1
      last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 05:43

      a very generous gesture Al, thank you.
      here's what i get:


      Capture.JPG

      โ€œThere are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.โ€

      http://www.Twilightrender.com try it!

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      • X Offline
        xrok1
        last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 05:53

        cool i have that plugin, i just never thought of modifying the component to include lights! ๐Ÿ˜„
        i'm going to give Al the benefit of doubt here and not assume that the 'trace' method is part of the iRender package. ๐Ÿ˜‰

        โ€œThere are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.โ€

        http://www.Twilightrender.com try it!

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        • E Offline
          Ecuadorian
          last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 06:02

          Don't despair, Rocky. There's another way to do this: The good old Film & Stage plugin by @Last software, the creators of SketchUp itself. It was designed exactly for this kind of things. With it, you are able to create a camera component and add all the crazy light arrangements you want inside the camera component. All that stuff will follow you as you move the camera when you're looking through it:
          camera-light.gif
          stage-lights.jpg
          The Film & Stage plugin is also the easiest way to copy cameras from one model to another, among other tricks. Download the free Film & Stage Plugin for Windows , or for Mac .

          -Miguel Lescano
          Subscribe to my house plans YouTube channel! (30K+ subs)

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          • N Offline
            notareal
            last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 07:42

            Good reminder! I have used The Film & Stage plugin time to time, too. Adding lights to the component is a nice idea. ๐Ÿ‘

            Welcome to try [Thea Render](http://www.thearender.com/), Thea support | [kerkythea.net](http://www.kerkythea.net/) -team member

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            • A Offline
              Al Hart
              last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 14:36

              @xrok1 said:

              a very generous gesture Al, thank you.
              here's what i get:

              oops - remove the trace line, put a # in front or replace it with printf. I'll upload a new copy.


              irender_align_camera_light.rb

              Al Hart

              http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/e/ef/Render_plus_colored30x30%29.PNG
              IRender nXt from Render Plus

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              • A Offline
                Al Hart
                last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 14:55

                @xrok1 said:

                i'm going to give Al the benefit of doubt here and not assume that the 'trace' method is part of the iRender package. ๐Ÿ˜‰

                trace(sformat, ...) is a routine like printf(), but it displays the file name and line number when the message is displayed. Ruby developers might find it handy.

                Also, because it uses sprintf and puts, you don't need a \n and the end of every message:

                something like:

                new_value = 123
                trace("new value: %s", new_value)

                displays

                new_value: 123
                ^^^C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/irender_align_camera_light.rb:92

                This is handy when debugging ruby files.

                
                def trace(*args)
                	scall = caller(1)[0].to_s # who called the routine		
                	begin
                		smess = sprintf(*args)	
                		puts smess + "\n    ^^^" + scall	# always output argument	
                	rescue
                		warn "arg ERROR in trace called from; " + caller(1)[0].to_s
                	end		
                end#def
                
                

                Al Hart

                http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/e/ef/Render_plus_colored30x30%29.PNG
                IRender nXt from Render Plus

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                • J Offline
                  Jim
                  last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 22:53

                  Al, would you mind splitting this trace code off to its own thread? It's useful, and being in its own thread would make it easier to find. Thanks.

                  Hi

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                  • X Offline
                    xrok1
                    last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 22:59

                    Thanks Al! ๐Ÿ˜„

                    @unknownuser said:

                    oops - remove the trace line, put a # in front or replace it with printf. I'll upload a new copy.

                    that did the trick

                    โ€œThere are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.โ€

                    http://www.Twilightrender.com try it!

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                    • A Offline
                      Al Hart
                      last edited by 3 Nov 2009, 23:32

                      @jim said:

                      Al, would you mind splitting this trace code off to its own thread? It's useful, and being in its own thread would make it easier to find. Thanks.

                      Will do

                      Al Hart

                      http://wiki.renderplus.com/images/e/ef/Render_plus_colored30x30%29.PNG
                      IRender nXt from Render Plus

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