9.5.2

326 • CHAPTER 7
OBJECTS MENU • LIGHTING • 327
Parallel spot (round/square)
Parallel spotlights resemble the regular spotlight but do not have light cones to dene falloff or
distance. Instead, light rays are cast along cylinders and/or bars. The origin is important in dening
which objects in a scene will be affected by this light. The radius of the spotlight can also be modied
using the adjustment handles.
Area
As with Distant and Parallel lights, an Area light cannot be rendered as a visible light source.
The light rays from an Area light expand from all points on its surface outwards in all directions. A
rectangular computer screen is a good example of such a light. The resultant lighting and specular
effects are somewhat different from those of an Omni light; specular highlights are more angular
and the surface illumination is richer. The closer the light source is to the object, the more apparent
this becomes.
However, an Area light with a small radius that is placed far way in a scene will hardly seem to differ
from an Omni light source.
Improved Area Light Object
Top: Previous Area light. Bottom: New Area light.
The Area lights have been reworked. The lights now render faster and cast a much more natural light
than in previous versions of CINEMA 4D (prior to R9.5). The corresponding Area shadows behave in
accordance with the Area light object (see below).
As you can see in the images above, the rectangular Area light on the right (regulated with the use
of “Falloff Angle”) emulates very accurately light cast through a window.
In short: Very realistic lighting is possible, even without the use of GI or global illumination.