Autodesk LIGHTSCAPE, Manual

Page: 103 / 362

Working with Surfaces
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Scaling Block Instances
Adjust the scaling of the block to change its size and/
or proportions.
Blocks are scaled relative to their insertion point.
To scale a block instance:
1. Select the block you want to scale.
2.
Right-click the Graphic window and choose
Transformation.
The Transformation dialog appears.
3.
Click the Scale tab.
4.
In the Relative Scale Factor X, Y, and Z boxes, en-
ter a multiplier value.
For example, enter a value of 2 in the X box to double
the size of the selected block in the X direction. Enter
a value of 0.5 to shrink the block to half its size.
5.
Click Apply to apply the transformation without
closing the dialog, or click OK to apply the transfor-
mation and close the dialog.
Working with Surfaces
Surfaces are the basic geometric object of a model. A
surface can be any convex polygon defined by three
or four points located on the same plane.
Although Lightscape is not designed as a compre-
hensive modeling system, you can make minor
adjustments to your model using the surface
creation and transformation tools, which are avail-
able during the Lightscape Preparation stage. For
example, you can set surface orientation and
smoothing.
For information on applying materials to surfaces,
see Chapter 7, “Using Materials.”
Selecting and Querying Surfaces
Use the Selection tools to select and query surfaces
in your model. For more information, see “Selecting
Objects” on page 38.
Setting Surface Orientation
Surface orientation determines which side of a
surface is considered for calculating its interaction
with light. For example, to simulate the lighting in a
room, the walls’ surfaces are oriented toward the
inside of the room.
The orientation of a surface is defined by the surface
normal. In some modeling systems, you can set the
surface normal during the modeling process and
preserve that information when you export the
model to Lightscape.
However, if your modeling system does not consider
surface orientation or does not preserve the orienta-
tion when exporting files, you can set the orientation
of surfaces in Lightscape.
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You must set surface orientation in the Prepara-
tion stage. You cannot alter surface orientation
during the Solution stage.