Autodesk LIGHTSCAPE, Manual

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glossary
Glossary
3DS file format
The file format standard used by Autodesk’s 3D Stu-
dio application.
accumulation buffer
An offscreen buffer where several images are
summed (accumulated). The resulting image is
scaled and displayed. Lightscape uses the accumula-
tion buffer for antialiasing.
adaptation
The process by which the eye adjusts to the intensity
levels and colors in a scene.
adaptive subdivision
The process of subdividing a radiosity mesh into
smaller mesh elements during the computation of the
illumination from a source to a receiving surface.
ambient lighting
A constant amount of light added to every surface in
an environment as an approximation of the effects of
undistributed energy.
antialiasing
The process of reducing artifacts caused by under-
sampling small, sharp details in an image. The elimi-
nation of “jaggies.”
area light
A polygonal light source of finite area.
AS units
American System of Photometric Units.
beam angle
The angle of the spotlight aim axis at which the lumi-
nous intensity drops to 50% of its maximum. See
spotlight distribution .
blending
A rendering technique in which two colors are com-
bined into one, usually by linear interpolation. Light-
scape uses OpenGL blending to render partially
transparent objects.
bump mapping
Randomly displacing the surface normal on a surface
to make the surface appear bumpy.
candela (cd)
The SI unit for luminous intensity.
checkpoint
A Solution file containing a snapshot of the lighting
simulation at a given instant in time. Checkpoints
can be saved at regular intervals during the lighting
simulation to ensure that the results of the computa-
tion are not lost in case of abnormal termination.
chromatic adaptation
The process by which the eye becomes accustomed to
strong color shifts in an image, causing them to
appear less severe.