3D Studio Max Lesson 1.2: Tool Tabs Overview

Lights & Cameras Tab

Lights & Cameras Tab

• Target Spotlight: Casts a focused beam of light on the scene, directed by a "target". When you move or rotate it, it always turns to stay focused on its target.
• Free Spotlight: Focused beam of light; moving or rotating it moves the light in any direction with no anchor.
• Omni Light: True to its name, an "omnidirectional" light that throws light in all directions. Think of a light bulb without a shade.
• Directional Light: Casts parallel rays in a single direction.
• Target Directional Light: A directional light that pivots/focuses around a target, like the target spotlight.
• Sunlight System: Simulates the lighting and movement of a sun whose position adjusts by the orbit of your environment.
• Light Include/Exclude: Opens a dialog that lets you view the objects in your scene and select which lights do or do not affect them.
• Light Lister: Opens a dialog listing each light in the scene with various settings for each.
• Target Camera: A virtual camera that captures an area of the scene for rendering; can be moved or rotated. The target camera's view is focused by a target object. Moving or rotating the target camera will cause it to always tilt so that its focus remains on the target.
• Free Camera: Like the target camera, but when the free camera is tilted or rotated, its focus/view shifts with the motions, as it is not attached to a target.

• Objects Tab
• Shapes Tab
• Compounds Tab
• Lights & Cameras Tab
• Particles Tab
• Helpers Tab
• Space Warps Tab
• Modifiers Tab
• Modeling Tab
• Rendering Tab