Lightscape User Guide

Rendering Files Using LSRENDER

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Antialiasing Factor <l>

7

8

9

10

Contrast Threshold <t> Sampling <n>

0.05

0.05

5

6

0.0

0.0

6

7

Radius <r>

1.49

1.63

1.63

1.76

LSRAY Syntax Example

lsray -aa 3 -vf view.vw -sh -rb 2 -x 640 -y 512 room.ls image.rgb

Where:

-aa 3

-vf view.vw

-sh

-rb 2

-x 640

-y 512 room.ls

image.rgb

Indicates:

Level 3 antialiasing.

The file called view.vw is used for viewing the model.

Shadows from direct lighting are recomputed.

2 reflection bounces are used in the computations.

The output image is 640 pixels wide.

The output image is 512 pixels high.

The input Solution file is room.ls.

The output image file is image.rgb.

This command loads the Solution file room.ls and generates a 640 x 512 resolution image called image.rgb using the view specified in view.vw. The image is antialiased (level 3), and two levels of reflections are rendered. Any sunlight or direct light from specified luminaires is also ray traced to produce better shadows.

Rendering Files Using LSRENDER

Use the lsrender utility to render images from either Preparation files or Solution files. The lsrender utility creates images that are displayed using OpenGL rendering. The images are not ray traced, and therefore can be generated much faster as compared to the lsray utility. Use lsrender to rapidly create images that do not require specular reflections and accurate transparency effects. The lsrender utility syntax is shown in the following example:

lsrender [options] lvs_file image_file

Although it is possible to generate images in Lightscape, it is more convenient to use this batch utility. In addition, more advanced options are available in lsrender.

The lsrender program takes as input any Preparation file or Solution file and generates an appropriate image file.

It is also possible to produce a series of image files, corresponding to a list of view files, or an animation file. The

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B Batch Processing Utilities resulting images are always displayed in a Graphic window. Textures, if present, are loaded using the current texture path list.

If the -w option is not used, Lightscape will use the software version of OpenGL to render the images off screen.

If the -w option is used, then a window will be drawn while lsrender is processing and a hardware OpenGL accelerator (if installed) will be used to increase processing speed. In this case, the window must not be covered by any other window during processing.

The extension of the image file determines the format into which the image will be saved. The following extensions are supported:

File Extension:

.bmp

.tga

.tif

.rgb

.jpg

.png

.eps

Format:

Windows native file format.

Targa, TrueVision format.

TIFF—24-bit and 48-bit.

RGB—24-bit and 48-bit, native Silicon Graphics file format.

JPEG.

Portable Net Graphics.

Encapsulated PostScript.

The 48-bit color output is available only if your graphics card supports that display mode.

The program stops when image computation is completed and saved.

To render Lightscape Solution files using the lsrender utility:

1.

Choose Start | Programs | MS-DOS Prompt.

A DOS window appears.

2.

At the command line, type the following, then press Enter:

CD “\PROGRAM FILES\LIGHTSCAPE\BIN”

Note: If the path to the Lightscape application files differs from above, enter it instead.

3.

Using the following syntax, type a command at the command line, then press Enter:

lsrender [options] lvs_file image_file

The Preparation or Solution file is rendered and output as an image file using OpenGL rendering.

Note: You can also use a batch file to create a sequence of commands. For instance, you could create raytraced image files from multiple Lightscape Solution files.

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Rendering Files Using LSRENDER

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LSRENDER Options

The following table describes the options available for this utility:

Option:

-aa

-af

-amb

-bd

-bg

-blend

-bri

-contr

-df

-dm

-ef

-enh

-fogc

-fogd

n n

Extension:

1–10

filename r g b n n filename

hiddenline hiddenmesh mesh shaded wireframe

n r g b n

Description:

Antialiasing factor. Higher factors result in higher image quality, but take more computation time. Default is 1. See Chapter 14, “Rendering,” for more information.

Animation file. Ray trace all frames specified in the animation file. The image filename is used as the base name and a decimal four-digit number, corresponding to the frame number, is appended for each image file—for example, anim0000.rgb, anim0001.rgb, and so on.

Ambient level (range from 0 to 200). Default: as specified in the Solution file.

Available for .rgb and .tif files only. Choose 24-bit or 48-bit color for the output image.

Background color (range from 0 to 255). Default: as specified in the Solution file.

Set blending on.

Brightness (range from 0 to 200). Default: as specified in the Solution file.

Contrast level (range from 0 to 100). Default: as specified in the Solution file.

Load specified Parameters file.

Display mode.

Display image as hidden lines.

Display image as a mesh with hidden lines removed.

Display image as a mesh with all lines shown.

Display a shaded image (default).

Display a wireframe image.

Last frame of the animation desired. -af option must be used. Default: the last frame specified in the animation file.

Enhanced display mode (available for Preparation files only).

Fog color (range from 0 to 255).

Fog density (range from 0 to 1).

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-v

-vf

-x

-y

-w

-fps

-h

-il

-la

-lf

-nc

-nt

-odd

-sf

-step

-svf

B Batch Processing Utilities

Option:

-fogf

Extension: Description:

none linear fog haze

n filename

Fog function. Default is none. For more information about fog function, see

Chapter 4, “The Interface.”

No fog.

Linear fog.

Models natural fog.

Models natural haze.

For animations, number of frames per second. -af option must be used. Default: as specified in the animation file.

Print a help message.

Output interlaced images for animation. -af option must be used. See Chapter 14, “Rendering,” for more information about interlacing.

Perform line antialiasing.

Load specified Layer State file.

Do not perform backface culling.

n n

Do not load textures.

For interlacing, output first frame with odd scanlines. Set -il option; -af option must be used. Default: output first frame with even scanlines.

First frame of animation desired. -af option must be used. Default: as specified in the animation file.

For animations, interval for frame output. -af option must be used. Default is 1.

filename... -evf

List of view files. -evf must be used to terminate the list. Output image files corresponding to the name of each view file in the list. The image filename is combined with the prefix of each view filename. For example, using an image filename of data .rgb and view files pnt1.vw, pnt2.vw, and pnt3.vw results in images named datapnt1.rgb, datapnt2.rgb, and datapnt3.rgb.

filename n

Verbose. Print information about status of the image.

Load specified view file.

n

Image width.

Image height. If only width or height are provided, the other dimension is derived from the aspect ratio of the view. Default is 256.

Display the results interactively in the Graphic window. This option can only be used when the resolution of the image fits within the resolution of the monitor.

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