AutoCAD Lighting won't work

Hi all,

 

I'm trying to learn how to use lighting in AutoCAD but when i place the light in my drawing i can't see it. I have made sure the light is on and the default lighting is turned off but still i can't see it. I tried to render it presentation style but still nothing. Can anyone help me out? Attached is a screenshot of what i am trying to do.

 

Edited March 23, 2013 by OckMc

@OckMc - I tried a test render regarding your problem. Btw, make sure you aligned your light/lights properly to the object that you need to render. In my test render I use a spotlight with default values and then I just hit render and this is what I got.Please see picture below.

@OckMc - I tried a test render regarding your problem. Btw, make sure you aligned your light/lights properly to the object that you need to render. In my test render I use a spotlight with default values and then I just hit render and this is what I got.Please see picture below.

 

 

PS: (@MOD - sorry for double posting slow connection)

Cheers for the feedback dude i really appreciate it. Unfortunately when i use render i all i am getting is a black screen. I don't understand it! The lights are aligned with the ground, The view is realistic, i have the time set to 7pm so if it's dark the lights should be visible and when i click on the lights it says they are on, default lighting is also turned off. Should the lights not be visible even before i render it? Surely there is a simple fix for this.

@OckMc - Nope. The lights should be visible even before you render. If you don't mind please attached the file.I' ll take a look at it. Please ,save as in Autocad 2010 format I'm using 2011 so I can open it. Regards.

House02 Lighting Setup.dwg

 

It's nothing fancy just two slabs with some lights in one. I have a house model made but i want to figure out the lighting in a seperate dwg and then import them to make life easier

@OckMc - I can't open it. Please save it in 2010 format. I only have acad2011. Regards

House02 Lighting Setup2010.dwg

 

Sorry. This one should work

@OckMc - Please see the attached file. What happen to your lighting is it has a very low value, so I adjusted the intensity until I get the lights rendered. Please see picture below. Btw, I also notice that your plane is in -Z value, in AutoCAD always start placing ground objects on a 0,0,0 value. Regards

House02 Lighting Setup2010.dwg

haha i knew it was something simple! Thanks a million for that you saved me a lot of time & stress! I will send you on a clip of the finished product when i'm done

haha i knew it was something simple! Thanks a million for that you saved me a lot of time & stress! I will send you on a clip of the finished product when i'm done

 

No problem. You're welcome. wew! Well, just make sure you update us with your rendering progress. We'll be happy to see that finished render image.

 

Btw, check this link for the lighting & rendering this can be of help: http://www.we-r-here.com/cad/tutorials/level_3/3-17.htm

 

Well i managed to finish my model. Unfortunately my computer keeps crashing every time i try to render the anipath i had planned to make which would have shown the internal features. Very frustrating process i must admit. I think i still need to upload the intensity of my lights another notch or too but overall i'm happy enough with it. Any good render farm suggestions?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41363[/ATTACH]

 

Well i managed to finish my model. Unfortunately my computer keeps crashing every time i try to render the anipath i had planned to make which would have shown the internal features. Very frustrating process i must admit. I think i still need to upload the intensity of my lights another notch or too but overall i'm happy enough with it. Any good render farm suggestions?

 

Hey! the render output looks good to me. I like the material mapping result of the bricks. The lighting looks like 11am here in the Phils.(atleast to me) By the way, What is your system specs? You have to take note that a rendering process consumes most of you're computer CPU & RAM. There are possible reasons why system is crashing, things to consider are heavy loads of 3d objects in you're render, overlapping objects(duplicate) that slows down AutoCAD, though OS might play a little with the problem, Are you using 64bit OS? Also, what video format you're using? Try to save the animation using the other video formats available I think there were 3 WMV,AVI &MPG try to play with those. And what do you mean by Render Farm suggestion? Are you talking about Computer Hardware Specs for rendering? I personally recommend to invest into something that is beneficial for rendering, get an Intel Corei7 or Corei5 quad CPU atleast for the rendering and it will follow other computer parts like GPU,RAM,MOBO(motherboard) & don't forget a reliable PSU(power supply) compatibility issue with those computer parts should be consider. Unless, if you're planning for a workstation there are several brand names like Dell,HP & Lenovo. Just make sure to read some reviews of computer parts & specs over the internet & PC forums before you purchased it, It will help you a lot in you're decision making. I'm planning for an upgrade soon, cause I'm still stuck with my old Dual-Core CPU.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41363[/ATTACH]

 

Well i managed to finish my model. Unfortunately my computer keeps crashing every time i try to render the anipath i had planned to make which would have shown the internal features. Very frustrating process i must admit. I think i still need to upload the intensity of my lights another notch or too but overall i'm happy enough with it. Any good render farm suggestions?

You don't need a render farm. I mean, if you WANT one, then by all means but if what you're doing is personal use, then there's really no need. Cheaper alternatives are just a dedicated computer for rendering, DIY Render Farms (Google this for more info), or an online render service where you upload a file, and "ding" it's done.

 

And ANIPATH is somewhat horrid. I don't get a kick out of bashing AutoCAD but sometimes they don't offer a great solution. Other programs can (and probably should) be used for Walthrough and Flyover animations.

You don't need a render farm. I mean, if you WANT one, then by all means but if what you're doing is personal use, then there's really no need. Cheaper alternatives are just a dedicated computer for rendering, DIY Render Farms (Google this for more info), or an online render service where you upload a file, and "ding" it's done.

 

 

@OckMc - I agree with StykFace. He's right if its for personal use then invest for a personal workstation (I mean build your own rig), in a sense its much cheaper DIY render

Any good render farm suggestions?

 

Unless something has changed with the latest releases, Autocad does not have the capability to network render. You would need to use a program like Studio Max, with it's Backburner network render manager, if you want to utilize a render farm.

Cad64, doesn't mentral ray in its stand-alone form have the ability to use render farm technology? If so, I'm wondering if you have options for animations? At least to detect animation presets in a file. Just thinking out loud is all. Good post in clarifying, too. Thanks for that.

Sorry, I've never used the stand-alone program, so I don't know what it can or can't do. But since it's just a stand-alone rendering program, I believe you would have to set up everything in your 3D application, (including animation), and then export your file to Mental Ray for rendering.

Cheers for all the feedback folks tis much appreciated. @ Rewind23 What i meant when i mentioned the lighting is that there are 24 lights inside the house but i still can't see them in rendered images. I had the light intensity set to 120 which i changed to 350 but still nothing. My machine is an Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30 GhZ. It was put together by a friend specifically for 3D Cad but I think I will probably have to upgrade it a smidge. I was careful when I put the model together to avoid duplicates but i think there are over 20,000 components overall. 11,000+ are in the fencing alone. Tomorrow i'll remove the fencing and try to render another clip but not getting my hopes up AutoCAD is gone so buggy right now it's doing my head in. Video format is .avi because they are compatible with Youtube. Obviously if i thought it could be done on the cheap I would use a render farm, again I'll look at it tomorrow but judging from the sites i looked at today Cad64 is probably right about Cad not being network render compatible. I am keen on being able to make these clips though. I am currently trying to find work as an Architectural Technician or 3D cad drafter so I'm trying to put together a showreel of sorts. In the past I studied construction where I learned 2D CAD, it is only in the last three months i have started learning the 3D side of things in my spare time so any tips or suggestions are greatly welcomed As far as other programs go I've never used Mental Ray or 3D Studio Max but I am starting a course on the latter in June.

A Core i3 is a very low wattage CPU. Granted, the i3 class CPU is great for what it was intended to be used for, but it is anything but the CPU you would need for 3D Rendering. I mean, not even in the same class at all. High end Core i5 is an absolute bare minimum for standard performance if you're going to be rendering 3D geometry in realistic visual representation, which clearly you are if you have 24 lights in a model.

 

Just my $0.02 FWIW. Good luck in your courses and endeavors. We're all here to help.