3D View Environment Lighting Properties

The Lighting page controls the lighting for the entire multi-layer map. This includes the surface, any overlays that may have been combined with the surface, and point vector data in 3D. The light source is fixed relative to the surface, so if the surface is rotated, the light rotates with it.

To edit the Lighting in the 3D View, click Environment in the Contents window. Changes made to the environment lighting will be automatically applied to the lighting of all 3D model objects in the 3D view.

Hill and Reflectance Shading in the 3D View

The 3D view lighting is turned off when the map in the 3D view contains a hill shaded or reflectance shaded color relief layer. This is because the map is already shaded by hill shading or reflectance. The cumulative effect of both lighting systems would result in very dark regions of the map in the 3D view.

To use the 3D view Lighting properties instead of the color relief hill or reflectance shading, the Terrain representation option on the color relief layer General page must be set to Color only.

Lighting Properties

The following properties control the lighting of the model in the 3D view.

Set the lighting for the 3D View environment in the Properties window on the Lighting page.

Lighting

There are three lighting options. Click on the current lighting option next to Model. In the list, select the desired lighting option.

None disables all lighting effects. The color shown is from the surface material color only.
Smooth splits each grid cell is into two triangular polygons. Gouraud shading is used to interpolate colors within the triangles from the three vertices of each triangle. This results in smooth transitions across the triangles and the entire grid, but it is slightly slower than flat shading.
Flat uses a single vertex (grid node) to define the shaded color for the entire polygon. Note that each grid cell is divided into two triangular polygons. This results in a faceted look since each triangle is only filled with a single color.

Light Position

The Light Position section specifies the orientation of the light source. The light source can be thought of as the sun shining on a topographic surface.

Location

There are two lighting location options. Click on the current location option to select the desired option

Follow the camera updates the light position as your rotate or tilt the model so it always shines directly into the center of the view. This ensures the model is always lit regardless of the position of the camera. Follow the camera is the default setting for a new 3D model.
Fixed sets the light source position using Horizontal and Vertical degrees. The light position does not change when the model is rotated or tilted which can result in views that appear completely black or unlit.
When the Fixed location is selected, the Horizontal (degrees) and Vertical (degrees) properties are exposed.

Horizontal (degrees)

The Horizontal (degrees) box defines the direction for the light source in the horizontal plane. Zero degrees corresponds to the light source shining from due east toward the west. Positive angles rotate the light source counterclockwise. For example, a specified horizontal angle of 90 degrees places the light source north of the unrotated surface. 180 degrees places the light source west of the unrotated surface and shining east. 270 degrees places the light source south of the unrotated surface and shining north. The default horizontal angle is set at 135 degrees, or NW. To change the Horizontal (degrees), highlight the existing angle value. Type a new value or Click and drag the to the desired angle position.

Vertical (degrees)

The Vertical (degrees) box rotates the light source in the vertical plane. A vertical angle of zero degrees places the light source at the horizon and shining horizontally. An angle of 90 degrees places the light source directly overhead and shining down onto the map. 180 degrees places the light source at the opposite horizon and shining horizontally. 270 degrees places the light source directly below the map and shining up. The default vertical angle is 45 degrees. As the vertical angle approaches zero, shadows lengthen and the overall display shifts to the colors at the left end of the color spectrum. To change the Vertical (degrees), highlight the existing angle value. Type a new value or click and drag the to the desired angle position.

Light Colors

There are three different types of light color, Ambient, Diffuse, and Specular. Note that these colors are used to represent reflectivity. White is 100% reflective and reflects the material color unaltered to the viewer. Black is 0% reflective, and causes all material color to be absorbed. Our perception of color is based on reflected and absorbed light. For example, a leaf appears green because it absorbs all colors in the light spectrum EXCEPT green. Since only green is reflected to your eye, the leaf appears green.

Surfer uses a pure white light source. The light "strikes" the surface and some of the light is absorbed based on the color of the surface material at the point the light ray struck it. Some light is reflected to the viewer according to the type of light (Ambient, Diffuse, and Specular), and the reflectivity color associated with each type of light specified in the Light Colors and Specular Highlights sections.

Ambient refers to light that has been scattered so evenly by the environment that its direction is impossible to determine. Increasing the ambient light component brightens the scene without casting shadows. The default Ambient color is 90% black which means that the ambient light contribution is fairly small.
Diffuse refers to light coming from a particular direction and is brighter if aimed directly down on a surface than barely glancing off the surface. When diffuse light hits the surface, it is scattered uniformly in all directions so that it appears equally bright no matter where the eye is located. Increasing diffuse light intensifies shadow effects. The default Diffuse color is white, which is the maximum amount of reflectivity.

Specular Highlights

Specular light come from a particular direction, and tends to bounce off the surface in a preferred direction. A shiny surface such as metal has a high specular component, while a surface like carpet has almost no specular component. Increasing the percentage of specular light results in strong shadow effects and more pronounced "shiny" or glare spots.

The default specular highlights Color is light gray. This defines the color of the light when it reflects off the surface.
Strength defines how much specular light to show. A strength of 0% will not show any specular light and a strength of 100% will show specular light at full strength.
Type a new value or click and drag the to the desired strength value.
Shininess defines how reflective or shiny the surface material is. A shininess value of 0 will not reflect any light. There is no upper limit to the shininess of a surface. To enter a value greater than the default slider maximum of 500, simply type it into the text field.

Note on Light Colors

In general, these reflectivity colors should be specified as shades of gray in order to evenly reflect the surface material color components. However, special effects are possible by specifying non-gray colors for the reflectivity. For example, assume the Ambient reflectivity is set to pure red, and the Diffuse and Specular Highlights colors are set to pure black. The Diffuse and Specular components are essentially disabled by setting their reflectivity color to black. The only light that is reflected to the viewer is red ambient light. Portions of the surface that lack a red component in the material color will appear black, since only red light is reflected to the viewer.

Object Lighting

The 3D Symbols property is selected by default to enable the lighting to illuminate and cast shadows on point vector data as it does on the surface displayed in the 3D View window. When this property is cleared, shadows on 3D symbols remain static. The Symbol method for 3D vector point data must be set to Symbols and the symbol style either Shaded Circle, Sphere or Cube. The lighting Model must be either Smooth or Flat.