After you read this chapter, you should be familiar enough with lighting to get started
and try new things without using any advanced lighting and rendering methodologies.
You will get the chance to light a radiosity effect in the next chapter.
Target Spotlight
A Target spotlight, as shown in Figure 10.13, is one of the most commonly used lights
because it is extremely versatile. A spotlight casts light in a focused beam, similar to a
flashlight. This type of lighting allows you to light specific areas of a scene without casting
any unwanted light on areas that may not need that light. You can control the size of the
hotspot. This is the size of the cast beam.
The light is created with two nodes, the light itself (light source) and the Target node, at
which the light points at all times. This way you are able to animate the light following the
subject of the scene easily, as a spotlight would follow a singer on stage. Select the target
and move it as you would any other object in 3ds Max. The Target spot will rotate to follow
the target. Similarly, you can animate the light source, and it will orient itself accordingly
to aim at the stationary target. (You may also animate both if you prefer.
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