Thanks, Bud.  Will keep those points in mind. :)




"Incompetence will always prevail so long as evil men stand by and do nothing."
-Martok2112

Here is a trick i do with iclone lights

1. add a primitive, and set it to a "dummy"
2. attach a light to it
3. animate the light's parameters (multiplier color range direction and constraint)
4. save the prop.

this prop will retain the animation
if you have a complex model
that needs tons of lights
just make clones of the prop... cntrl - positon/rotate/scale

these light "props" will retain settings
even when applying a new light set or atmosphere.

anything that is suppose to "glow"
should have at least a point light attached near it




.

Hi, Parrotcrap,

  I've been monkeying around with the light control features, which the manual is really very vague about in some respects.

  It's kind of a dubious game of "pay attention to the illustrations" which has really had me pulling my hair out until I realized precisely what I was looking at....after which I end up kicking myself for not seeing it.  Gaaahhhhh!!!!!

  The parametric changes you want to see are in either the spotlight, point light, or directional light elements on the time line.
 
   First, Create (tab found in second from left at top of main User Interface) a spotlight, point light, or directional light.  (I'm going with spot light).

  To see the changes available for that particular light in the timeline, go down to the timeline, and make sure the "Object Related Track" is on. (In the little symbols above the timeline, this is the second symbol from the left.  If it is green, it is on.)  

   Then scroll down the object list until you see "spotlight".   Beside the word, you will see two symbols in circles.  The first symbol is an upside down carot.  This is what you want to click on.   It will then bring up a list of clickable elements (Transform, Color, Multiplier, Constraint, and Parameter). 

As I type this, I am still monkeying around with the light settings myself, but I hope this will help you find what you seek. :)

Now, my big question is:  How do I change the light cast in the color palette on the light control panel.  There are only a few colors, none of which are what I need.  How do I change the actual light cast color on a light tool iProp? 



 Respectfully,
   Martok2112 :)




"Incompetence will always prevail so long as evil men stand by and do nothing."
-Martok2112

I've been playing with this (light tool in iClone 6) and have been able to get lights to turn on and off with keyframes, but not perfectly like I want. I think not perfect because I'm not seeing all the tracks in the timeline, such as "multiplier" and "parameter". How come I can't get those tracks to show? I have a choice of ten tracks, but multiplier and parameter aren't among them.

Oddly, "No," you can't keyframe lights on/off in iClone 6.

In iC6 you keyframe the multiplier, so you have to alternate between a value of zero and something like 1.2 (or however bright you want "on" to be).  The effect is the same, it's just a different control.

And of course you have to remember to change the curve on your keyframe to a STEP function.
After creating your first few keyframes, it's easiest to copy them on the timeline itself.

That's where the "Light Tools" come in handy, since they have some pre-defined behavior for stuff like blinking, flickering (malfunctioning), or simulating fire.

I don't remember for sure how it was in iC5, but I think you could keyframe lights on/off.  I don't have it in front of me at the moment.  Regardless, in iC6 you have to user the multiplier setting.

---

iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Thanks, I'll have to spend some time with this.

You cannot keyframe on/off like you'd expect.
In short, you can change (keyframe) the MULTIPLIER (0.0 --> 1.2 --> 0.0 --> 1.2 --> 0.0 --> 1.2 etc)


A quick tip is that keyframeable features are GREEN on the menus.


Also, there is a light "tool" that lets you easily have lights the blink or flicker.
Open the template project "Lighting Controls."

I've barely touched it, so I'm not sure how to add one of those you a new project.
But I'm curious now.

---

ADDED...

Under "Props" look for "LightTool."

I was trying to control a normal point/spot/directional light.
But you need to add one of the lights iClone provided, apparently.
I knew I'd seen it somewhere.

---

ADDED AGAIN...

It's so amazing what a person can find in the (gasp!) manual.

Open the iClone 6 manual, and search for "Light Tool."
You can attach your own additional lights to a light tool once it's been added to the scene.
And you can control numerous lights from a single control.
Wow, I played with this a little with iC6 was first released, but I sort of forgot how much fun that tool is.

I need to find time to do a project an relearn some of these features.

---

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Hi there, me again. What's the best / easiest way to animate flashing / blinking lights in iClone 6? Is there a way to generate keyframes where the glow map is on or off?