I am attempting to use the GATHER node to pull some ambient light onto another surface. I am not sure what the best render settings are. Can you use AO?

I'm getting a very GRAINY result. I've started with 5 samples and moved that up to 10. Still "grainy". I can use a spotlight and it will lay smoothly on the object = I'm just trying to get a away from using lights every where. What these are are under the shelf lights and I am looking for just a slight spill on the the surface below.

Also, i read that you could create a GLOW with a Probe light but I can't find anything that shows how to use that node properly.

I would appreciate any help or links to tuts on this. I am using Poser Pro 2012. Windows 7.

Gather and Probe and AO are from 2004. We don't use them for anything.

All the behaviors that we used to have to fake with those nodes is now built into Indirect Diffuse Light (IDL) which you have in Poser Pro 2012.

Is there a reason you don't use that?

To make an object glow, in the advanced material set the Ambient_Color and Ambient_Value > 0. That will make it self lit.

To pick up that light on other objects you enable IDL.

Thanks Bagginsbill - yes that is what I first tried but I only want it to pick up IDL from the light emitting object. When I use IDL - the render is not smooth where the ambient falls on the object. Plus the render takes a considerable time due to the calculations. I could have my render settings incorrect here. But so far what I end up with is a muddy spill of light rather than a smooth spill of light.

Hmm. If the object is small and very bright, then yes that's a problem (splotchy light). IDL works great for larger glowing things - not at all well for tiny things, and in between it's in between.

And if, as you say, you're trying to only gather light from nearby, not far away, then IDL will fail because it looks everywhere.

So - you can use gather to pick up light from nearby, but as with any such Monte Carlo (random rays) approach, it looks really noisy until you get HUNDREDS of samples going. I can't be more specific as I've not used the node for 9 years.

Can you show what you're doing and seeing?

Let me ask this a different way. Thanks for the info so far.

I am having to raise the samples on that gather node pretty high and it runs too long IMO. So, is there another lighting trick where you can apply a GLOW to an object? I can do so in VUE and it applies a slight glow around an item giving it the look of a glow in a volumetric atmosphere. Is there another set of nodes that can achieve the same effect?! See how the glow is achieved on the light below - this is done during the VUE render by selecting "glow".

Even with this it is taking too long to render - it slows way down trying to gather the light onto the curtain. Previously i just sued spot lights and they render pretty fast and give a great effect. I was just trying to do this a different way. Some of the GATHER node demos I have seen look great but maybe those took long render times?

OK, from your initial post I read that you are using Pro2012. I want to know if you have the last update for P9/Pro2012 (SR 3.1, the build number ends in...23027). Select some prop (such as the spaceship), and look at the parameters window, properties tab. Do you see a tick box named visible in camera? If so, you have the needed update.

Next question, do you have a modeler program? The easiest way to tackle this is to duplicate and then modify some pieces from the spaceship. You would not need to be proficient in using the modeler.

Third query, if you don't have a modeler: Where would I get that ship? (Jupiter from the old Lost In Space series?)

Expounding further on BB's info, the gather came out with P5, I think. Once P8/Pro2010 came out with IDL, the gather was obsolete. Gather requires lots of samples -and lots of render time- and the result is still crude. There is still one use I can think of for it; when you want only one item in a scene to strongly pick up something's ambient. An example would be a nightvision scope, which the camera can see into (i.e., it isn't up to the doll's eye).

In the shot showing the spaceship, it looks like what you want is an aura surrounding the lights, like this lantern and all the little Christmas tree lights here?

I'd also need to know if those yellow lights are just flood lights, or if they are spotlights casting a beam of light.

Now, for those interior ceiling lights, the trick is cast the desired amount of light without the visible light panels showing as stark white silhouettes. That can be done too, as with TinkerBell's lantern. The easiest way is to start with duplicating the ceiling light panel geometry.

Yes I have update Sr3. And, yes,if I could duplicate what is going on with the Christmas Tree lights - that would be ideal. I can use that effect.

I do some limited modeling withing poser and I do have Blender but am not proficient with it yet. thanks for your help.

Let's also assume for this that I am using a simple BALL primitive and turning on the Ambient to 1.0. That makes the BALL light appear ON. What I need is an aura that doesn't have a defined border. I have tried this with another BALL object but it doesn't look convincing to me.

OK, you have a ball as your visible light. We'll call this original prop Wilson.

Duplicate Wilson (edit > duplicate object). Scale your new second ball up to maybe 102%. This is your emitter. Parent the emitter to Wilson. Look at the emitter's properties boxes; untick "casts shadows" and untick "visible in camera". You want to see the effect of the emitter, but not see the emitter itself. Give the emitter the same texture as Wilson, but crank the emitter's ambient up (try 30).

Duplicate Wilson again. Scale this third ball up to maybe 250%. Imagine how far out you want the glow to extend, and make this ball twice that size (in diameter) This will be the glow aura. Parent the aura to Wilson. Set the aura's properties to not cast shadows.

The ball meshes should be nested like matroishka dolls, with the visible light object innermost, enveloped closely by the unseen emitter, and outside of them the much larger aura.

Notice two things about the aurae in the Tink Christmas image: the aurae have no defined outer edge, and they do not block the view of the light they surround.

To get that effect, use two Edge_Blend nodes daisy-chained together to control transparency. The combined effect of the two Edge_Blend nodes is that the bottom Edge_Blend erases the center (normals viewed straight on - red arrow), and the upper edge_Blend erases the outer perimeter so that you don't see the edge of the mesh (normals near tangential - blue arrow), leaving a soft-edged "donut" surrounding the light without blocking your view of the light. This part which remains visible will be where the normals are near the halfway point, centered around 45 degrees (green arrow).

The result is this:

You can see Wilson, you can see the light which seems to be cast by Wilson onto the floor (actually cast by the unseen emitter), and you see a soft glow around Wilson.

You must render with IDL engaged to see the lightcasting from the emitter! The aura will work in P5.

Thanks for this. Is there any way NOT to use IDL and have it look any good? IDL slows the renders way down.

Okay w/o the emitter I am getting a pretty good GLOW that I have been looking for. I think it will meet my needs and the key was that EDGE BLEND shader. Thanks for that!!

You can omit the emitter (or just untick its visibility) if you don't need for it to cast light, or if you can easily substitute a Poser light. The glowy aura will work from P5 and later, and does not require IDL.

To adjust transparency of the aura, adjust the light grey color box of both Edge_Blend nodes. White will be strongly visible; mid-grey will be faintly visible.

For those ceiling light panels, though, I'd duplicate the light panel polys, lower them slightly, and make that new prop (of duplicated polys) an unseen emitter, rendering in IDL so that the light distribution looks right.

Thanks I did that but the render on those ceiling lights - just one as a test - took an extremely long time. It looked good but I am not sure it's worth the render. I am doing animations - thus I am looking for some compromise on renders. Thanks again.

Well, for the interior shots you might try placing spotlights into the ceiling panels so that their lens juuuust barely protrudes down out of the panel, and widen the "end" angle to 135 degrees, or maybe even 160 degrees. Use the orthogonal cameras with the preview mode set to "outline" to get the spotlights placed. I'd probably use two spots for each of those rectangular panels in your example render. That would render quicker than using emitters and IDL.

If you're rendering animation and you have any other computers sitting around, connect them to the same switch/router as your workstation, install Queue Manager on the extra computer(s), and use them to help render the animation frames.

I have animated materials worked out for things like pulsing navigation lights, triple-strobe marker lights, radar screens, oscilloscopes, chaser lights, etc.