Creating Realistic Lighting Effects for a Fireplace

QUESTION

How can I make my fireplace appear to be glowing and casting light around my room?  

ANSWER

The fire material associated with a fireplace can be changed and additional lights can be added in the area to provide a realistic fireplace effect in 3D camera views. Additionally, a material's emissive property can modified to adjust the brightness of the material separate from the other light sources in the design. 

To create realistic lighting effects

1. Access the plan that contains the fireplace that you want to modify. 
   
   If a fireplace has not yet been added to your plan, access the Library Browser  and navigate to Core Catalogs> Architectural> Fireplaces to locate an appropriate fireplace to place in your design. 
   
   In this example, the Dual Front Fireplace is used. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. If the fireplace is part of an architectural block, it's recommended that the block is exploded. To explode a block, first Select  it, then click the Explode Architectural Block  edit tool. 
   
   
   
3. Click on the fireplace fixture that contains the fire material or place a custom object to apply fire a material to, then click Open Object . 
   
   In this example, a custom 3D Solid is placed inside the fireplace, as a surface for a fire material is not present with the fireplace we're using.  
   
   
   
4. On the Materials panel of the Fixture or 3D Solid Specification dialog that opens: 
   
   
   • Select the "Fire" or equivalent component, then click on the Select Material button. 
     
     
   • In the Select Material dialog that opens, locate and select the fire material of your choice, then click OK. 
     
     
   • Make any other desired modifications, then click OK to confirm the changes. 
   
   
   
5. To add more realistic lighting effects, additional light sources can be added; select 3D> Lighting> Add Lights , then left-click and drag in front of the fireplace to draw a light facing away from the fireplace. 
   
   
   
   
   
6. Using the Select Objects  tool, select the newly placed light source, then click on the Open Object  edit tool.
   
   

   Note: If you have trouble selecting the light, try dragging a selection marquee encompassing the light. You can also navigate to 3D> Lighting> Adjust Lights, select the recently added light in the list, then click the Adjust Light(s) button.

   
   
7. In the Light Specification dialog that opens: 
   
   
   
   
   • On the Location panel, specify the floor and height properties for the light.
     
     In this example, 1 is specified as the Floor Number and the Absolute Elevation is set to 24".
     
     
   • On the Light Data panel, specify your desired properties for the light. 
     
     In this example, the Max Intensity is set to 1700 Lumens, the Color is set to orange, the Cut Off Angle is set to 180°, and the Drop Off Rate is set to 12.0.
     
     
   • Click OK once all desired changes have been made. 
   
   
   
8. Finally, select 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Camera , then click and drag out a camera view that faces your fireplace.
   
   
   
9. Once the view has generated, select 3D> Rendering Techniques> Physically Based (Ray Trace)  to see the view using realistic lighting. 
   
   
   
   
   
10. (Optional) If you would like to make additional modifications to the fire material, this is the time to do so; select 3D> Adjust Materials> Adjust Material Definition  , click on the flame material, then adjust the Emissive setting located on the Properties panel of the Define Material dialog. To learn more about this setting, please refer to your program's documentation. 
    
    

    Note: If the flame material is behind a glass panel or other obstacle, you can select the Delete Surfaces tool, then click on the glass panel to temporarily hide that component to gain access to the fire material.