Lightmap releases HDR Light Studio 5.4
Lightmap has released HDR Light Studio 5.4, the latest update to its real-time lighting design tool, adding new options for positioning light sources within HDRI maps, or positioning area lights within a 3D scene.
New options for positioning virtual lights within HDRI maps
Whereas HDR Light Studio previously only allowed users to position lights by their centres when adding them to HDRI maps, version 5.4 adds the option to drag the edges.
In addition, lights need no longer be oriented normal to the lighting sphere, making it possible to rotate them independently along the X, Y and Z axes.
The video above shows the new system in action to add lights – in the form of Lightmap’s own logo – parallel to the walls of the environment captured by the HDRI map.
New options for positioning area lights in 3D space
Version 5.3 of HDR Light Studio introduced a new Area Lights system, enabling users to select a point on the surface of model where they wanted highlights to appear, and have the software create area lights to match.
To that, version 5.4 adds the ability to adjust the rotation of the area lights manually, with options to lock the horizontal or vertical orientation, or both.
In Lightmap’s press release, Logitech product rendering artist Adam Mitchell memorably sums up the more intuitive new workflow as “transform tools [that] work like my brain thinks”.
In addition, the update adds 32 new Studio Light Sources to the software’s library of presets.
Pricing and availability
HDR Light Studio 5.4 is available for Windows 7+, Fedora 13+ Linux and Mac OS X 10.7+. Node-locked licences cost $995, floating licences cost $1,495, and rental options are available.
Connection plugins are available for a range of 3D software, including 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Houdini, Maxwell, Maya and Modo, typically priced at $145 each. Find a list of versions supported here.
Read more about the new features in HDR Light Studio 5.4 on Lightmap’s blog