Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Self-Illuminating Materials Not Casting Light

cwells8088

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Joined: Tue, Mar 1, 2011
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I'm copying my own post from the Autodesk forum, where I have had no luck getting help with this issue, head's up if the formatting seems odd. The only reply I've received is from someone telling me that Self-Illuminating materials don't cast light. I'll admit i'ts been my first rendering in a couple years but I used to do quite a bit before that job, and unless I'm very mistaken and the posts I complied are inaccurate, I'm sure there is a problem here.

I have been trying to model box lights and signs for a bit now on a project we are doing renderings for, and have had no luck. For whatever reason, it seems like my self-illuminating materials do not cast any light, and instead appear only as sharp bright objects. I've attached a screen of part of the rendering (sorry, can't show the whole thing at this stage in the project). 

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I've been sticking to the default materials to try and understand the issue. The material I'm using here is the built in LED Green - On and I have also tried Lighbulb - ON. I know from other posts such as these that others have been able to execute the same process (in the third link, with the same material) with no issues. I'm rendering at interior sun+artificial but none of those settings have made a difference, nor has rendering in the cloud vs locally. 

http://www.revitforum.org/rendering-gallery/8191-backlit-signage.html

http://therevitkid.blogspot.com/2014/07/another-cloud-rendering-issue.html

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/visualization/how-do-you-make-object-glow/td-p/3936143

(see 3rd post, link to image where LED Green works correctly)

Of course, this isn't even the most complicated sign in the project. One is neon, and I know self-illuminated materials are how I need to execute that, but they just aren't working for me. 

Any ideas on what I can do to fix this would be greatly appreciated, there are 10 something signs around the project and it would be great not to build complex lighting fixtures that still look wrong for each. Thanks!

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sllana

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Joined: Wed, Mar 2, 2011
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Well, im not very good in rendering but i could achieve this (attachment) but, in order to provide further help, you must show your settings for the material

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TAParkitekt

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In past versions of Revit, I have modeled an in-place mass, and then created a self-illuminating material and applied it to that mass.  The mass would then throw out plenty of light in renderings, and I could adjust the luminance up or down as needed. 

HOWEVER, with Revit 2016 and 2017, the self-illuminating material appears to NOT cast/throw light anymore.  The material itself glows, but it does not emit any light outside of itself.  

Hoping Revit fixes this issue. 

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WWHub

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Joined: Tue, May 16, 2006
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In all of the early versions I used, illuminated material was simply that.  I always had to have a light source behind the transparent self-illuminated material if I wanted to have a light.  That's been true since I started over 10 years ago.

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TAParkitekt

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Here's one I did a couple of years ago when the material would cast light.  See the recessed wall washer (on the blue wall)? Self Illuminating material.  

Now this would render as dark.  Something has changed. 

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can i turn off 'casting shadow' function in a single light fixture in Revit2008?

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