Light material graphs
An RS Light Material lets a node graph drive a Redshift light. Once a light has one, Redshift uses the graph for some settings instead of the light’s own. RS Light Manager handles that for you: the same columns keep working, and they write to the graph.
The Mat column
Section titled “The Mat column”The Mat column shows an icon when an RS Light Material drives the light.
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Material icon | The light has a valid RS Light Material |
| Warning icon | The material on the light isn’t a valid light material for it |
| Empty | No light material |
Double-click the icon to remove the material tag from the light. If the row is selected, the tag comes off every selected light that has one, as one undo step. The material itself stays in the Material Manager.
When the panel finds an invalid light material on a light, it tells you once (Invalid Light Material added to light). OK keeps it; Remove takes the material tag off.
Add a graph
Section titled “Add a graph”- Select the lights.
- Click Add Graph in the action bar.
- If two or more selected lights are the same type, choose:
- Single — one material per light type, shared by those lights, named after the type (RS Area Light Material, for example).
- Multiple — one material per light, named ‹light name› Material.
The material is created and applied to each light. A material made for one light starts with that light’s current settings; a material shared by several lights starts at the graph’s defaults.
Lights that already have a light material are skipped. If a selected light has a texture, you are asked first (Yes, remove texture / No) — a texture and a light material shouldn’t drive the same light.
Which columns use the graph
Section titled “Which columns use the graph”For a light with a valid light material, these columns read and write the graph:
| Column | Notes |
|---|---|
| Intensity | Slider 0–100; type any value |
| Exposure | Slider 0–10. Not on Dome or Physical Sun materials |
| Color | The graph’s colour (its tint on Portal and Physical Sun) |
| Color Mode | Infinite, Point, Spot, Area and IES materials |
| Temp (K) | Infinite, Point, Spot, Area and IES materials |
| Shadow | Not on Physical Sun |
| Opacity | Area lights |
Every other column still writes to the light itself.
Graph values can be edited, reset with Ctrl+click, edited across several selected lights, and keyed with the key diamonds. They can’t be overridden in a take from the table — use the Take Manager or the material’s Attribute Manager for that.
When a node is wired into the material’s colour, the Color cell reads NODE: change the colour in the graph.
Shared materials
Section titled “Shared materials”If a light’s material is also used by other lights, changing a graph value changes all of them. The panel asks first and offers to give each light its own copy (Create unique materials). See Editing values.
To stop the question, tick Set as a permanent preference in it, or Never remind me about shared light materials in Preferences.
Reset to Defaults on a material light
Section titled “Reset to Defaults on a material light”Reset to Defaults resets the graph’s intensity, exposure, colour (white), colour mode (Color) and temperature (6500 K), because those are what Redshift uses for a light driven by a material.