Excluding Layers from a Spotlight

[John Cuevas]

I’m assuming all the layers are 3d(cause lights don’t affect 2d layers. Anyway, twirl the layers open, go to material properties and turn Accepts Lights to “off”

And the quickest way to do this for multiple layer is to open the property for one layer, then select all the layers and turn the propery off for the one layer.

Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com

“I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
—THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.

[Cassius Marques]

Just to add a quick hint…double tapping “a” is the shortcut for material options.

[Walter Soyka]

[Shaun Knapp] “I want to know if I can exclude all objects from my spotlight accept for just one layer? I have a ton of elements, and then one line of text that I want to run a spotlight on, any way to have the spotlight only apply to the one text layer and ignore or exclude the rest?”

Yes, you can. C4D handles exclusion via lists; AE uses layers.

If you make your light layer an adjustment layer (click the black-and-white cookie switch for the layer), then it will only affect the layers in the comp beneath it.

In the timeline panel, make your spotlight layer an adjustment light layer above the text, then stack everything other than the text above them both. Unlike disabling Accept lights in the material settings, this will allow your other objects to continue to react to other lights in the scene.

Adjustment lights are not true adjustment layers, so they won’t break 3D intersections like traditional adjustment layers do.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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