[andrebaros]

MR16's or any other directional point source is a PITA. Short of sending render time through the roof by modeling in the lights, what solutions are people using.

I've tried MXI maps which look like the ies patten, I've tried modeling a simple tube with a polygon emitter at the end, I've tried modeling the actual reflector (worthless). Nothing reliable and fast yet. Anyone have any suggestions?

[andrebaros]

I have an interior I'm about to start with about 30 MR16 wall washers... and while I haven't used anything other than Maxwell in years I half think that it would be faster to learn Mental Ray than to wait for all those lights to render.

What's everyone else doing to get nice scallops on the wall?

[piroshki]

Good question.

In my experience creating a light fixture that has a small square emitter, a reflective dome, and that has both these elements in a cylinder (same diameter as the dome) works. It doesn't look like a real light bulb (not an issue if it is to be recessed), and by moving the elements up and down inde the tube you can fine tune the shape (angle) of your spot light. Its very crude, but works quite well. If you need to see the lightbulb itself... well, not sure how to do it but I would image you have to model it from scratch.

T.