Creating Customised IES web lights for Vray or Mental Ray

Creating Customised IES web lights for Vray or Mental Ray by Jamie Cardoso

The following tutorial assumes that the user has a basic knowledge of creating and using “VRayIES” and “Photometric” lights parameters.

While “Photometric” and “VRayIES” lights are used to load the IES web files, the following tutorial will focus mainly in customizing IES web files through the use of “Creator IES” software, as opposed to general photometric light functionalities.

This ingenious piece of software was created by Karba, and can easily be found and downloaded from here. I personally couldn't find more details about the creator/Author.
Professionals frequently choose this software to create unique IES light patterns that differ from the commonly seen/used by most artists/visualisers.

Please note that, in real projects users are advised to ask permission to the designated lighting designer before using this artistic approach!

The “Creator IES” dialog provides users with the unsurpassed ability to create IES web files “from scratch”, or by simply editing a loaded one. Its dialog box consists of two representations of the light pattern:

Curve editor graph, and picture thumbnail. 


The Curve editor depicts a graph of the IES light pattern (i.e. red line). The entire length of the curve represents different parts of the light pattern, which can be easily edited by simply clicking and dragging (upwards or downwards) on any part of the curve.

The adjacent picture thumbnail depicts the resulting image from the curve editor shape, in real time. The “before and after” images below highlight how the “Creator IES” software can easily and intuitively create an IES web file “from scratch”. 





Below are some of its core parameters:

Area of editing = This function sets the type of editing by simply dragging its target slider either to the left, or to the right.

The default value is 1.0. Values below 1.0 yield sharp light patterns when the curve graph is edited.

Values above 1.0 yield softer light patterns when the curve graph is edited.







Brightness- This function sets the intensity of the IES light pattern by simply dragging its target slider to the left, or to the right.

The default value is 1.0. It’s worth noting that, this function’s values are for previewing purposes only; therefore will have no impact on the shape or intensity of the relevant light being used in the 3D scene.

In order to physically increase or decrease the brightness/intensity of the IES web file, users are required to do it directly in the 3D scene.



Away from wall- This function depicts the light pattern shape against a surface/wall depending how close/tight the IES light is away from it, by simply dragging its target slider.

Values above 1.0 increase the gap between the IES light patterns while dimming it.

Values below 1.0 yield opposite effects, with brighter results. It’s worth noting that, this function’s values are for previewing purposes only; therefore will have no impact on the shape or intensity of the relevant light being used in the 3D scene.

Save- This toggle allows users to save the edited IES file, by simply clicking on its icon. 



Load- This toggle allows users to load an IES file from a location, by simply clicking on its icon.

Reset- This button enables users to reset the edited/ loaded IES file, by simply clicking on its icon.

After creating and saving the IES web file, go to the 3D scene and load it in its respective toggle and render the results. It’s worth mentioning that the IES light object may change its shape depending on the IES light parameters.





Please note that, every time a change is made and the IES file is re-saved, users are required to re-load the file in the 3D scene in order for changes to take effect in the render.

The first 3D render below depicts a space lit with a standard/common IES web file used by most artists.



Below 3D renders depict a customised IES web file. 



Finally, I would like to give a big THANK YOU to “RENDER NOW” for allowing me to use their extensive and reliable rendering resources to finalize the above images...at a lightning speed!!!