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Lighting, Transparency, and Shading

Light sources, color shading, and object transparency

Add lighting, set the transparency, and specify the color shading to change the appearance of graphics objects.

Functions

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camlightCreate or move light object in camera coordinates
lightCreate a light object
lightangleCreate or position light object in spherical coordinates
lightingSet lighting method
shadingSet color shading properties
diffuseCalculate diffuse reflectance
materialControl reflectance properties of surfaces and patches
specularCalculate specular reflectance
alimSet or query axes alpha limits
alphaAdd transparency to objects in axes
alphamapSpecify figure alphamap (transparency)

Topics

  • Lighting Overview

    You can position light sources and adjust the characteristics of the objects that are reflecting the lights.

  • Reflectance Characteristics of Graphics Objects

    You can specify the reflectance characteristics of patch and surface objects and thereby affect the way they look when lights are applied to the scene.

  • Add Transparency to Graphics Objects

    The transparency of a graphics object determines the degree to which you can see through it. Add transparency to graphics objects to customize the look of your charts or reveal details about an object that are otherwise hidden.

  • Changing Transparency of Images, Patches or Surfaces

    This example shows how to modify transparency of images, patches and surfaces.

  • Modify the Alphamap

    Every figure has an associated alphamap, which is a vector of values ranging from 0 to 1. You can view or modify the alphamap.