Lighting and display

Hand Reference combines the room’s window light with a separate Studio lamp you move yourself. The Light panel gives you presets plus direct controls for both.

Lighting presets

The presets are Window, Front lit, Side lit, Top lit, Rim and Dramatic ¾. Window switches the studio lamp off and lets the room window do the main work. The other presets place the lamp at useful directions around the hand. Dramatic ¾ is the only one that switches the window off.

Each light has its own switch and a Brightness slider: under Window for the daylight coming through the room window, and under Studio lamp for the lamp. Around the hand moves the lamp around the subject and Height changes its elevation.

Move with camera makes the studio lamp follow the camera direction as you orbit, which is useful when you want the hand to stay lit from a similar viewing angle. Under Extra lights, Fill light adds gentle light from the opposite side and Rim light adds a light from behind. Under Shadows, Softness changes the softness of the cast shadows.

Reset light restores the studio’s normal starting light.

Background and studio

The Display panel has White, Beige, Grey and Blue backgrounds. These are full room looks, so the wall, floor and daylight appearance change together.

Turn Studio and stand off when you want the hand against a clean solid background without the room or support. In Silhouette mode the room and stand are hidden automatically.

Ways of seeing

Skin shows the detailed skin surface. Clay removes the skin appearance so light and volume are easier to read. Faceted uses flat shading to break the form into simpler planes. Silhouette removes surface information and leaves only the outer shape and negative spaces.

For gesture changes, see Poses and hand controls. For keeping the finished study, see Saving and shortcuts.