Lighting and display

Hand Reference combines the room’s window light with a separate movable study light. 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 turns the movable study light off and lets the room window do the main work. The other presets place the study light at useful directions around the hand.

Window light controls the strength of the daylight coming through the room window. Intensity controls the separate study light. Around the hand moves that study light around the subject, and Height changes its elevation.

Shadow softness changes the softness of the cast shadows. Fill light adds gentle light from the opposite side. Rim light adds a light from behind. Keep light with camera makes the main study light follow the camera direction as you orbit, which is useful when you want the hand to stay lit from a similar viewing angle.

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 saving the finished study, see Saving, shortcuts and returning.