Self-Illuminating Material

[cdchristian]

We are able to create a self-illuminating material that glows, however, it does not appear to reflect light on adjacent surfaces. Is there a setting that we are missing to change this property so that the material, in essence, acts as a light source?
Thanks

[drewj]

I dont believe the material can actually emit light, glowing is just an effect within the rendered output. You will need to change the category of the family to Lighting Fixtures and check Light Source. This creates the yellow light source element within the family that can be setup to mimic a real world light source.

[SCShell]

Hey there,
As a workaround.....
I am not a fan of "studio lights" because it is basically a cheat. If you don't have a light fixture, you don't get any light; however, in your case, you do have a light source. I would use a studio light next to your glowing object. Modify the brightness and you should be good to go.

Good luck
Steve

[SamuelAB]

Watch out, if you ever export to 3ds Max, your SI materials will actually emit light, unlike within Revit.