Step 1. Geometry Preparation:


The first step in the Candela Process is to prepare your geometry to make a geometry library.

Section 1 Controls:

1. The “GeoPrep” button. This will add a new automatic UV set to the mesh and add an empty lightmap to the shader networks of the selected mesh.
2. The “GeoClean” button. This removes the UV set and shader nodes, and allows you to modify the mesh before re-preparation.
3. The Mesh Name Text field. This tells Candela what the name of the mesh to export should be.
4. The Mesh Folder Text field. This one tells candela what folder the meshes should be exported to.
5. The Mesh Export Button. This button exports a prepared mesh to the mesh library.

When constructing meshes for your mesh library, the ultimate goal is to reduce the game level to as few unique pieces as possible. To this end, when constructing the pieces for your mesh library, try to make both your meshes and their textures repeatable. These repeatable, “lego” pieces can then be referenced, assembled and lit in another scene.

Workflow:

1. In your construction scene, make sure that all object in the scene that you will use have a non-default shader (i.e., not the default lambert).
2. Once this is done, start up Candela by pressing the “C” button in the Candela shelf. Then, enter the name you’d like the “lego” to have (making sure to hit return afterward).
3. Select the mesh (or collection of meshes) that you wish to turn into a “lego” and press the GeoPrep button. If you select multiple meshes before you hit “GeoPrep”, Candela will fuse the meshes into a single object, with one UV set, so make sure that this is what you wish to do.
   
4. At this point you could export the mesh, but it would be a good idea to check the UV’s in the UV editor (select the “lightmap” UV set). The settings for the automatic projection are good for most conditions, but you will wish to check the projection for seams, or for proportional coverage.
   
5. If you want to remake the projection and shader connection, click on the “GeoClean” button (the one that looks like a tissue roll), make the desired alterations to the shader or mesh, and re-click the “GeoPrep” button.
   
6. Once you have everything set up to your satisfaction, type the name of the folder you wish the meshes to be exported to (making sure to hit return afterward). Then hit the GeoExport button, and a message will tell you that the mesh has been exported successfully.
   
7. Do this with each mesh that will be composing your scene, making sure that each one is named uniquely.
   

Candela is copyleft 2009 under the GPL v.1. Developed by Jack Turner.