Global Illumination
To use Global Illumination, you must use the mental ray renderer. In addition, you must employ virtual photons. In Maya, spot, point, area, and directional lights generate photons when the light's Emit Photons attribute is selected.
When a scene is rendered, photons are traced from each photon-emitting light to surfaces in the scene. If a photon “hits” a surface, that photon is absorbed, reflected, or transmitted (refracted) based on the qualities of the material assigned to the surface. If a photon is reflected or transmitted, it survives with only a portion of its original energy. The amount of energy is determined by the reflection coefficient, which is established by the reflectivity attribute of the assigned material. ...
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