Light Beams

Light beams are an additional piece of
eye candy that can add to the mood of
your environment.  The effect can be
used for any light source.

In this tutorial we'll build a basic series of flourescent
fixtures.  Start out with a basic brush that will need to
be under an overhang.  See the shot below.   Now go to
the 'base_light' section in textures  and  with  only  the
surface selected use the 'baslt_1_2k' texture.  Now make
another brush that matches the base of your new light.
This will be your light beam.  Use the edge tool to expand
the base of the brush so that it mimics the path of light.
Do this by hitting 'e' and drag the blue dots at the base
of the brush then deselect.

   

Now go to the 'sfx' section in the textures column 
and use the 'beam' texture to cover all four sides
of the  brush.  Line  up  the  textures  so  that  they
show white light at the  top  and  then  dissipates
at the base.  Then select the entire brush and use
the z-axis window to  lower  the  brush  so  that  the 
top and bottom are exposed.  Now load the 'common'

   

section and use 'no draw' to cover the top and base
of the brush.  This will allow you to see the light and
veiw the effect through the base.