Multilight also has the possibility to adjust the color plus the intensity of an emitter, instead of only its intensity. The Color Multilight mode is separate from Intensity because Maxwell Render has to use more RAM while rendering to also store color adjustments per emitter. The amount of RAM usage depends on the rendering resolution and number of separate emitter materials in the scene (which will determine the number of sliders you will have in Multilight).
If your computer does not have enough RAM to render in Color Multilight mode for a particular render, you should switch to Intensity mode, or lower the rendering resolution and/or reduce the number of separate emitter materials in your scene. Please note that changing the color of IES emitters is currently not supported.
Keep in mind that Multilight allows you to even choose between exporting all the emitters contribution to independent images (Separated), or saving only the composed render (Embedded) into one single image file.
Animation created from one single render using Color Multilight. Hervé Steff - Insideko, www.insideko.com
Comparison Table
| Multilight disabled | Intensity Multilight | Color Multilight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functionality | Only general image exposure adjustment | Adjust the intensity of each individual emitter | Adjust the intensity and color of each individual emitter |
| Memory consumption | RAM usage defined by the image resolution and the number of extra channels demanded | An extra buffer saved for each individual emitter The more individual emitters, the more RAM is needed and the MXI file size increases | Spectral color buffer is saved for each individual emitter Higher memory consumption than with regular Intensity Multilight |
| Comments | Each emitters influence can also be exported as a separate image, allowing for even more control in your postproduction application | Not available for IES emitters. Incompatible with Shadow Channel | |
| IES Lights | IES and EULUMDAT files work fine when MultiLight is disabled | IES and EULUMDAT files work fine in Intensity MultiLight mode | IES and EULUMDAT files are not compatible with the Color MultiLight mode, and its use can produce unpredicted results (generally reverting in a very dim emission). |
The Color Multilight feature and the Shadow Channel exportation are incompatible, so if both features are enabled together the render will be stopped and an error message will appear in the Maxwell console.