Lens Designer

The Lens Designer is the heart of Knoll Light Factory. This is where you combine the built-in Elements and Sprites to create a beautiful lens flare effect. You access the Lens Designer by clicking the Options button in the Knoll Light Factory plug-in palette.

No matter which host application you use, the Lens Editor interface will look like the screenshot below. There are three areas to the Lens Designer. There is the Preview Window, the Element Controls and the Elements List. This page talks briefly about each palette and links you to more detailed information.

Version Note: This panel was called the Lens Editor in Knoll Light Factory 2.7 and earlier.

Preview Window

The Preview Window displays the light effect that you are designing. The preview shows the results of combining Elements and Sprites, and how the Element Controls change that effect. You can also preview how the flare effect will respond to changes in the Preview Controls, like Color and Brightness.

Wherever you click or click-drag in the Preview Window, the flare effect will center at that click. It's the equivalent of changing the Position control for all Elements and Sprites in that effect.

Preview Controls

The Preview Controls are visual settings that affect the entire lens flare effect within the Lens Designer. However, these changes are NOT reflected in the main Knoll interface. Preview Controls are a time-saving device that let you experiment with basic edits to your lens effect without leaving the Lens Designer interface. Learn about Preview Controls

Lens Flare Editor

The Lens Flare Editor displays the Elements and Sprites that make up a lens flare effect. Learn about Lens Editor

Lens Flare Presets Panel

Knoll Light Factory ships with 104 beautiful presets. Presets are prebuilt light effects that you can use as a starting point for your lens flares. When you build your own flare effects, you can also save them as new lens flare presets. Learn about Presets

Element Controls

The Element Controls panel displays the individual controls for each Element or Sprite, and let's you customize how each light object looks. Learn about Element Controls

Elements Panel

The Elements Panel contains the building blocks that create a Knoll Light Factory flare. In the Elements Panel, you can access Built-in Elements,

• Built-in Elements are 28 flexible light objects that you can layer to build up a lens flare design. Most Elements are originals from Knoll Light Factory 2.7 that have been redesigned and optimized. We've also added eight new Elements. Learn about Built-in Elements
• Sprites are 56 bitmap light objects that let you create effects beyond what the Built-in Elements can do. Sprites are new to Knoll Light Factory 3.0. Learn about Sprites
• Element Presets are 51 pre-made settings for the Built-in Elements that can further customize your lens effect. There are four preset groups: Flares, Streaks, Ghosts and Other. Learn about Element Presets