Lights
The four types of light, and what each one illuminates.
A Light is an object with no geometry: it does not appear in the final model, it only changes how the surfaces around it react. In the viewport, each light draws an icon where it is, so it can be selected even though it is invisible.
There are four types, chosen at creation time with the Add Object button.
- Point Light: Lights in every direction from a point, like a light bulb. The intensity falls off with distance.
- Directional Light: Lights in a single direction, with parallel rays and without losing strength over distance, like the sun. Its position only matters for the direction and for the shadow.
- Spot Light: Lights inside a cone, like a spotlight. It has an adjustable angle and edge.
- Ambient Light: Lights everything evenly, with no direction and no shadow. It serves to lift the black out of the areas no other light reaches.
Properties
- Color and Intensity: Color and strength of the light.
- Distance and Decay: Range and falloff with distance, for the point and the spot light.
- Angle and Penumbra: Opening of the cone and softness of the edge, for the spot light only.
- Shadows: Whether the light casts a shadow, when shadow mode is on.
- Volumetric light: Whether the rays become visible in the air, when volumetric mode is on.
Shadows are expensive: each light that casts one is an extra render pass. It is worth turning it on only for the lights that define the image.
Volumetric light
Volumetric light makes the path of the light visible in the air, like dust crossed by a spotlight or mist around a light bulb. It works for the point and the spot light, and is turned on for each light with the Volumetric light option.
On the spot light the effect forms the cone of the beam. With Shadows on, the objects inside the cone cut the beam and leave bands of shadow in the air. On the point light it forms a halo around the point, which fades with distance.
The quality of the effect in the viewport is chosen in Volumetric Lighting, in the editor settings, and turning it off there hides the effect for every light.