Lighting Workflow
Most scenes begin with either an HDR environment or one or more direct light sources.
Lighting can then be refined using additional lights, emissive materials, camera adjustments, and Path Tracing mode for evaluation.
HDR Environment Lighting
HDR environments provide image-based lighting and reflections for the entire scene.
They are often the fastest way to establish overall mood, color, and realism.
- Natural daylight environments
- Studio lighting environments
- Indoor environments
- Custom HDR imports
Custom HDR Import
Sillence supports importing custom HDR environment maps.
Custom environments allow you to match real-world locations, studio setups, and specific lighting conditions.
Point Lights
Point lights emit light equally in all directions from a single point.
They are useful for small light sources such as bulbs, lamps, and decorative lighting.
Spot Lights
Spot lights emit light within a controllable cone shape.
They are useful for directing attention toward specific objects or areas within a scene.
Directional Lights
Directional lights simulate distant light sources such as sunlight.
Because the light rays are effectively parallel, directional lights are useful for outdoor scenes and strong directional illumination.
Rectangle Area Lights
Rectangle lights emit light from a rectangular surface.
They are commonly used for studio lighting, soft boxes, windows, and large illuminated panels.
Sphere Area Lights
Sphere lights emit light from a spherical surface.
They are useful for practical lighting fixtures and soft, omni-directional illumination.
Disc Area Lights
Disc lights emit light from a circular surface.
They can be useful for stylized lighting setups and specialized photographic lighting configurations.
Emissive Materials
Materials can also contribute light to a scene when using Path Tracing mode.
Emissive surfaces can be used alongside traditional lights to create more realistic and visually rich illumination.
Evaluating Lighting
Material mode provides a fast way to preview lighting changes while building a scene.
For final evaluation, switch to Path Tracing mode to observe realistic shadows, reflections, indirect lighting, and global illumination.
Best Practices
- Start with a strong HDR environment.
- Add lights only when necessary.
- Use fewer lights whenever possible.
- Think about mood before technical accuracy.
- Evaluate lighting using Path Tracing mode.
- Use references from photography and cinematography.