Lighting

Light Sources

To make 3D pictures more realistic, the program allows you to add and adjust light sources. The program simulates light from the sun and moon as well as light from electric lamps and fire. If enabled, reflections and shadows are shown in the 3D view.

The rendering quality depends primarily on the 3D section of the program Settings.

To see reflections and shadows in the 3D view, you should turn them on. By clicking on the sun icon in the toolbar of the 3D view, you can turn this feature on and off.

Without Lights and Shadows:

Lights and Shadows:

The Inspector window lets you control the properties of light sources, which are listed in the Light Properties tab. They can be switched on and off by clicking on the bulb icon.

Sunlight and Moonlight

The daylight settings are available in the Lights Properties tab of the Inspector. See The Daylight Settings for details.

To turn the sun or moon on or off, click on its icon in the Lights list.

Artificial Lighting

To add a lamp, drag it into your project from the Lamps section of the Object library.

Objects with light sources are of the Furniture type, and consequently have properties of furniture.

The Light Properties tab of the Inspector lets you adjust the luminosity and color of a light source, and also turn it on or off. If a lamp has several bulbs, you can control their properties separately.

To create or modify lamps, use the Light Source Editor. (Pro edition only)

The more light sources are added to the project, the longer it takes to render the 3D scene. To increase the performance in such a case, turn off individual lamps in the Inspector, or switch off all lights using the Lighting button in the toolbar. For more information on performance, see the Troubleshooting section.