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 significantly on the settings in the 3D Settings tab of the program Preferences.

To see reflections and shadows in the 3D view, you should turn them on. To do this, use the View > 3D View > Rendering Quality menu command or the 3D toolbar.

To render light, activate the “Lights and Shadows” mode. This can be done using the Render Quality buttons in the toolbar.

Without Lights and Shadows:

Lights Only:

Lights and Shadows:

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

Sunlight and Moonlight

The sunlight settings are available in the Environment panel.

To open it, choose Window > Show Environment or press Cmd-E.

Artificial Lighting

To add a lamp, drag it into your project from the Furnishing > Lamps section of the Library.

Lamps and candles behave almost the same as ordinary pieces of furniture.

The Light Properties tab of the Inspector window has the light parameters section. There you can adjust the luminosity and color of the light source and turn it on/off.

If a lamp has several bulbs, you can usually control them separately. This depends on the 3D model.

Note: If your project has a lot of light sources and other objects, the 3D scene may be rendered quite slowly when you are walking in it. In this case it is recommended that you turn on the lights and shadows only if it's necessary. For more information on performance, see the Troubleshooting section.