Understanding how various types of lighting work is essential in 3D modeling. It gives the renders a realistic look and used appropriately, adds unique mood to the scene.

Everything that I’ll include in this post is based on information from the Pluralsight article: https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/understanding-different-light-types Although, I narrowed it down and listed the features of each light:

Spot Lights:

– directionality

– emitted through a cone (we can control how wide the angle is)

– depending on how wide it is – either softer or harder

– objects closer to it will be brighter

– you can create unique light illumination (light coming through a crack in the door/conical light shape that a flash light provides)

– commonly used to create three point lighting (creating studio lighting effects)

 

Point Light:

– most common light types found in 3D software

– very similar to incandescent light bulb that emits light in all directions

– sphere of light filling an area

– great when you need to illuminate areas with a smooth falloff in all directions, or create a light that was a single point as its source, like a lamp or candle

– in case of Cinema 4D it’s just called “Light”

 

Area Light:

– casts directional light rays from within a set boundary, either a rectangle or circle

– perfect for recreating florescent lights or something that is rectangular

– ceiling light: for example florescent ceiling lighting or light shining through a window

– unlike other light types, it doesn’t emit light from a single point

– generally more realistic

– leads to extended render time (more points = more complex structure)

 

Directional Light:

– mimics lighting from the sun

– emits parallel light rays in a single direction but the light reaches out into infinity

– like a giant flash light very far away from the objects

– always centred and never dies off

– city light: perfect to illuminate a city or large open spaces

– in Cinema 4D: infinite lights

 

Volume Light: 

– creates a volumetric light

– only Maya calls it that, but other 3D applications do it through different light settings for any given light type

– used for creating volumetric light patterns (showing beams of light shining through the environment, like fog, or streaming through an open window

 

Ambient Light:

– casts soft light rays in every direction

– doesn’t cast shadow or shading

– simulates more of a secondary light that is coming from all different angles and is applied to all objects in the scene

– great for filling in areas on a render that do not have enough illumination

– ambient cartoon light: great for creating cartoony like light effects

 

Best results come when various types of light are balanced and mixed together.