Lighting

In addition to the accurate environment lighting in KeyShot, physical lighting allow you to add different light sources wherever you need them. Implemented as a KeyShot Material Type, they can be applied to any piece of geometry to turn it into a local light source. It’s a completely different approach from traditional rendering applications allowing more flexibility for rendering light accurately in your scene.

Light Sources

There are three Light Source Material Types that provide different lighting capabilities:

Area Light Diffuse

Turn any object into an array of light. View and adjust the position in the real-time window. Control the intensity of the light using Power (Watts) or Lumens.

Point Light Diffuse

Turn any object into a point light. View and adjust the position in the real-time window. Control the intensity either using Power (Watts) or Lumens.

Point Light IES Profile

Load an IES profile by clicking on the folder icon in the editor and see the shape of the IES profile load in the material preview and in the form of a mesh in the real-time window.

Adding A Light

A light source may be applied to any model you like. A light can be applied to imported geometry, existing geometry or to geometry available in KeyShot via the Edit, Add Geometry menu.

Applying a light material is similar to applying other materials. Drag and drop a light material preset from the Library window, Materials tab, Light folder. You can also double-click on an model, go to the Material Type dropdown, and choose one of the Light Sources from the list. KeyShot will change the object to a physical light.

When you change a model to a light source, KeyShot will identify the light source in the Project, Scene tree by adding a light bulb icon next to the model name.

Apply a light to a sphere

Here's a simple example for adding a light to a sphere. From the KeyShot menu, select Edit, Add Geometry, Sphere. Move the sphere to the location for the light. Go to the KeyShot Library, Materials tab and select the Light folder. Drag and drop a light onto the sphere. If you want to reduce the ambient environment light, go to the Project window, Environment tab, Settings and reduce the Brightness.

Moving a Light

Right-click the part that is assigned as a light and select Move Model. This will activate the Move Tool. You can also select the light source in the Project window, Scene tab, then select Move Tool from the Position tab. Additionally, the input boxes may be used for more precise positioning.

Animating a Light

Since light sources are materials applied to a part, they can be animated just like any other part. Simply select the light in the Scene Tree that you would like to animate, right-click and apply the animation you would like. Visit the Animation section to learn about the different types of animations.

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