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Lighting
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Lighting

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is an option for Graphics3D and related functions that specifies what simulated lighting to use in coloring 3D surfaces.

Details

  • The following settings can be given:
  • Automaticdefault lighting schemes
    Noneno lighting
    "light"named lighting
    {s1,s2,…}light sources s1, s2, …
  • Possible named lighting settings "light" include:
  • "Standard"colored light sources in default positions
    "Neutral"white light sources in default positions
    "Accent"a directional white light source in default direction
    "ThreePoint"three directional white light sources in default directions
  • Each light source si can be of the following forms:
  • AmbientLightuniform ambient light
    DirectionalLightdirectional light
    PointLightspherical point light
    SpotLightspotlight
  • Lighting{s1,…} combines the light sources si with any inherited light sources. To prevent combining with inherited light sources, use Lighting{None, s1,…}.
  • Lighting->Automatic uses ambient light together with four light sources fixed relative to the final displayed image.
  • Lighting can be specified separately for particular objects in Graphics3D by giving a style option Style[obj,Lighting->spec].

Examples

open allclose all

Basic Examples  (4)Summary of the most common use cases

Default lighting on gray specular sphere:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-eo9u9n
Out[1]=1

Neutral lighting on gray specular sphere:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-kvnus7
Out[1]=1

Directional light from the top of the specular surface:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-iz3799
Out[1]=1

Specify lighting for each object:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-b8oi83
Out[1]=1

Scope  (24)Survey of the scope of standard use cases

Lighting Specification  (18)

Default lighting on a white surface:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ex65a1
Out[1]=1

Default lighting when ColorFunction is specified:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-gevdht
Out[1]=1

No lighting means diffuse or specular colors will not be visible:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-c2i8rk
Out[1]=1

Using Glow specifies pure color without interaction with lights:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-6g4x6
Out[2]=2

Ambient light is uniformly applied to all the surfaces in the scene:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-lon7i5
Out[1]=1

Ambient light gives overall lighting on the scene:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bhlr5h
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-eeapvr
Out[2]=2

Directional light is specified by a color and a vector defined by two points:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ecrkum
Out[1]=1

Directional lights with different colors:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ckw2lx
Out[1]=1

Directional lights with different directions:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-gt6tp
Out[1]=1

Directional lights on a specular surface:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-b7xt75
Out[1]=1

Specify a spherical point light source by a color and a position:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-vb9wr
Out[1]=1

Point lights with different colors:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ba1gl1
Out[1]=1

Point lights at various positions:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-coa9wi
Out[1]=1

Point lights on specular surfaces:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-iksl1j
Out[1]=1

Specify spotlight by position, target position, and half-angle:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-jz957u
Out[1]=1

Spotlights with different colors:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bagoh7
Out[1]=1

Spotlights from different positions:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-cjbyay
Out[1]=1

Spotlights with different half-angles:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ctkzdd
Out[1]=1

Spotlights on specular surfaces:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-l4zk2
Out[1]=1

Lighting Positions  (3)

Specify the light source position in the graphics coordinate system by default:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bqtu4w
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-kvkyfo
Out[2]=2

The light source moves with the graphic when the view point changes:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-jtyrvp
Out[3]=3

Specify the light position by a fraction of the graphics coordinates using Scaled:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-h54ktu
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ktkqbv
Out[2]=2

The light source moves with the graphic when the view point changes:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-5en8p
Out[3]=3

Specify the light position in the view coordinate system using ImageScaled:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-d6esqs
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-d068y
Out[2]=2

The light source position is always fixed relative to the view point:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-j48glq
Out[3]=3

Lighting Attenuation  (3)

By default, point lights are not affected by the distance from an object:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bkhblf
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-i0791u
Out[2]=2

Specify a point light that attenuates with respect to the distance:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-gbrz3a
Out[3]=3

Specify a point light that attenuates by the square of the distance:

In[4]:=4
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-0dh1s
Out[4]=4

By default, spotlights fall off sharply outside the cone:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bkvmd0
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-cj0k7j
Out[2]=2

Spotlights with different spot exponent has intensity :

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-idsak4
Out[3]=3

Spotlight without attenuation:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-gdb3d9
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bla5gz
Out[2]=2

Spotlight with linear attenuation:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-k503rx
Out[3]=3

Spotlight with quadratic attenuation:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-hx6r4p
Out[4]=4

Generalizations & Extensions  (8)Generalized and extended use cases

Predefined colored lighting:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-cglwya
Out[1]=1

The colored lighting is equivalent to the following explicit setting:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-fghm3c
Out[2]=2

Predefined accent lighting:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-dbwof
Out[1]=1

The accent lighting is equivalent to the following explicit setting:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-ixjeso
Out[2]=2

Predefined neutral lighting:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bjc71q
Out[1]=1

The neutral lighting is equivalent to the following explicit setting:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-vchez
Out[2]=2

Predefined three-point lighting:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-rzgeiu
Out[1]=1

The three-point lighting is equivalent to the following explicit setting:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-elmd61
Out[2]=2

Specify lighting for each object:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-kzgp0w
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-lk2s2
Out[2]=2

Specify lighting within the graphics:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-hndob
Out[1]=1

If not specified, the target direction is given toward the center of the objects:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-c4702f
Out[1]=1

Specify diffuse and specular colors separately for both objects and lights:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-4539c
Out[1]=1

Applications  (3)Sample problems that can be solved with this function

Set up four white spheres on a plane:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-fx1ako

Directional light:

In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-iiocwr
In[4]:=4
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-fv7iwb
Out[4]=4

Point light:

In[5]:=5
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-cv7sb8
In[6]:=6
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-lbehpe
Out[6]=6

Spotlight:

In[7]:=7
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-jshtaj
In[9]:=9
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-fkbe89
Out[9]=9

Different light instruments at the corner points:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-4b321
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-kgwpar
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-i09wo2
Out[3]=3
In[4]:=4
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-izz3d
Out[4]=4

Build a scene with multiple objects and light sources:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-br7dnh

Animate the spotlights:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-mqjf2m
Out[2]=2

Properties & Relations  (8)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions

Surface color and lighting interact with each other:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-hirsjb
Out[1]=1

Diffuse object and lighting colors can be exchanged and produce the same effect:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-5s5yr
Out[1]=1

Specular object and lighting colors can be exchanged and produce the same effect:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-lzkvy7
Out[1]=1

Specularity gives mirror-like reflection:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bnxok1
Out[1]=1

The final color is a linear combination of all the surface colors as well as lighting:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-dpfi8l
Out[1]=1

Directional light yields rays parallel to the specified direction:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-c94xsh
Out[1]=1

Point light yields rays toward all the directions from the position:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-floofv
Out[1]=1

A spotlight emits conic rays toward the specified direction:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-bqkajl
Out[1]=1

Possible Issues  (5)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior

The default lighting may not be suitable for light surface colors:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-hahkqa
Out[1]=1

Neutral lighting can be used to reflect surface colors more naturally:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-i0xfrl
Out[2]=2

If a color function is given to a plot, then neutral lighting is used automatically:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-1lmsy
Out[1]=1

Restore the default colored lighting:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-jsh0et
Out[2]=2

Flat surfaces may show little or no reflection:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-cgca22
Out[1]=1

A spotlight on a sphere may display a jagged boundary:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-kzbar0
Out[1]=1

Increasing the spot exponent may reduce the effect:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-i2xhqx
Out[2]=2

Inline Lighting directives specifying light sources add those sources to any inherited specification:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-6sltdc
Out[1]=1

Set LightingNone on the graphic to override the default LightingAutomatic setting:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-jbhsoq
Out[2]=2

Similarly, a sequence of Lighting{s1,…} specifications cumulatively adds the lights together:

In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-zmbele
Out[3]=3

Use list braces to ensure the lighting specification does not leak into subsequent specifications:

In[4]:=4
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-3zvfar
Out[4]=4

Neat Examples  (2)Surprising or curious use cases

Random light setups for ring models:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-meos8i
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-d449qb
Out[2]=2

A simple light show:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-lm54gk
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0ftw0hm-os4fun
Out[2]=2
Wolfram Research (1988), Lighting, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html (updated 2021).
✖
Wolfram Research (1988), Lighting, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html (updated 2021).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Lighting, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html (updated 2021).

✖
Wolfram Research (1988), Lighting, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html (updated 2021).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Lighting." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2021. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html.

✖
Wolfram Language. 1988. "Lighting." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2021. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Lighting. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html

✖
Wolfram Language. (1988). Lighting. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_lighting, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Lighting}", year="2021", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html}", note=[Accessed: 16-April-2025 ]}

✖
@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_lighting, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Lighting}", year="2021", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html}", note=[Accessed: 16-April-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_lighting, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Lighting}, year={2021}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html}, note=[Accessed: 16-April-2025 ]}

✖
@online{reference.wolfram_2025_lighting, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Lighting}, year={2021}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Lighting.html}, note=[Accessed: 16-April-2025 ]}