Ambient Light
Updated: 4 Dec 2023
Add a light that applies to all surfaces equally.
Ambient Light
Method #
This node emits a uniform light onto every surface in the scene. Useful for adding a little bit global illumination by raising the lowest levels of brightness in a scene.
This is a great tool for adding light to dark and shadowed areas.
All nodes connected to this node are treated as if flowing to the parent node, and inherits any transformation changes along the chain.
Parameters
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
Parameter Details Position X
The objects position along the local x-axis.
Position Y
The objects position along the local y-axis.
Position Z
The objects position along the local z-axis.
Rotation Heading
The objects rotation around the local y-axis.
Rotation Pitch
The objects rotation around the local x-axis.
Rotation Bank
The objects rotation around the local z-axis.
Scale X
The objects scale along the local x-axis.
Scale Y
The objects scale along the local y-axis.
Scale Z
The objects scale along the local z-axis.
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
Parameter Details Position
Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent.
Rotation
Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent.
Scale
Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent.
World Position Only
Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit Time
Toggle inheritance of time from the parent.
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details Colour
The colour of the light.
Brightness
How bright the light is.
Falloff Mode
Change how the light falloff is calculated.
- Inner / Outer Radius (Legacy) : light falloff is calculated between the inner and outer radii.
- Inv-Squared Distance (Physical) : the light falloff is calculated based on a physically accurate system.
Inner Attenuation Distance
Inner distance within which the light remains at full strength
Attenuation Distance
Maximum distance the light reaches.
Falloff Power
Change how strong the falloff for the light is between the Inner Attenuation Distance and the Attenuation Distance.
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
Parameter Details Duration
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
- Composition Duration : Use the length of the composition for the node’s time segment duration.
- Custom : Set a custom duration for the node’s time segment.
Node Time
The custom start and end time for the node.
Duration (Timecode)
The length of the node’s time segment (in time).
Duration (Frames)
The length of the node’s time segment (in frames).
Time Segment Enabled
Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline.
Inputs
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position X | The objects position along the local x-axis. |
| Position Y | The objects position along the local y-axis. |
| Position Z | The objects position along the local z-axis. |
| Rotation Heading | The objects rotation around the local y-axis. |
| Rotation Pitch | The objects rotation around the local x-axis. |
| Rotation Bank | The objects rotation around the local z-axis. |
| Scale X | The objects scale along the local x-axis. |
| Scale Y | The objects scale along the local y-axis. |
| Scale Z | The objects scale along the local z-axis. |
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position | Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent. |
| Rotation | Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent. |
| Scale | Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent. |
| World Position Only | Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties. |
| Inherit Time | Toggle inheritance of time from the parent. |
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Colour | The colour of the light. |
| Brightness | How bright the light is. |
| Falloff Mode |
Change how the light falloff is calculated.
|
| Inner Attenuation Distance | Inner distance within which the light remains at full strength |
| Attenuation Distance | Maximum distance the light reaches. |
| Falloff Power | Change how strong the falloff for the light is between the Inner Attenuation Distance and the Attenuation Distance. |
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration |
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
|
| Node Time | The custom start and end time for the node. |
| Duration (Timecode) | The length of the node’s time segment (in time). |
| Duration (Frames) | The length of the node’s time segment (in frames). |
| Time Segment Enabled | Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline. |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Projection Image | Add in an image to be projected by the light. Useful for adding gobos to lights, or making a simple projector light. | Video Loader |
| Affected Nodes | Choose which nodes are affected by the light node. By default, all are affected. | 3D Object |
| Excluded Nodes | Choose which nodes are affected by the light node. By default, all are affected. | 3D Object |
| Texture Projection Node | Controls the direction the image is projected from, independant of the light. Only functions if an image is being projected from the light. | Null |
| Transform Modifiers | Apply the transforms of another node to this node. | Null |
| Target Node | Modifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Apply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent. | Null |