Creating a Uniform Ambient Source

The Uniform Ambient Source allows you to set a specific and common luminance for the entire sky without any contribution of the sun. The sun has a specific value, automatically calculated according to its position.

To create a Uniform Ambient Source:

  1. From the Light Simulation tab, click Ambient and click Uniform .
  2. In the 3D view, click a line (normal to the ground) to set the Zenith direction.
  3. Set the Luminance of the entire sky.
    Tip: The value usually ranges from a 1000 to 20000 cd/m².
    Note: If you want to use the sun only in simulations, set the luminance to 0 cd/m²
  4. If you want to generate the ambient light from all space and not only from the upper half space, set Mirrored Extent to true.
  5. To add the sun to the ambient source, set Activate Sun to True.

    The sun is represented in the 3D view.

    • In the 3D view, select a line to set the Sun Direction.

    • If you need to adjust the sun direction, use Reverse direction.

    • If you need to adjust the sun position, use the manipulators in the 3D view

  6. From the Spectrum drop-down list:

    • Select Blackbody to set the temperature of the source spectrum in Kelvins.

    • Select Library and click Browse to load a .spectrum file.

      If you want to see the file's properties or edit the file, click Open file to open the Spectrum Editor.

  7. In Optional or advanced settings , adjust the size of the rays displayed in the 3D view.

The Ambient Source is created and appears in the Simulation panel and in the 3D view. The four cardinal points are displayed in the 3D view to visualize the orientation of the source. If you activated the sun in the scene, a sun is represented in the 3D view. The sun of the Uniform Ambient Source changes of power and color according to its orientation.