Three.js Lighting
Quick Start
javascript
import * as THREE from "three";
// Basic lighting setupconst ambientLight = new THREE.AmbientLight(0xffffff, 0.5);scene.add(ambientLight);
const directionalLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 1);directionalLight.position.set(5, 5, 5);scene.add(directionalLight);Light Types Overview
| Light | Description | Shadow Support | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| AmbientLight | Uniform everywhere | No | Very Low |
| HemisphereLight | Sky/ground gradient | No | Very Low |
| DirectionalLight | Parallel rays (sun) | Yes | Low |
| PointLight | Omnidirectional (bulb) | Yes | Medium |
| SpotLight | Cone-shaped | Yes | Medium |
| RectAreaLight | Area light (window) | No* | High |
*RectAreaLight shadows require custom solutions
AmbientLight
Illuminates all objects equally. No direction, no shadows.
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// AmbientLight(color, intensity)const ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0xffffff, 0.5);scene.add(ambient);
// Modify at runtimeambient.color.set(0xffffcc);ambient.intensity = 0.3;HemisphereLight
Gradient from sky to ground color. Good for outdoor scenes.
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// HemisphereLight(skyColor, groundColor, intensity)const hemi = new THREE.HemisphereLight(0x87ceeb, 0x8b4513, 0.6);hemi.position.set(0, 50, 0);scene.add(hemi);
// Propertieshemi.color; // Sky colorhemi.groundColor; // Ground colorhemi.intensity;DirectionalLight
Parallel light rays. Simulates distant light source (sun).
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// DirectionalLight(color, intensity)const dirLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 1);dirLight.position.set(5, 10, 5);
// Light points at target (default: 0, 0, 0)dirLight.target.position.set(0, 0, 0);scene.add(dirLight.target);
scene.add(dirLight);DirectionalLight Shadows
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dirLight.castShadow = true;
// Shadow map size (higher = sharper, more expensive)dirLight.shadow.mapSize.width = 2048;dirLight.shadow.mapSize.height = 2048;
// Shadow camera (orthographic)dirLight.shadow.camera.near = 0.5;dirLight.shadow.camera.far = 50;dirLight.shadow.camera.left = -10;dirLight.shadow.camera.right = 10;dirLight.shadow.camera.top = 10;dirLight.shadow.camera.bottom = -10;
// Shadow softnessdirLight.shadow.radius = 4; // Blur radius (PCFSoftShadowMap only)
// Shadow bias (fixes shadow acne)dirLight.shadow.bias = -0.0001;dirLight.shadow.normalBias = 0.02;
// Helper to visualize shadow cameraconst helper = new THREE.CameraHelper(dirLight.shadow.camera);scene.add(helper);PointLight
Emits light in all directions from a point. Like a light bulb.
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// PointLight(color, intensity, distance, decay)const pointLight = new THREE.PointLight(0xffffff, 1, 100, 2);pointLight.position.set(0, 5, 0);scene.add(pointLight);
// PropertiespointLight.distance; // Maximum range (0 = infinite)pointLight.decay; // Light falloff (physically correct = 2)PointLight Shadows
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pointLight.castShadow = true;pointLight.shadow.mapSize.width = 1024;pointLight.shadow.mapSize.height = 1024;
// Shadow camera (perspective - 6 directions for cube map)pointLight.shadow.camera.near = 0.5;pointLight.shadow.camera.far = 50;
pointLight.shadow.bias = -0.005;SpotLight
Cone-shaped light. Like a flashlight or stage light.
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// SpotLight(color, intensity, distance, angle, penumbra, decay)const spotLight = new THREE.SpotLight(0xffffff, 1, 100, Math.PI / 6, 0.5, 2);spotLight.position.set(0, 10, 0);
// Target (light points at this)spotLight.target.position.set(0, 0, 0);scene.add(spotLight.target);
scene.add(spotLight);
// PropertiesspotLight.angle; // Cone angle (radians, max Math.PI/2)spotLight.penumbra; // Soft edge (0-1)spotLight.distance; // RangespotLight.decay; // FalloffSpotLight Shadows
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spotLight.castShadow = true;spotLight.shadow.mapSize.width = 1024;spotLight.shadow.mapSize.height = 1024;
// Shadow camera (perspective)spotLight.shadow.camera.near = 0.5;spotLight.shadow.camera.far = 50;spotLight.shadow.camera.fov = 30;
spotLight.shadow.bias = -0.0001;
// Focus (affects shadow projection)spotLight.shadow.focus = 1;RectAreaLight
Rectangular area light. Great for soft, realistic lighting.
javascript
import { RectAreaLightHelper } from "three/examples/jsm/helpers/RectAreaLightHelper.js";import { RectAreaLightUniformsLib } from "three/examples/jsm/lights/RectAreaLightUniformsLib.js";
// Must initialize uniforms firstRectAreaLightUniformsLib.init();
// RectAreaLight(color, intensity, width, height)const rectLight = new THREE.RectAreaLight(0xffffff, 5, 4, 2);rectLight.position.set(0, 5, 0);rectLight.lookAt(0, 0, 0);scene.add(rectLight);
// Helperconst helper = new RectAreaLightHelper(rectLight);rectLight.add(helper);
// Note: Only works with MeshStandardMaterial and MeshPhysicalMaterial// Does not cast shadows nativelyShadow Setup
Enable Shadows
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// 1. Enable on rendererrenderer.shadowMap.enabled = true;renderer.shadowMap.type = THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap;
// Shadow map types:// THREE.BasicShadowMap - fastest, low quality// THREE.PCFShadowMap - default, filtered// THREE.PCFSoftShadowMap - softer edges// THREE.VSMShadowMap - variance shadow map
// 2. Enable on lightlight.castShadow = true;
// 3. Enable on objectsmesh.castShadow = true;mesh.receiveShadow = true;
// Ground planefloor.receiveShadow = true;floor.castShadow = false; // Usually false for floorsOptimizing Shadows
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// Tight shadow camera frustumconst d = 10;dirLight.shadow.camera.left = -d;dirLight.shadow.camera.right = d;dirLight.shadow.camera.top = d;dirLight.shadow.camera.bottom = -d;dirLight.shadow.camera.near = 0.5;dirLight.shadow.camera.far = 30;
// Fix shadow acnedirLight.shadow.bias = -0.0001; // Depth biasdirLight.shadow.normalBias = 0.02; // Bias along normal
// Shadow map size (balance quality vs performance)// 512 - low quality// 1024 - medium quality// 2048 - high quality// 4096 - very high quality (expensive)Contact Shadows (Fake, Fast)
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import { ContactShadows } from "three/examples/jsm/objects/ContactShadows.js";
const contactShadows = new ContactShadows({ resolution: 512, blur: 2, opacity: 0.5, scale: 10, position: [0, 0, 0],});scene.add(contactShadows);Light Helpers
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import { RectAreaLightHelper } from "three/examples/jsm/helpers/RectAreaLightHelper.js";
// DirectionalLight helperconst dirHelper = new THREE.DirectionalLightHelper(dirLight, 5);scene.add(dirHelper);
// PointLight helperconst pointHelper = new THREE.PointLightHelper(pointLight, 1);scene.add(pointHelper);
// SpotLight helperconst spotHelper = new THREE.SpotLightHelper(spotLight);scene.add(spotHelper);
// Hemisphere helperconst hemiHelper = new THREE.HemisphereLightHelper(hemiLight, 5);scene.add(hemiHelper);
// RectAreaLight helperconst rectHelper = new RectAreaLightHelper(rectLight);rectLight.add(rectHelper);
// Update helpers when light changesdirHelper.update();spotHelper.update();Environment Lighting (IBL)
Image-Based Lighting using HDR environment maps.
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import { RGBELoader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/RGBELoader.js";
const rgbeLoader = new RGBELoader();rgbeLoader.load("environment.hdr", (texture) => { texture.mapping = THREE.EquirectangularReflectionMapping;
// Set as scene environment (affects all PBR materials) scene.environment = texture;
// Optional: also use as background scene.background = texture; scene.backgroundBlurriness = 0; // 0-1, blur the background scene.backgroundIntensity = 1;});
// PMREMGenerator for better reflectionsconst pmremGenerator = new THREE.PMREMGenerator(renderer);pmremGenerator.compileEquirectangularShader();
rgbeLoader.load("environment.hdr", (texture) => { const envMap = pmremGenerator.fromEquirectangular(texture).texture; scene.environment = envMap; texture.dispose(); pmremGenerator.dispose();});Cube Texture Environment
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const cubeLoader = new THREE.CubeTextureLoader();const envMap = cubeLoader.load([ "px.jpg", "nx.jpg", "py.jpg", "ny.jpg", "pz.jpg", "nz.jpg",]);
scene.environment = envMap;scene.background = envMap;Light Probes (Advanced)
Capture lighting from a point in space for ambient lighting.
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import { LightProbeGenerator } from "three/examples/jsm/lights/LightProbeGenerator.js";
// Generate from cube textureconst lightProbe = new THREE.LightProbe();scene.add(lightProbe);
lightProbe.copy(LightProbeGenerator.fromCubeTexture(cubeTexture));
// Or from render targetconst cubeCamera = new THREE.CubeCamera( 0.1, 100, new THREE.WebGLCubeRenderTarget(256),);cubeCamera.update(renderer, scene);lightProbe.copy( LightProbeGenerator.fromCubeRenderTarget(renderer, cubeCamera.renderTarget),);Common Lighting Setups
Three-Point Lighting
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// Key light (main light)const keyLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 1);keyLight.position.set(5, 5, 5);scene.add(keyLight);
// Fill light (softer, opposite side)const fillLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 0.5);fillLight.position.set(-5, 3, 5);scene.add(fillLight);
// Back light (rim lighting)const backLight = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 0.3);backLight.position.set(0, 5, -5);scene.add(backLight);
// Ambient fillconst ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0x404040, 0.3);scene.add(ambient);Outdoor Daylight
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// Sunconst sun = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffcc, 1.5);sun.position.set(50, 100, 50);sun.castShadow = true;scene.add(sun);
// Sky ambientconst hemi = new THREE.HemisphereLight(0x87ceeb, 0x8b4513, 0.6);scene.add(hemi);Indoor Studio
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// Multiple area lightsRectAreaLightUniformsLib.init();
const light1 = new THREE.RectAreaLight(0xffffff, 5, 2, 2);light1.position.set(3, 3, 3);light1.lookAt(0, 0, 0);scene.add(light1);
const light2 = new THREE.RectAreaLight(0xffffff, 3, 2, 2);light2.position.set(-3, 3, 3);light2.lookAt(0, 0, 0);scene.add(light2);
// Ambient fillconst ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0x404040, 0.2);scene.add(ambient);Light Animation
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const clock = new THREE.Clock();
function animate() { const time = clock.getElapsedTime();
// Orbit light around scene light.position.x = Math.cos(time) * 5; light.position.z = Math.sin(time) * 5;
// Pulsing intensity light.intensity = 1 + Math.sin(time * 2) * 0.5;
// Color cycling light.color.setHSL((time * 0.1) % 1, 1, 0.5);
// Update helpers if using lightHelper.update();}Performance Tips
- Limit light count: Each light adds shader complexity
- Use baked lighting: For static scenes, bake to textures
- Smaller shadow maps: 512-1024 often sufficient
- Tight shadow frustums: Only cover needed area
- Disable unused shadows: Not all lights need shadows
- Use light layers: Exclude objects from certain lights
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// Light layerslight.layers.set(1); // Light only affects layer 1mesh.layers.enable(1); // Mesh is on layer 1otherMesh.layers.disable(1); // Other mesh not affected
// Selective shadowsmesh.castShadow = true;mesh.receiveShadow = true;decorMesh.castShadow = false; // Small objects often don't need to castSee Also
threejs-materials- Material light responsethreejs-textures- Lightmaps and environment mapsthreejs-postprocessing- Bloom and other light effects


