threejs-lighting

$2a

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.

// AmbientLight(color, intensity)

const ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0xffffff, 0.5);

scene.add(ambient);

// Modify at runtime

ambient.color.set(0xffffcc);

ambient.intensity = 0.3;

HemisphereLight

Gradient from sky to ground color. Good for outdoor scenes.

// HemisphereLight(skyColor, groundColor, intensity)

const hemi = new THREE.HemisphereLight(0x87ceeb, 0x8b4513, 0.6);

hemi.position.set(0, 50, 0);

scene.add(hemi);

// Properties

hemi.color; // Sky color

hemi.groundColor; // Ground color

hemi.intensity;

DirectionalLight

Parallel light rays. Simulates distant light source (sun).

// 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

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 softness

dirLight.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 camera

const helper = new THREE.CameraHelper(dirLight.shadow.camera);

scene.add(helper);

PointLight

Emits light in all directions from a point. Like a light bulb.

// PointLight(color, intensity, distance, decay)

const pointLight = new THREE.PointLight(0xffffff, 1, 100, 2);

pointLight.position.set(0, 5, 0);

scene.add(pointLight);

// Properties

pointLight.distance; // Maximum range (0 = infinite)

pointLight.decay; // Light falloff (physically correct = 2)

PointLight Shadows

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.

// 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);

// Properties

spotLight.angle; // Cone angle (radians, max Math.PI/2)

spotLight.penumbra; // Soft edge (0-1)

spotLight.distance; // Range

spotLight.decay; // Falloff

SpotLight Shadows

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.

import { RectAreaLightHelper } from "three/examples/jsm/helpers/RectAreaLightHelper.js";

import { RectAreaLightUniformsLib } from "three/examples/jsm/lights/RectAreaLightUniformsLib.js";

// Must initialize uniforms first

RectAreaLightUniformsLib.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);

// Helper

const helper = new RectAreaLightHelper(rectLight);

rectLight.add(helper);

// Note: Only works with MeshStandardMaterial and MeshPhysicalMaterial

// Does not cast shadows natively

Shadow Setup

Enable Shadows

// 1. Enable on renderer

renderer.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 light

light.castShadow = true;

// 3. Enable on objects

mesh.castShadow = true;

mesh.receiveShadow = true;

// Ground plane

floor.receiveShadow = true;

floor.castShadow = false; // Usually false for floors

Optimizing Shadows

// Tight shadow camera frustum

const 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 acne

dirLight.shadow.bias = -0.0001; // Depth bias

dirLight.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)

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

import { RectAreaLightHelper } from "three/examples/jsm/helpers/RectAreaLightHelper.js";

// DirectionalLight helper

const dirHelper = new THREE.DirectionalLightHelper(dirLight, 5);

scene.add(dirHelper);

// PointLight helper

const pointHelper = new THREE.PointLightHelper(pointLight, 1);

scene.add(pointHelper);

// SpotLight helper

const spotHelper = new THREE.SpotLightHelper(spotLight);

scene.add(spotHelper);

// Hemisphere helper

const hemiHelper = new THREE.HemisphereLightHelper(hemiLight, 5);

scene.add(hemiHelper);

// RectAreaLight helper

const rectHelper = new RectAreaLightHelper(rectLight);

rectLight.add(rectHelper);

// Update helpers when light changes

dirHelper.update();

spotHelper.update();

Environment Lighting (IBL)

Image-Based Lighting using HDR environment maps.

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 reflections

const 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

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.

import { LightProbeGenerator } from "three/examples/jsm/lights/LightProbeGenerator.js";

// Generate from cube texture

const lightProbe = new THREE.LightProbe();

scene.add(lightProbe);

lightProbe.copy(LightProbeGenerator.fromCubeTexture(cubeTexture));

// Or from render target

const 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

// 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 fill

const ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0x404040, 0.3);

scene.add(ambient);

Outdoor Daylight

// Sun

const sun = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffcc, 1.5);

sun.position.set(50, 100, 50);

sun.castShadow = true;

scene.add(sun);

// Sky ambient

const hemi = new THREE.HemisphereLight(0x87ceeb, 0x8b4513, 0.6);

scene.add(hemi);

Indoor Studio

// Multiple area lights

RectAreaLightUniformsLib.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 fill

const ambient = new THREE.AmbientLight(0x404040, 0.2);

scene.add(ambient);

Light Animation

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

// Light layers

light.layers.set(1); // Light only affects layer 1

mesh.layers.enable(1); // Mesh is on layer 1

otherMesh.layers.disable(1); // Other mesh not affected

// Selective shadows

mesh.castShadow = true;

mesh.receiveShadow = true;

decorMesh.castShadow = false; // Small objects often don't need to cast

See Also

• threejs-materials - Material light response

• threejs-textures - Lightmaps and environment maps

• threejs-postprocessing - Bloom and other light effects