Directional Light Node

Directional Light is the default choice to simulate an infinitely distant source: the sun, the moon, or a studio key light you treat as "infinite" to keep the render simple.

Unlike the Point Light, it has no position - only a direction. All the rays are parallel, like sunlight on the surface of the Earth.

• Effects Library: Tools > 3D > Light > Directional Light
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > 3D > Light > Directional Light

• SceneInput (orange) - optional. When connected, the node's transforms apply to the whole scene.

Shape 3D ──┐
Directional Light ─┼→ Merge 3D ← Camera 3D → Renderer 3D (Lighting + Shadows enabled)

Enabled (default: on)

Mirrors the red switch. Turns the effect off without deleting the node.

Color (default: white)

Color of the light. Orange-yellow for a sunset sun, slightly bluish white for noon, deep blue for the moon.

Intensity (default: 1.0)

Strength of the light. 1.0 = standard intensity. Raise it if the scene looks dark, lower it for a subtle fill light. No falloff with distance (an infinitely distant source).

Unlike the Ambient Light, the Directional has a critical direction. It is driven by the node's rotation (not by its position, which has no effect).

• Rotation Y = horizontal - swings the sun east/west.
• Rotation X = vertical - elevation angle. X = 0° = sun on the horizon; X = -45° = sun at an angle (golden hour); X = -90° = sun straight overhead.

Composition rule: X between -30° and -45° gives the most flattering look in CG (long shadows, but not too long). A sun straight overhead (90°) looks flat.

Directional Lights produce hard, parallel shadows - just like the real sun. The shadow parameters live in the node and in the Renderer 3D:

• Enable Shadows on the node to turn on shadow casting.
• Shadow Map Size - shadow map resolution. 1024 minimum for a decent scene, 2048-4096 for a clean render.
• Shadow Softness - available in the Software Renderer only.
• In the Renderer 3D, turn on the global Enable Shadows.

• Outdoor sun - Intensity 1.0, slightly warm Color (R=1, G=0.95, B=0.85), Rotation X=-45° for a golden hour feel. Shadows on.
• Blue moon - Intensity 0.3, blue-white Color, low angle to stretch the shadows.
• Studio key light - Intensity 1.0, neutral, 45° horizontal + -30° vertical = classic portrait lighting.
• Back light (rim) - a second Directional Light behind the subject with a moderate Intensity to create a rim light that separates the subject from the background.
• Broad top lighting - for a scene where you just want light that "comes from above" without worrying about the source, a Directional with X=-90° = zenith light.

• Position = useless - moving the node on X/Y/Z changes nothing. Only the rotation matters.
• Directional + Ambient combo = the minimum decent lighting. The Directional creates the shadows, the Ambient lifts them.
• Several Directionals = each light creates its own lighting and its own shadows. Watch the combined intensity: two lights at 1.0 give an overexposed scene.
• A high Shadow Map Size = a better render but slower - 4096 is enough in most cases. Beyond that, the difference becomes imperceptible.
• For soft shadows, switch to the Software Renderer (OpenGL does not do soft shadows).
• Animate the Y rotation to simulate the sun's path over a day (time-lapse). Much more believable than a simple fade.