Different Lights In Unity

Different Lights in Unity

In the last article, I looked at how to add a custom skybox. Today, I’ll be going over lights and the different types of lights available in Unity!

There are 4 types of lights in Unity: Directional, Point, Spotlight, and Area lights. Each type of light has its own properties and usages.

Directional Light

Directional lights are an infinite light source that is directed on a single vector and affects everything in a scene. This could be used to simulate the sun or other general lighting sources.

Point Light

Point lights cast light from a single point out into the scene within a given radius. It can be compared to a light bulb sitting at a location in the scene. Point lights cannot be used for real-time shadows.

Spotlight

Spot lights are similar in function to point lights except that they project light in a cone directed along a specific vector. The cone can have a maximum of 180 degrees of radius, unlike the point lights 360 degrees. You might use a spot light to simulate a flash light beam. Spot lights also cast shadows into your scene.

Area Light

Area lights are meant to be baked and require objects that receive lighting from them to be marked as static. These lights illuminate static objects within a square area.

Next Time!

In this article, I looked at how to add a custom skybox. Next time, I’ll be looking at different lights in Unity! If you enjoyed this article, or want to come along with me as I progress on my journey, follow me at gamedevchris.medium.com.