In part eight of this tutorial series, I will show you how to quickly get started using lights in UE5.
Types of Lights
Unreal Engine comes with five types of lights
All of the light actors can be accessed under the Add-to Menu under the Lights Panel
Directional Lights are lights that cast light from extreme or near infinite distances
Sky Lights capture the background of the scene and applies it to the scene’s geometry
Directional Lights and Sun Lights are generally used for large exterior scenes or to provide light and shadow through openings in the interior of a scene
Point Lights are similar to a lightbulb and cast light from a single point
Spot Lights emit light from a single point in the direction of the cone limitation
Rect Lights use a rectangular surface from which to emit light
Point Lights, Spot Lights, and Rect Lights are generally used for small areas to define shapes and the overall look of a scene
All Lights have three Mobility settings
A Static Mobility setting means that the light cannot be changed in game – this allows for baked lighting and faster rendering
Stationary Mobility means that the light will only have bounced lighting and shadows from static geometry – lights can change color and intensity in game but cannot be moved
The Moveable Mobility setting allows for the light to be totally dynamic which also allows for dynamic shadowing – this allows for the slowest rendering but most flexibility in game
This is the setting I will use throughout this tutorial
Directional Lights
Directional Lights simulate light from a source that is infinitely distant – which makes using the Directional Light to simulate sunlight ideal
Rotating the light will change the shadow and lighting within the world
Rotating around the Y-Axis will provide a day-night cycle
In the Details Panel, you can easily change the intensity and color of the Light
In addition, we can change the temperature of the Light – I have provided links to two articles talking about the Kelvin Scale in the description
Basically, the lower the temperature of a light, the more orange and warm it is and the higher the temperature of a light, the more blue and cool it is
I have provided a link to the Unreal Engine documentation where you can explore the rest of the options
Point Lights
Point Lights work similarly to a real-world light bulb – emitting light in all directions from a single point
The Point Light will give us a radius within which the light will be visible and interact with the scene actors
In the Details Panel, you can easily change the intensity and color of the Light
You can also change the radius to provide a smaller or larger area that the Light will affect
Moving the light will change the shadow and lighting within the world
The Source Radius will change the radius of the Light itself which will affect the shadows sharpness
In addition, we can change the temperature of the Light
Spot Lights
Spot Lights, like Point Lights emit light from a single point – however, Spot Lights are controlled by the shape and scale of the Inner Cone Angle and the Outer Cone Angle
In the Details Panel, you can easily change the intensity and color of the Light
We can change the radius to determine how much of the scene will the illuminated by the Light
We can also control the Inner Cone Angle and the Outer Cone Angle
The Inner Cone Angle provides full brightness with a falloff and softening of the light as it moves toward the Outer Cone Angle
Rotating and moving the light will change the shadow and lighting within the world
In addition, we can change the temperature of the Light
Rect Lights
Rect Lights emits light from a rectangular plane with a defined width and height
Rotating and moving the light will change the shadow and lighting within the world
In the Details Panel, you can easily change the intensity and color of the Light
We can change the Width and Height to determine how much of the scene will be illuminated by the Light
In addition, we can change the temperature of the Light
Sky Lights
Sky Lights captures the infinitely distant parts of the scene and then applies that to the scene as light
This allows for the sky’s appearance and lighting to match
Sky Lights do not actually work on their own – they rely on other Lights in the scene
Typically, a Directional Light will also be added to the scene
In addition, you will need to add a Sky Atmosphere Component, a Volumetric Cloud Component, or a Mesh with an IsSky material
The quickest and easiest way to add any of these Components is to use the Environment Light Mixer
This is found under the Window dropdown menu
You can click on each of the tabs to import needed Components
In the Light Panel for the Sun Light – you can turn on Real Time Capture which allows for the sky’s appearance and lighting to match