Image-Based Lighting

Modified on Fri, 20 Dec at 3:42 PM

Image-based Lighting (IBL) is a rendering technique that uses environment textures to illuminate a scene. By simulating realistic lighting conditions, IBL enhances the visual quality of 3D scenes by reflecting the environment on surfaces. This feature plays a crucial role in achieving photorealistic rendering, particularly when working with Physically-based Rendering (PBR) materials.


IBL and PBR Materials

IBL works with PBR materials to create realistic lighting effects. It influences meshes and point clouds as follows:

  • Meshes: IBL directly affects how meshes are rendered. The lighting and reflections on PBR materials are dynamically influenced by the environment texture and intensity settings, enhancing realism.
  • Point Clouds: While point clouds offer multiple display modes, they also support a PBR mode. In this mode, point clouds are illuminated by IBL, ensuring they are accurately lit under the same environment settings as meshes. 


IBL Settings

To adjust IBL settings:

  • Open the Settings Window.
  • Navigate to Graphics > Image-based Lighting.


Environment texture

NUBIGON provides four predefined environment maps that represent different lighting conditions.These maps serve as indirect light sources for the scene, influencing reflections and overall illumination.


Intensity

You can adjust the intensity of the environment lighting to control the brightness and impact of IBL on your scene. Higher intensity values create a brighter effect, while lower values produce a darker scene.