# environment lighting in stager Lighting is a powerful tool in building three-dimensional worlds. Color, intensity, and location of lights can drastically affect the feel of a space. Shadows define form and help define depth. It is the lighting and shadows that let us know where we are in a space. This page shows you how to set up the basic Environment Lights. You can also create and adjust individual [[stager physical lights|Physical Lights]] in Stager. The **Environment** is where you set up the basic three-dimensional space for your models to live. There are settings for adjusting the default ground plane and background image, as well as for global lighting and environment lighting. To see most of these settings you will need to make sure **Ray Tracing** is turned on. There is a toggle in the upper-right of the interface. Ray Tracing can be demanding on your computer system and may take time to resolve in your preview area. The menu icon directly to the right of the toggle allows you to adjust Ray Tracing settings so that you can get quicker redraws. ![[stagerRayTracing.png]] ## environment setup Access the **Environment** properties by clicking on **Environment** in the **Scene** panel. ![[stagerEnvironmentScene.png]] ## background The **Background** allows you to specify a color as the background of your environment. Reflective and shiny surfaces will reflect that option in your renders. You can have a default dark gray or an intense burning-hell red or maybe a cool, calming blue. Choose the **Background** submenu in the **Properties** panel for **Environment**. ![[stagerEnvironmentProperties.png]] Click on the color sample box to specify a color as the default background of your working space. You can also tweak the opacity and blur here. ## global lighting You need light to see your objects. That’s just how things work. Stager starts you out with. basic default lighting. You can tweak those settings by choosing the **Lights** submenu in the **Properties** panel for **Environment**. ![[stagerEnvironmentGlobalLighting.png]] If you want to rely on other lighting in your scene , you can toggle the default environment lighting off here. You can also quickly adjust the overall brightness of the scene by adjusting the **Global intensity**. Finally, you can rotate the sun around the scene by adjusting the **Global rotation**. ## environment lights **Environment lights** are like your objects are inside of a giant sphere wrapped with an image serving as the environmental light source. They cast light and shadows, while also being reflected in shiny materials. ![[stagerEnvironmentLight.png]] The image is special a panoramic **HDRI** ([High Dynamic Range Image](https://blog.gregzaal.com/2016/03/16/make-your-own-hdri/)) file. Stager ships with several great starting images, although you can download new ones from the internet. [PolyHaven](https://polyhaven.com/hdris) and [HDRI-Haven](https://hdri-haven.com/) have hundreds of free choices. To get to the built-in options, choose the **Lighting icon** (little sun) in the **Starter Assets** submenu of the **Assets** panel. Scroll down to the **Environment Lights** section. ![[stagerEnvironmentLightAssets.png]] Each **Environment Light** will have different options for tweaking the setup. I like using the **Sun** light as a starting point because it has some nice variables for adjusting your global lighting. ![[stagerEnvironmentSunlight.png]] The **Rotation** moves the sun around the space which is good for where the shadows are cast. **Height** ranges from just coming over the horizon to fully above at noon. With color checkbox off, the sun actually changes color so that you get a warmer tone near the horizon and a whiter tone directly above. Finally, **Cloudiness** softens the intensity of shadows so you can adjust from crisp edges to almost non-existent. --- Learn more… - [Environment Adobe Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-stager/objects/environment.html) --- tags: #3d #resources #substance #stager home: [[! 3d modeling - substance]]