Introduction

Blender comes equipped with five different lamp types, each with its own unique strengths and limitations. Here are the available lamps:

• Point is an omni-directional point light source, similar to a light bulb.
• Spot is a directional point light source, similar to ... a spot.
• Area is a source simulating an area which is producing light, as windows, neons, TV screens.
• Hemi simulates a very wide and far away light source, like the sky.
• Sun simulates a very far away and punctual light source, like the sun.

Visual height and shadow markers of two points lamps. Ray Shadow is enabled on the left lamp.

You can add new lamps to a scene using the Add menu in the top header, or with Add ‣ Lamp, Shift-A.

Once added, a lamp’s position is indicated in the 3D View by a solid dot in a circle, but most types also feature dashed wire-frames that help describe their orientation and properties. While each type is represented differently, there are some visual indicators common to all of them:

Shadows

If shadows are enabled, an additional dashed circle is drawn around the solid circle. This makes it easier to quickly determine if a lamp has shadows enabled.

Vertical Height Marker

This is a dim gray line, which helps locate the lamp’s position relative to the global XY plane.