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Chapter 1 3D Compositing 41
Light properties—the quality of the light source itself—fall into the following
categories: the type of light, its intensity, and its color. A light bulb, the sun, and
lighting in a dance club each have a different appearance, and lighting properties can
be used to simulate these differences.
Light Parameters
When you create a light, or select a light object in the Layers tab, the Light tab
becomes available in the Inspector. The Light tab contains the following parameters:
Light Type: A pop-up menu that lets you choose from four categories of light.
 Ambient: An ambient light emits light in all directions. This type of light has no
position and no representation in the Canvas. An ambient light illuminates all objects
in the scene from all directions equally. Additionally, ambient lights are the only
lights that do not affect highlights. The most common use for ambient lights is to
add an overall fill effect, or color cast.
Note: There is no global ambience property in Motion, so you may have to add an
ambient light to prevent total blackness.
Combining Multiple Light Types
Each type of light has its own unique attributes. It may take a combination of light
types to achieve your desired effect. Most scenes with lights should include an
ambient light to add depth or prevent total darkness.
Like real-world lights, you can use multiple lights to mix color. If one red and one blue
spot light are pointed at a white object, they mix to make magenta.