When to use this skill
ALWAYS use this skill when the user mentions:
- Enabling
castShadow/receiveShadow, shadow map size, bias, normal bias, camera frusta for shadow casters - Physical lights: intensity, distance/decay, angle/penumbra for spots, rect area setup
LightProbefor irradiance-style probes;IESSpotLightwith IES data
IMPORTANT: lights vs loaders vs node-tsl
| Topic | Skill | |-------|--------| | Light classes and shadows | threejs-lights | | Loading IES/HDR files | threejs-loaders | | LightNode / TSL lighting | threejs-node-tsl |
Trigger phrases include:
- "DirectionalLight", "SpotLight", "RectAreaLight", "castShadow", "shadow map"
- "阴影", "点光源", "面光源", "LightProbe"
How to use this skill
- Base recipe: ambient/hemisphere fill + directional sun + local points/spots.
- Shadows: enable on renderer, mark casters/receivers, tune map size vs performance, adjust bias to remove acne/peter-panning.
- RectArea: initialize addon libs per docs page before using light type.
- Probes: place probes; generate data via addon generator when applicable; relate to materials env reflections (threejs-materials, threejs-textures).
- IES: load profile via loader skill, attach to
IESSpotLightper docs. - Performance: limit shadow-casting lights; use layers (threejs-objects) to exclude objects.
Example: Shadow setup with validation
// 1. Enable shadows on renderer
renderer.shadowMap.enabled = true;
// 2. Configure light as shadow caster
const light = new THREE.DirectionalLight(0xffffff, 1);
light.castShadow = true;
light.shadow.mapSize.set(2048, 2048);
light.shadow.bias = -0.0001; // Adjust to remove shadow acne
// 3. Validate: verify shadow appears before tuning bias
// Set castShadow on meshes, receiveShadow on ground
mesh.castShadow = true;
ground.receiveShadow = true;
See examples/workflow-directional-shadow.md.
Doc map (official)
| Docs section | Representative links | |--------------|----------------------| | Lights | https://threejs.org/docs/Light.html | | Directional | https://threejs.org/docs/DirectionalLight.html | | Spot | https://threejs.org/docs/SpotLight.html | | Rect area | https://threejs.org/docs/RectAreaLight.html |
Scope
- In scope: Core lights, shadow maps, probes, listed addons for rect area and probe generation.
- Out of scope: CSM deep theory (see addon Csm docs if user names it); baked lightmaps in DCC.
Common pitfalls and best practices
- Shadow map resolution must match scene scale—tiny shadows on huge worlds look blocky.
- Point light shadows are six-face expensive—use wisely.
RectAreaLightwithout required libs yields black or wrong shading—verify init.- Mismatched physical units (intensity vs exposure) with threejs-renderers tone mapping causes blown or dim scenes.
- Shadow bias / normalBias trade-offs: acne vs peter-paning—tune with helper frusta (threejs-helpers).
Documentation and version
Light and shadow classes live under Lights in three.js docs. RectAreaLight and probe addons depend on extra init from Addons → Lights; IES profiles require threejs-loaders for file fetch before the light API is usable.
Agent response checklist
When answering under this skill, prefer responses that:
- Link the concrete light type (
DirectionalLight,SpotLight, …) and shadow pages when shadows are on. - Separate IES loading to threejs-loaders and LightNode topics to threejs-node-tsl.
- Give practical shadow map size / bias guidance with threejs-helpers for frustum visualization.
- Mention
renderer.shadowMap.enabledalongside lightcastShadow(see threejs-renderers). - Note performance cost of multiple shadow-casting lights.
References
- https://threejs.org/docs/#Lights
- https://threejs.org/docs/DirectionalLight.html
- https://threejs.org/docs/SpotLight.html
- https://threejs.org/docs/LightShadow.html
Keywords
English: lights, shadows, directional, spotlight, rectarea, lightprobe, three.js
中文: 灯光、阴影、平行光、聚光灯、面光源、LightProbe、three.js