Making an object produce light in Blender is a fundamental technique used for various purposes, from creating illuminated signs to simulating glowing objects or using mesh lights to illuminate a scene. The primary method involves applying a material that uses the **Emission** shader.
This process is straightforward once you understand where to find the necessary settings.
## Steps to Make an Object Emit Light
To turn an object into a light source in Blender, you need to assign it a material and configure that material to emit light. Here are the general steps:
1. **Select the Object:** Choose the object you want to emit light in your Blender scene.
2. **Go to Material Properties:** In the Properties Editor window, click on the **Material Properties** tab (it looks like a sphere).
3. **Add a New Material:** If the object doesn't have a material, click the **`+ New`** button to add one. If it already has a material, you can modify it or add a new slot and assign a new material.
4. **Change the Shader:** In the Surface panel of the Material Properties, you'll typically see "Principled BSDF" as the default shader. Click on the dropdown menu next to "Surface".
5. **Select Emission:** From the list of shaders, select **Emission**.
As highlighted in the reference: "And click emission. And you're done that is literally. It now you have your Cube emitting some light."
Once you select the Emission shader, the object will immediately start emitting light in your render (specifically in Cycles or Eevee).
### Adjusting Emission Properties
After applying the Emission shader, you can control the characteristics of the emitted light:
* **Color:** Change the color swatch next to the Emission setting to define the color of the light.
* **Strength:** Use the **Strength** value to control how intensely the object emits light. Higher values result in brighter light.
| Property | Description | Default Value |
| :------- | :------------------------------------------ | :------------ |
| Color | Determines the color of the emitted light. | White (`#FFFFFF`) |
| Strength | Controls the intensity of the emitted light. | 1.0 |
## Understanding the Emission Shader
The Emission shader is designed specifically to make a surface emit light rather than just reflecting or absorbing it. Unlike standard light objects (like Point, Sun, Spot, or Area lights), an object with an Emission shader uses its geometry to define the shape and area of the light source.
Using mesh lights (objects with Emission materials) can be particularly useful for:
* Creating soft, area lighting using large surfaces.
* Making objects like light bulbs, screens, or glowing elements look realistic.
* Adding complex lighting shapes defined by object geometry.
In essence, by applying the Emission shader, you transform the object itself into a light source, a process that is quite direct after navigating to the material settings and selecting the appropriate shader type. As the reference confirms, selecting "emission" is the core action required.
