Add Default Lights to Scene

Views menu > Add Default Lights To Scene

This command displays the Add Default Lights To Scene dialog, which provides options that let you convert the default scene lighting into actual light objects.

The default lighting for viewports consists of a key light, positioned in front and to the left of the scene, and a fill light, positioned behind and to the right of the scene. Both these default lights behave as omni lights.

This command is available only when the active viewport is configured to use two lights (the default). When viewports use two lights, and you invoke this command, the lights are added to the scene as omni lights. You can add either the key light, the fill light, or both.

Two default lights are placed opposite to each other.

A, the key light is in front of the object, on the upper left side, while B, the fill light is behind on the lower right side.

Note: You can use the Viewport Configuration dialog to change the default lighting to a single key light. In that case, Add Default Lights To Scene is not available.

You can add either the key light, the fill light, or both. The omni light objects have the names DefaultKeyLight and DefaultFillLight.

If you have already added one or both default lights, a warning prompts you to rename or delete the previous default light object before you add another.

Procedure

To add the default lights as objects:

Choose Views menu > Add Default Lights To Scene.
On the Add Default Lights To Scene dialog, choose Key Light, Fill Light, or both.
Activate the Top viewport, and on the status bar, click Zoom Extents.

The lights are now visible in the viewport.

Interface

Add Default Key Light—When on, adds the default key light to the scene. The key light is in front of the scene and to the left. The key light becomes an omni light with the name, DefaultKeyLight. Default=on.

Add Default Fill Light—When on, adds the default fill light to the scene. The fill light is behind the scene and to the right. The fill light becomes an omni light with the name, DefaultFillLight. Default=on.

Distance Scaling—Affects how far the lights are placed from the origin (0,0,0). The default value leaves the scene's lighting unchanged. Larger values move the lights farther away, dimming the scene, and smaller values move them closer, brightening the scene. Default=1.0. Range=0.0 to 1000.0.