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Light Painter

Light Painter

Section titled “Light Painter”

Module: Design · Category: LevelDesign · Tool ID: LightPainter

A Hub-launcher tool for an EdMode that lets you paint lights directly into the level. Pick light type (Point / Spot / Rect / Directional), set color / intensity / attenuation in the viewport panel, then click in the viewport to place. Drag to set rotation. Faster than the standard place-actor workflow when you’re authoring lighting iteratively.

Screenshot 01 — Hero shot — Hub launcher with Activate button. Below: viewport with the EdMode active, multiple painted lights visible, viewport panel showing brush settings.

When to use it

Section titled “When to use it”
  • Iterative lighting passes — placing many lights quickly without going through Place Actors menus
  • Authoring atmosphere lighting — lots of small fill lights in a scene
  • Stylized / non-photorealistic lighting — when you want artistic control over individual light placement
  • Pre-lighting blockout — placing rough lighting on a whitebox

When not to use it

Section titled “When not to use it”
  • Don’t use this for global / hero lighting — sun, sky, hero key lights deserve manual placement and tuning
  • Don’t expect this to author baked lighting — it places lights; baking is a separate Build Lighting step

Opening the tool

Section titled “Opening the tool”
  1. Open the EQLabs Hub and search for Light Painter (or browse to Design → LevelDesign)
  2. Click the tool card
  3. Click Activate in the launcher
  4. The viewport panel for brush settings appears

Interface tour

Section titled “Interface tour”

Hub launcher panel

Section titled “Hub launcher panel”
ActionWhat it does
ActivateEnables the Light Painter EdMode
DeactivateDisables the EdMode
StatusGreen ACTIVE / Gray Inactive

Viewport panel (when active)

Section titled “Viewport panel (when active)”
FieldWhat it does
Light TypePoint / Spot / Rect / Directional
ColorLight color (click to open picker)
IntensityLight intensity in unit (lumens / lux / candelas depending on type)
Attenuation RadiusFalloff distance (Point / Spot / Rect)
Inner / Outer Cone AnglesSpot-only
MobilityStatic / Stationary / Movable
Cast ShadowsToggle

Painting

Section titled “Painting”
  • Click in viewport: place light at hit point with brush settings
  • Click + drag: place light, then rotate to face drag direction
  • Mouse wheel: resize attenuation radius / cone angle on the most recent light

Workflow

Section titled “Workflow”
  1. Click the Hub tool card, then Activate
  2. Pick light type in the viewport panel
  3. Set color, intensity, attenuation
  4. Click in the viewport — light is placed
  5. Repeat to author the scene
  6. Click Deactivate to exit; placed lights remain in the level

Settings reference

Section titled “Settings reference”

Brush settings persist via the EdMode’s state.

Output

Section titled “Output”
  • ALight-derived actors — APointLight / ASpotLight / ARectLight / ADirectionalLight instances in the level
  • Undo — placement wrapped in ScopedTransaction. Ctrl+Z reverses

Tips & gotchas

Section titled “Tips & gotchas”
  • Mobility matters for performance — Static / Stationary lights affect lighting bake; Movable doesn’t bake
  • Mouse wheel sizes attenuation while pointing at the most recent light — works best for incremental tuning
  • Press Escape to exit the EdMode
  • Painted lights count toward your movable-light budget — see Lighting Scenario Auditor for project-wide audit
Section titled “Related tools”
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