A distant light is a infinitely far light source. It is generally used to replicate the light effect from the sun

Creating a Distant Light

To create a distant light, right-click in the GafferThree's Object table and select Add → Distant Light, or press the W key. Distant lights are shown as a group of arrows pointing in the light's direction in the Viewer.

A distant light in the GafferThree node parameters and in the Viewer.

Positioning a Distant Light

The distant light's transform can be edited in the Object tab. While positioning and scaling an infinitely far object makes little sense, adjusting the translation and scale can make manipulating a distant light in the Viewer easier. During rendering, only the rotation has an effect.

Adjusting a Distant Light Shape Visibility

A distant light can be made Visible to Camera in the Object tab. It will be represented as a disk in the image background.

Controlling the Light from a Distant Light

The Object tab allows specifying the Angular Diameter of the distant light (as is explained in more details below). The Material tab serves to control several light parameters. The effect of these are explained and illustrated in the next sections.