Introduction: Why shadows and lights matter in Wanna Studio
Until recently, models in Wanna Studio were displayed using only environment lighting (HDRI), without the ability to adjust custom light sources or shadows. This limited the realism and expressiveness of 3D scenes.
Now that support for lights and shadows has been introduced, you can:
- Add realism – objects gain volume and appear more lifelike.
- Focus attention – use lighting to highlight important areas (e.g. the inside of a bag or fine details).
- Control the mood – adjust the atmosphere using soft or sharp lighting and shadow direction.
When to Use Shadows and Lights
| Scenario | Recommended Action |
| The model looks flat and lacks depth | Add a realistic light source and enable shadows |
| You need to show inner parts (e.g. inside a bag or box) | Add an extra point or spot light pointed inside |
| You need visual emphasis (e.g. for client presentations) | Tweak shadows and light direction for accenting details |
| The model is well-lit but lacks volume | Add IBL shadows to enhance depth without extra lights |
🌀 IBL shadows are generated from the environment map and rotate dynamically with the camera. They are especially useful when you want to emphasize shape and depth without adding physical light sources.
Enabling the Feature
Limitations:
Tip: For smoother editing, try configuring shadows before setting up the POI — this order currently works more reliably.
- Available starting from WEB SDK version 4.1 / iOS SDK version 8.0
- By default, shadows are disabled and will not work until they are manually configured.
- A realistic shadow can be added for only one light source.
- Experience type: 3D viewer only
If you don’t see this feature after updating to the new version, please ask your account manager to enable it for you.
Exporting lights with model to use in the Studio
To correctly export light sources with the Gltf model, you must ensure that the exporter supports KHR_lights_punctual extension.
- When using Blender, create a light source and parent it to the “main” node.
- Adjust its type and settings. “Area lights” type is not supported, Size, Angle and Shadow settings in Blender are not saved into the Gltf model, you will need to set them in Wanna Studio.
- No more than 4 light sources are supported.
- Keep light source node’s name shorter than 63 characters
- When exporting Gltf from Blender, checkmark “Include”-”Data”-”Punctual Lights” and in the Lighting tab choose “Lighting Mode”: “Standard”.
Wanna Studio shadows and lights settings
In the "Shadows" tab, you can set options for IBL shadow and light source shadow (If available).
- IBL shadows - available for all models, even when there are no light sources in the Gltf model. This mode darkens all light from the environment HDRI.
- Realistic shadows - available only for lights saved in Gltf model with KHR_lights_punctual. Only one light source can cast shadows and it must be of type "directional" or “spot”; “point” light shadows are not supported.
Common shadow parameters:
- Shadow map size - resolution of shadows. Greater resolution - means better quality and less performance. If you want to set soft shadows, you can try lowering the resolution.
- Shadow multiplier - amount of darkening the shadow creates, 0.0 is full darkening, 1.0 is no darkening. For IBL shadows, use the value which looks best, for Realistic Shadows - physically correct value is 0.0.
- Depth bias multiplier - choose the lowest value which doesn’t produce artifacts. Start from 0.0 and slowly increase until artifacts are gone. Such artifacts could be “shadow acne” and slight darkening of non-shadowed areas.
- Soft shadow size - start from 0 and choose the value which best suits the scene. If you want soft shadows it might be beneficial to lower shadow map size.
- Front face culling - turn off if you experience “peter-panning” - shadows floating far from their source or no contact shadows. If this parameter is “ON”, then a generally lower Depth bias multiplier value is needed, than if it is “OFF”.
IBL shadows specific parameters:
- Shadow direction - latitude and longitude of shadow source direction in degrees, relative to camera space.
- Softness of the transition between light and shadow - width of line between lit and shadowed side of object, choose larger value to eliminate harsh transitions.
Realistic shadows specific parameters:
- Node with light source - choose node from Gltf model with light source that will cast shadows.
In the “Light sources” tab, there is a list of nodes with light sources within the Gltf file, you can set light sources’ size.
- For “Spot” and “Point” lights - value represents radius in meters.
- For “Directional” lights - value represents angular size in degrees between 0 and 180.
Use non-zero sizes for artistic effect. If you don’t see a difference, use zero size for better performance.