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Tri-lighting

by Community·Rendering

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Why we like it

Tri-lighting earns its spot in the blender_extensions library as a compact add-on carried over from Blender's bundled 4.1 tools, now community-maintained under the GPL and sitting at rank 31.

What is Tri-lighting?

Tri-lighting adds a three-point lighting rig to the selected or active object in Blender. The operator lives in the 3D Viewport under Add → Lights, creating the lights directly in the scene. It was originally written by Daniel Schalla and shipped as one of Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons.

The add-on is now offered as a separate extension, as-is with limited support. Version 0.2.1 sets better defaults for the operator's properties and changes how it handles a missing camera: rather than creating one when no camera exists, the operator aborts, which avoided issues caused by the earlier behaviour. The extension requests no special permissions.

Listed as free here, Tri-lighting is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer and distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. It sits at rank 31 in the blender_extensions library and has been downloaded over 157,000 times. For documentation and current details, see the developer's page.

Who is Tri-lighting best for?

Tri-lighting is best for adding a three-point lighting setup to an object directly in the Blender viewport.

How much does Tri-lighting cost?

Tri-lighting is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Adds a three-point lighting setup to the selected or active object
  • Operator located in the 3D Viewport under Add → Lights
  • Version 0.2.1 sets better defaults for the operator's properties
  • Operator aborts instead of creating a camera when none exists in the scene
  • Requires no special permissions
  • Compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer

Tags

#Blender#lighting#three-point lighting#add-on#GPL#community#3D viewport

Frequently asked questions

Does Tri-lighting work with Blender 4.2?

Tri-lighting lists compatibility with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, so it installs and runs on 4.2 and later releases. The add-on started as one of Blender's bundled 4.1 add-ons and is now offered as a separate extension, as-is with limited support. It requests no special permissions and has been downloaded over 157,000 times. If you use an older Blender build, check the developer's page and version history before installing.

Where is Tri-lighting located in Blender?

Tri-lighting appears in the 3D Viewport under Add → Lights. Choosing the operator there adds a three-point lighting setup to the selected or active object. As of version 0.2.1, it uses improved default values for its properties, and it aborts rather than creating a camera when no camera exists in the scene. The add-on installs like other Blender extensions via drag and drop or Install from Disk.

What changed in Tri-lighting version 0.2.1?

Tri-lighting version 0.2.1 sets better defaults for the operator's properties. It also changes camera handling: rather than creating a camera when none exists in the scene, the operator now aborts, which avoided the issues caused by the earlier behaviour. The extension requests no special permissions. Version 0.2.1 is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer; for the complete version history, see the developer's page.

What license is Tri-lighting released under?

Tri-lighting is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later and is listed as free here. It requests no special permissions when installed. The add-on was originally written by Daniel Schalla, shipped with Blender 4.1's bundled add-ons, and is now community-maintained and offered as-is with limited support. For current licensing terms, documentation, and the download, refer to the developer's page.

Alternatives to Tri-lighting

Also in Rendering for Blender.

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