OctaneRender®, by default, can immediately mimic true. real-world physical lighting (when using the Path Tracing or Photon Tracing kernels). Octane is a physically-based spectral renderer that simulate light behavior using real-world electromagnetic spectrum principles.


Lighting in OctaneRender is generated using either an Environment node, one of the Octane-specific lights, or by connecting a Texture or Blackbody node to a Diffuse, Universal, or Standard Surface material. Additionally, IES light profiles can be used to further produce believable lighting setups. 


By default, an OctaneRender scene will have light generated by a white texture. When an Environment node is added to the scene and connected to the Render Target, it overrides the white light. Adding a black texture environment to the scene creates a dark environment. You can then add geometry with emissive textures or a high dynamic range texture (or both) to light the scene.


Octane Lighting

Figure 1: Creating a cinematic Chiaroscuro environment using Octane lighting