What Is Meant By Ambient, Diffuse, Specular And Emissive Lighting?

Materials are typically defined by using ambient, diffuse, specular and emissive colors. It is an effect to catch the nuances of real world light material surface interaction. Ambient and diffuse lights are grouped together and emissive light is specified only for objects that generate their own light. Ambient lighting is just the general environmental illumination or we can say when there is no particular light. Ambient light relies upon no light in the scene. The ambient light is estimation for global illumination in the environment. The light of surface when the surface is perfectly matte is called diffuse light.

Diffuse lights depend only on the angle of the light to the surface. Diffuse light is reflected in all directions. Specular light mimics the shininess of a surface. Specular light intensity is a function of the light reflection angle of the surface. When we want an object to glow in a scene then we use emissive light. Emissive light is an additional color source that is added in the final light of an object. This is only because when we want a object simulating and giving off its own light, just add emission light to get an effect on object in a scene.

Ambient color : Ambient color is the color of an object where it is in shadow. This color is what the object reflects when illuminated by ambient light rather than direct light.

Diffuse color :Diffuse color is the most instinctive meaning of the color of an object. It is that essential color that the object reveals under pure white light. It is perceived as the color of the object itself rather than a reflection of the light.

Emissive color : This is the self-illumination color an object has.

Specular color :Specular color is the color of the light of a specular reflection (specular reflection is the type of reflection that is characteristic of light reflected from a shiny surface).

These factors will consider at the time of light design and installation.