Mesh Emitters & Studio Helpers

Scene Light Manager (SLM) supports converting custom geometry meshes into light emitters, alongside spawning physical helpers like diffuse reflectors, absorption flags, and shadow catchers.

1. Mesh Lights (Object Emitters)

Convert any Blender geometry (LED strips, neon signs, monitors, light bulbs, screens, or customized fixtures) into a light source that integrates into the SLM list.

How to Tag and Untag Mesh Lights

  1. Selection: Select any geometric mesh inside the 3D Viewport.
  2. Mark as Emitter: Click Mark as Mesh Light / Emitter in the SLM properties tab. The addon will automatically register the mesh inside the hierarchy database, link a custom emissive material node tree, and present exposure/temperature sliders.
  3. Revert: Click Untag Mesh Light to wipe the emitter metadata, returning the mesh to standard geometry.

Keyword Auto-Detection

SLM automatically parses and detects meshes with names or material slots containing specific keywords (like glow, emit, or led). You can configure or append your own target detection keywords inside the Addon Preferences.

2. Light Bouncers (Reflector Cards)

Bouncers spawn a white, diffuse flat mesh plane in the viewport, replicating realistic photography studio reflector boards.

  • Mechanism: Light rays bounce off the card's matte surface, creating subtle, scattered secondary lighting.
  • Use Case: Perfect for adding soft, natural fills in deep shadows on characters or product renders without adding new direct light sources.

3. Light Blockers (Flags / Gobos)

Blockers spawn a dark, matte, light-absorbing card in your scene to cut off or frame light pools.

  • Mechanism: Completely absorbs incoming ray paths, acting as physical barn doors or studio flags.
  • Use Case: Prevents spill lights from washing out dark background walls, or projects crisp, customized shadow silhouettes.

4. Shadow Catchers

Spawns a specialized ground plane configured for alpha-channel compositing.

  • Mechanism: The ground geometry becomes completely invisible during renders, capturing and outputting only the shadows projected onto it.
  • Use Case: Renders characters or models on transparent backgrounds (for web layouts or compositing) while retaining realistic ground contact shadows.
  • Engine Support: Automatically links with native Cycles Shadow Catcher systems on creation.