How to Adjust Lighting Effects in Paint 3D

Paint 3D isn’t just for simple models, you can actually create some real works of art using color, texture, and lighting effects. Currently, the feature isn’t as fleshed out as you might like, but it still allows for some simple and impactful ways to bring your creation to life.

As time goes on, we’re sure to see more than just colored light additions -- the ability to cast shadows, for example, would be welcome -- but for now, here’s how to add some drama to your 3D model.

  1. Open Paint 3D and click New to start a new artboard. For the sake of this demonstration, we’re going to use items from the Remix 3D community, but feel free to open a previous creation or create your own.
  2. Create something, open an existing creation, or grab someone else’s creation from the Remix 3D community
  3. In the menu bar at the top, click the paintbrush icon, and then effects, the sun-looking icon.
  4. Choose a color.
  5. Click and drag the sun icon in the light wheel to change the distribution of light. Again, it’s subtle, but the effect is sure to improve over time. For now, it adds just a touch of something extra to your current 3D renderings.
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