An informal light reference for game Artist

You never know when you jsut need to get that sunlight brightness taken care of really quick, and what’s a good color temp for this sunset scene? THats what this is for, all the times I forgot and needed to google a colour temp and a Lux or Lumen value, I’m tucking it away her for later use.

It’s worth mentioning that my sources probably all have a bias towards the northern hemisphere, so these values might not be realistic of scenes set at the equator. There is also seasonal varian, weather interference, many other random factors that we shouldn’t forget just because we have a list of numbers.

1 Lux = 1 Lumen/1 meter2

1 Candela = 12.57 Lumens (when emitted evenly in all directions)

ContextBrightnessColourSource
Sunrise/Sunset400 Lux2000-3000k
Moring/Afternoon100000.0 Lux4500k
Noon
Full Moon4100k
Halogen Headlight700-1200 lumens3000K-3700KNaoEvo: How Many Lumens Are In Your Car Headlight?
Kobo Pegasus: Halogen Headlight Color Temperature Guide
HID Headlights3,200-3,500 lumen
LED Headlights3,000-6,000 lumens

Matt Murch

Technical & 3D artist. Working on games in Unity and Blender. CEO/Founder @ Double M Digital Inc. Making the new game Chicken Nuggets! Always open to neat 3D/VR/Real-time contracts and opportunities!