In addition to daytime rendering, Corona also enables you to create nighttime scenes. It accurately simulates elements such as the moon, stars, and even the Milky Way. You can achieve highly realistic results, while still having full artistic control - adjusting settings like star brightness or moon size to suit your creative vision.
To set up nighttime skylight:
- Go to the Corona menu and pick Corona Full Sky. This adds a Corona Sky, Corona Sun, and Corona Moon, however the default is a daylight configuration.
- Select the Corona Sun and disable the "Set position from sky" option in its attributes. Then adjust the Sun's azimuth and elevation to hide it below the horizon.
- Select the Corona Moon and disable the "Set position from sky" option in its attributes. Then adjust the Moon's azimuth and elevation so that the camera can see it. Interactive rendering is very useful for adjusting the Moon's position.
- In the Corona Sky attributes, enable stars. Optionally, you can also enable clouds.
- Adjust the settings of the Corona Sky and the Corona Moon to your taste. For example, you can increase the size of the moon or decrease its disk brightness.
Note: Balancing scene lights, the moon, and the stars so they’re all visible without overexposed or underexposed areas can be challenging. However, it’s possible using the available non-physical settings.
Start by setting the overall exposure so your scene lights look correct. Then adjust the star intensity until the stars are clearly visible. Finally, fine-tune the moon disk intensity.
See also:
- Corona Sun at the Chaos Documentation Portal
- Corona Moon at the Chaos Documentation Portal
- Corona Sky at the Chaos Documentation Portal
- How to use Corona Sky Clouds