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3D model Lighting problem

3D model Lighting problem

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I would like to use the Wikitude SDK to make a app to show the how Earth and Sun activity affect the Day and Night. So I add the directional light from the sun to earth with Maya to do the 3D model. The result in Maya is work and the render result also OK.  However, when I import the dae which export from Maya into Encoder, I found that the lighting has problem. It just has half sun sphere can show and the other side is black. Then I try to add the point light in the sun, it affects the earth too.

So how can solve this problem?

Thanks a lot


- I use Blender the result is same as Maya, but Maya can display the animation well in encoder, but Blender is not work in this case.

- Attached the working files in the post

- Screen cap

I'm wondering which version of the Wikitude3dEncoder you are using, since DAE is not supported after version 1.1.

Did you try a newer versions too? 

You will need export to FBX from your modeling tool (Blender, Maya, ...). 

If the lighting still doesn't work as expected, please provide the FBX file so I can have a look at it.

Thanks a lot Roland. I try both FBX and Dae with old version encoder and newest version encoder, the result are same.

Please take a look the FBX file which export from Maya

The rendering of the FBX in Blender and the Wikitude3dEncoder look very similar though.

I guess, what you want to do is to not apply the directional light onto the sun (since the sun represents the light source itself and should not be lighted by any other light source, like the directonal light). Therefore you should disable lighting in the material of the "sun" sphere. 

Roland, thanks again!

However, I still can't make the job done. I check the directional light again, it focus to the earth. And then the sun is 0 diffuse and specular, just remain 1.0 at emit.


Did you try the option "shadeless" for the setting of the material of the sun's sphere?

Dear Roland,

Thanks for your help again. When try the option shadeless for the setting of the materials of the sun's sphere, it still have half part is black (I think it is shadow).

Please advise.

Hi! We are in a release hurry currently. I will not be able to come back to your 3D modeling problem before next Thursday. Sorry!

Maybe you can figure out for yourself by trying different material/lighting settings in Blender. Maybe the Blender forums can help.

What you basically have to do, is to adjust the material of the sun sphere to use the texture color directly without any other shading/lighting, and to enable shading for the earth sphere. 

Note, that the actual position of the "direct light" source does not matter. Only the light direction is taken into accout (regardless of the positon of the light source). So, rotating only the earth in the animation, as you did, is a good idea. It spares you rotating the light direction in accordance with the sun sphere.

Disable "cast shadows" of the light source. Your scene contains only one sphere which could cast shadows, namely the earth. As long as you don't have other planets you won't need a shadow calculation. Shadows are also not yet supported byt the Wikitude3dEncoder/SDK. The dark side of the earth is not caused by a shadow, but by the lighting calculation of the earth's sphere itself.

Hope that helps.


Many thanks for help. But I still can't do what I want to.

I really need help in this.

Thanks !

Ok, so how far did you get? What's the status? What does work and what doesn't?

Dear Roland,

Thanks for your attention to my 3D lighting problem, I'm rushing in currently this week too.

I had tried to export the FBX from Blender lighting support, but I can't get any clue for lighting problem in blender forum.

I had tried to make an object material with shadeless and without any relation to lighting source. However, it still can't  make the lighting effect like what I saw in blender. I just get a blank material in face to lighting source .


hi，i  have  the   same  quesion   with  you，can   you   help  me  if   you

have  deal  it？thanks！

Hello One Day,

In order for us to be able to provide you with a solution, could you please post the tools that you are using and what exactly your issue is?



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