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Download HDRI for Blender Tutorial

Night HDRI

How to Set Up HDRI Lighting in Blender (Beginner Friendly) 🌄✨

Want to give your Blender renders a professional, realistic vibe using HDRI lighting? Let’s walk through the easy process featured in this tutorial so your scenes truly shine—perfect for cars, products, or moody environments! 🚗🔆

🛠️ Step 1: Prepare Your Scene

1. Open Blender.
2. Delete the default cube
   • Press A to select all, then Delete.
3. Add a UV Sphere for the Dome:
   • Press Shift + A → Mesh → UV Sphere.

🏗️ Step 2: Make the Dome

1. Enter Edit Mode (Tab).
2. Switch to wireframe view (Z or via the viewport icon).
3. Select the top half of the sphere (box select or manually).
4. Flatten the top:
   • Press S, then Z, then type 0.
5. Set Z location to 0 in side panel (press N to open).
6. Select all faces (A) and flip normals:
   • Press Alt + N → Flip Normals.
7. Go back to Object Mode, scale up the dome (S), and apply scale (Ctrl + A → Scale).

🌄 Step 3: Add & Set Up HDRI Texture

1. Open the Shader Editor
   • Split your window, select Shader Editor.
2. Delete the default Principled BSDF node (select it, hit Delete).
3. Add the following nodes:
   • Environment Texture
   • Mix Shader
   • Diffuse Shader
   • Emission Shader
4. Connect nodes:
   • Plug Diffuse and Emission into Mix Shader, and Mix Shader to Material Output.
   • Connect Environment Texture to both Diffuse and Emission Shader inputs.

🖼️ Step 4: Load Your HDRI

1. Switch render engine to Cycles:
   • Go to Render Properties → Set to Cycles.
2. Open your HDRI texture file:
   • In the Environment Texture node, click “Open,” and browse to your HDRI image.
   • Need one? Try this free HDRI 🌅
3. Press Ctrl + T to add Mapping nodes (Enable Node Wrangler add-on if needed!).
4. Connect the Object output to the Vector input.
5. Adjust Z rotation to tweak the light direction for your scene.

🔍 Step 5: Test Shadows & Finalise

1. Add a Cube and check if your scene has proper shadows.
2. If not, edit the dome’s bottom faces:
   • Go into Edit Mode, select just the bottom faces.
   • Add a new material slot (+ icon in Material Properties).
   • Assign the same material, then separate it so you can edit.
   • In the new material, remove Emission and Mix Shader—leave just the Diffuse node.
   • This lets shadows work properly without the “glowing floor” effect.

💡 Pro Tips

• Apply scale when resizing objects for correct material effects.
• Enable Node Wrangler add-on: makes mapping/skipping nodes much quicker!
• HDRI lighting adds ultra-realism, but a subtle area light can boost your results. Experiment with locations, power, and color.

🚗 Render & Share!

1. Add your hero object (try a cool car model!).
2. Adjust camera and lighting until it’s perfect.
3. Render and let the realistic HDRI lighting make your scene pop! 🎉

Happy Blending and bright scenes! 🌟 If this helped, hit like or share with friends new to Blender!

Make your next project glow with beautiful, natural lighting in Blender! 🖥️🌈