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All Lighting References
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Interactive Lighting Reference
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Why I Built This Tool

Many artists, from photographers to illustrators, struggle to find consistent lighting references. Seeing that gap, I built this tool to turn a traditional reference problem into a modern software solution.

I’m a freelance product designer who creates digital experiences like this one. While I design complex products when needed, the goal of product design is solving problems in the simplest effective way possible, even at scale. Sometimes that means building a focused experience instead of an over-engineered platform.

Most people are here to use the tool, which is exactly why I built it. However, if you’re a founder or company looking for product design expertise, visit my freelance product design page to learn more about how we might collaborate.
Freelance product design
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Website homepage for interactive tool
3D green and red lit mannequin head and neck on black background.
Custom lights, brightness, and colors
3D human figure in dynamic pose covered with blue and one yellow marker dots on a solid blue background.
Pose and rotate models however you like
3D rendering of a young man with short hair wearing a white and black shirt against a green background.
Realistic portrait lighting references
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Say Hello to Light Dropper

What began as a single page on my portfolio has grown into Light Dropper, a dedicated tool I built from the ground up to help you master your lighting reference workflow. A lot of what’s inside came straight from your requests. Light Dropper lets you:
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  • Customize the number of lights, along with their brightness and color
  • Pose and rotate models however you like. From shape primitives to animated models, the controls are yours
  • Take precise control over model, surface, and background color
  • Save your work across sessions
  • And plenty more
If you’re ready for a massive upgrade, it’s waiting for you at www.lightdropper.com. Light your reference your way.
Try Light Dropper
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Reference
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Interactive Lighting Reference

Streamline your artistic process with this free 360° lighting reference. Built for illustrators and portrait work, it helps you study how light interacts across the entire human head, from facial planes to overall form. Rotate the model and draw.

Instructions
Why I built this tool
A grayscale 3D model of the human head
Dramatic Lighting
Neutral Lighting
Version 2 is officially here!

Orbit and move

Orbit the model or move the lights with click and drag. Pan using Shift + drag. Zoom using Command + scroll (Windows key on PC).

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Turn lights on/off

Press 1, 2, or 3 on the keyboard to control one of three available lights. Each press cycles a light between two brightnesses and off.

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Neutralize to white

Place green and purple lights near each other to neutralize their individual color, effectively creating a second white light.

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INSTRUCTIONS: Click and drag to orbit the model or move lights. Press 1, 2, or 3 on the keyboard to cycle a light’s brightness with each press.
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