Bounce/reflected light and ambient occlusion

Use reflected light to lift shadow areas and ambient occlusion to show where light is blocked between close surfaces.

What it is

Bounce, or reflected, light reaches one surface, takes on its color and strength, then illuminates another surface from a new direction. It appears mainly on shadow sides as soft secondary light, often tinted by nearby surfaces or the environment.

Ambient occlusion describes soft, reduced-light areas where light has limited access, such as corners, creases, contact points, and closed folds. These areas do not have the defined edge of a cast shadow.

Use bounce light to keep shadows from becoming flat. A chin can pick up warmth from skin or clothing, a sphere near a red wall can receive a red glow, and the ground can light the bottoms of shoes. Keep ambient occlusion darker and simpler where surfaces press together.

Why it matters

These controls help show contact, depth in folds, and variation across shadow sides. Weak control can make shadows flat, cause forms to appear disconnected, or leave creases and contact areas too shallow.

You can check it when

• ✓Identify areas in your work that receive direct light, bounce light, or almost no light from ambient occlusion.
• ✓Show small, soft dark zones where feet meet the ground, objects meet tables, or cloth touches itself.
• ✓Use varied shadow-side values, with deeper areas at creases and contact points and lighter areas where planes open to bounce light.
• ✓Add or remove a nearby colored surface in a study and predict the change in bounce-light hue and strength on the subject.

Related skills

• Separating form edges from cast-shadow edges
• The shadow family (core, form, cast, contact/occlusion)
• Local color under light and shadow
• Reflectivity at glancing angles (Fresnel effect)
• Shadow control and basic volumetrics
• Direct, diffuse, ambient, and sky light
• Separating the light family from the shadow family