Animate Glowing LEDs in KeyShot

by Will Gibbons | Last Updated:   July 8, 2019

Rendering LEDs can be difficult

KeyShot LEDs can be tricky. Or, making convincing LEDs in the program. So many electronics have LED indicators on them. Sometimes these glow softly, or blink, and often they glow from behind a wall of plastic. This can be tricky to accomplish in KeyShot unless you know exactly what you’re doing. Tired and frustrated of troubleshooting?

Different Approaches

1. Model physical LED light sources and enclosures. This approach may be physically-accurate, but leads to noise and long render times.
2. Use Labels. This approach relies on graphics and layering of materials and is my suggestion for most basic applications.

KeyShot LEDs the Easy Way

I’ve found a few approaches for creating convincing LED materials in KeyShot. There are a handful of ways to tackle this one, but they’re not difficult to do once you know how. I want to save you time and help you get to the results you’re chasing. Whether you need a single, basic LED or something more complex that’s animated, this tutorial should help you out!

KeyShot LEDs Expanded Premium Tutorial

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In this tutorial you’ll learn how to

• Import a 3D model
• Hide and lock parts
• Change lighting environment
• Apply materials
• Copy/paste linked materials
• Apply labels
• Use the material graph
• Animate the LED
• Add bloom

Free project files include

• 3D device model (STP)
• Label (PNG)

Cut to the chase and become a KeyShot master!

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Will Gibbons is an industrial designer-turned rendering specialist. He's trained and worked with some of today's most recognizable brands and now is focused on creating the best product visualization content on the internet.