# 6. 2D Lighting Pitfalls Part of [[2D Lighting in URP]]. Prev: [[5. Worked Example Interior Window and Lantern]]. ## Camera not on the 2D Renderer Light 2D does nothing useful on a 3D Forward renderer. Sprites may show as unlit pink, fullbright, or "the light component is there but ignored." Fix [[1. 2D Renderer Setup]] first. ## A 3D Directional Light "for fill" [[Lighting and Baking]] lights are the other pipeline. A 3D directional can still affect 3D meshes in a mixed scene; it is not a substitute for a 2D Global. ## Two Globals on the same layer / blend style The 6000.5 manual: **one Global light per blend style and sorting layer**. The second is a bug farm. ## Global expected to cast shadows Global lights have **no shadow properties**. Use Spot / Freeform / Sprite with Shadows enabled and Shadow Caster 2D. ## Rendering Layers vs Target sorting layers 3D URP Rendering Layers will not filter Light 2D. Set **Target sorting layers** in the Inspector. Do not use reflection to set them. ## `LightType.Point` The 6000.5 Inspector type is **Spot**. Do not copy an old enum name into 6000.5 code. ## Fullbright every sprite A bright Global plus five Spots flattens the room and costs fill rate. Dim the Global until the accents matter (the same contrast instinct as [[Lighting and Baking]]). ## Too many shadow casters on a moving light A carried lantern plus per-leaf casters will hurt. Composite architecture; simplify actor casters. ## Quest / VR 2D Renderer in a VR camera stack is not this lesson. For a Quest title, prefer 6.3 LTS (6000.3.27f2+) and a tested 3D / world-space approach, or a dedicated 2D-in-VR spike you profile first. ## Batching and pixel lights 2D lights are not "free." Cap overlapping lights in a view, and profile a worst-case interior before you art-direct a city at night. ## Sources - Light 2D (6000.5): https://docs.unity.com/en-us/engine/6000.5/manual/2drenderer-light-2d - Get started with 2D lighting (6000.5): https://docs.unity.com/en-us/engine/6000.5/manual/unity2d/2d-game-development/2d-lighting/get-started-2d-lighting