Sources of direct light
Maya has a number of light sources that let you achieve a wide variety of lighting effects.
Without no light sources to your scene, your scene would render black because there is no light to illuminate objects (see Default lighting in Maya). By controlling its intensity, color and direction, light becomes a key factor in creating a scene in Maya.
With Maya, you have much more control over the placement, intensity, and characteristics of lights than you do with real-world lights. Shadows, specular highlights, diffuse, and glow all contribute to how light affects a scene.
