In high quality renderings, lighting plays a remarkable role. 

For example, between these two images featuring a 3D jigsaw in a background of workbench, which one looks more life-like to you? 

First off, both look pretty good, easy outputs by xHighlight of two types: Rasterizing and Global illumination. 

As we can tell from the names, the differences lie in illumination. 

The comparison below illustrates the differences more visually. 

As the name suggests, Global illumination computes lighting interactions by closely following the real world physics, with both direct and indirect lighting. Hence the one on the right looks more realistic and compelling. 

Now let's revisit some details in the two types at the beginning. 

The first one is a rasterized image. Judging by the workbench, we can probably guess the main light source comes from the left, maybe from a garage door? Yet the left side of the jigsaw looks pretty dark, not as lit up as the the left side of the workbench. 

This subtle inconsistency makes the rendering less life-like. 

In contrast, the second one with global illumination computed lighting much more comprehensively across the entire rendering. 

It addressed the above lighting inconsistencies and fits the 3D model more naturally with the environment. 

You may notice the SOLIDWORKS brand name on the jigsaw cover looks more legible below, thanks to the global illumination😄

Hope it helps. Please try the various rendering styles and share your findings🌄