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# emission

An object that defines the color emitted by each point on a surface.

```
var emission: SCNMaterialProperty { get }
```

## Discussion

You can use an *emissive map* texture to simulate parts of a surface that glow with their own light. SceneKit does not treat the material as a light source—rather, the emission property determines colors for a material independent of lighting. (To create an object that appears to glow, you may wish to combine a geometry with an emissive map and additional [`SCNLight`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNLight) objects added to the scene.)

By default, the emissive property’s [`contents`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterialProperty/contents) object is a black color, causing the property to have no visible effect. Setting the emissive property’s contents to any solid color adds a uniform color to the material independent of lighting. To create a selective glow effect, set the property’s contents to an image or other texture-mapped content whose glowing areas use bright colors and whose other areas use darker colors. In the darker-color portions of the emissive map (and portions with reduced opacity), the other visual properties of the material contribute to its appearance under scene lighting.

The figure below shows a material (with a texture for its [`diffuse`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/diffuse) property) before and after providing an emissive map image.

![](images/com.apple.scenekit/media-2934165@2x.png)

## See Also

[`specular`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/specular)

An object that manages the material’s specular response to lighting.

[`reflective`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/reflective)

An object that defines the reflected color for each point on a surface.

[`multiply`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/multiply)

An object that provides color values that are multiplied with pixels in a material after all other shading is complete.

[`ambient`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/ambient)

An object that manages the material’s response to ambient lighting.

[`transparent`](/documentation/SceneKit/SCNMaterial/transparent)

An object that determines the opacity of each point in a material.


---

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