Choosing Bulb Types and Color Patterns

Lumineer supports four bulb types and ten colors. You can create any color pattern — solid, alternating, or custom sequences — and change bulb types per strand or shrub.

What you'll learn

The four bulb types and when to use each
How to create and edit color patterns
How spacing and density work

Bulb types

Select a bulb type from the horizontal tabs in the Lights sidebar panel. The active type is highlighted.

| Type | Physical Size | Default Spacing | Best For | |------|-------------|----------------|---------| | C9 | 1.7" (large) | 15 inches | Rooflines, eaves — the classic bold look | | C7 | 1.1" (medium) | 12 inches | Rooflines, window outlines — slightly smaller | | Mini | 0.25" (tiny) | 4 inches | Bushes, trees, wrapping — dense coverage | | Icicle | 0.25" (tiny) | 3 inches | Eaves and gutters — hanging icicle effect |

C9 and C7 bulbs render as starbursts with visible rays and a soft bloom — this mimics how they look in real photos with camera lens effects. Mini and Icicle render as small glowing dots.

Tip: Changing the bulb type recalculates all light positions for that element. The number of bulbs changes because different bulb types have different default spacing.

Color palette

The color palette appears in the Lights tab when you have a strand or shrub selected, or when you're about to draw a new one.

Available colors

Whites: Warm White, Pure White, Cool White Colors: Red, Green, Blue, Gold, Orange, Purple, Pink

White swatches show a temperature icon — a sun for warm white, a snowflake for cool white — so you can tell them apart at a glance.

Create a color pattern

Click color swatches to add colors to your pattern. Each click adds that color to the end of the sequence.
The pattern repeats along the entire strand. For example, if your pattern is "Warm White → Warm White → Red → Red → Green," the strand cycles through that 5-color sequence from start to end.

Edit a pattern

Remove a color — Click any color bubble in the sequence to remove it (you must keep at least one color).
Reorder colors — Drag a color bubble to a new position in the sequence.
See the preview — The pattern header shows a text preview like "WW → WW → R → R → G" with the total repeat length (e.g., "Pattern (5 lights)"). A single color shows "Solid."

Apply to existing elements

When you have an element selected, color changes apply immediately to that element. When nothing is selected, color changes set the default for the next element you draw.

Spacing (strands)

The spacing slider controls how far apart bulbs are placed along the strand, measured in inches.

Range: 2 inches to 24 inches
Direction: Wider spacing on the left, tighter on the right
Effect: Fewer bulbs = wider spacing = less product needed. More bulbs = tighter spacing = denser look.
Default: 15" for C9, 12" for C7, 4" for Mini, 3" for Icicle (set by bulb type)

Spacing changes recalculate lights in real-time. You'll see the bulb count update immediately in the sidebar and in the materials summary.

Density (shrubs)

The density slider controls how many lights are scattered per square foot inside a shrub boundary.

Range: 1 to 10 lights per square foot
Direction: Dense on the left, Sparse on the right
Default: 3 per square foot

Like spacing, density changes update in real-time.

Layer ordering

When strands overlap (e.g., a roofline strand crossing over a window strand), you can control which one appears on top:

| Action | Shortcut | What it does | |--------|----------|-------------| | Bring to Front | Cmd+Shift+] | Move element to the top of all layers | | Send to Back | Cmd+Shift+[ | Move element behind all other layers | | Bring Forward | Cmd+] | Move element up one layer | | Send Backward | Cmd+[ | Move element down one layer |

These controls also appear as buttons in the sidebar when an element is selected.

Next steps: