In particular, lighting can be controlled, which is in many cases the essence of architectural design - i.e. the use of light and shadow in addition to material, color, and texture, in the creation of architectural form. Thus rendering packages give to the architect relatively powerful tools to use during design which formerly were achievable only through the expenditure of enormous time and effort. Lighting source types, locations, and intensities can be controlled. Shade and shadow can be controlled, as can atmospheric effects, wherein those parts of the object closer to the eye are rendered more precisely than those farther away. Current technology thus gives to the architect, and through the architect, to the client, ways of visualizing designs much more realistically and completely than ever before.
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