I'd say no. You'd need a spell that actually lowers the light level of the area such as Darkness. I'd think your racial ability responds to actual conditions and not what other might "perceive" as darkness.
Silent Image might give concealment from those effected by it. For example you could create a "bush" or "shrubbery" to hide behind or in. Unless the enemy knows the area they would most likely have no reason to suspect a bush is fake, even more so from a distance.
Figments can provide 100% concealment, although they can't change the overall light level in an area.
For instance, you could cast silent image to cause a fake curtain to drop from the ceiling, behind which you can hide for full concealment. It won't change the light level behind the curtain, but those who don't disbelieve no longer have line of sight to you (but DO have line of effect).
See, here is the where the question gets tricky. I'm not trying to use the figment to lower the light level of the area or to "create" darkness - I know it can't do that. The question is, if the area is lit by a single light source, and I put an opaque figment in front of that source, does it block light and therefore cast a shadow?
This matters, because if the figment can block light, then it create a "real" area of shadow - which matters when it comes to other things such as Tenebrous Spells, Shadow Jump, that sort of thing.
I'm still going to have to say no. Creating a shadow is lowering the light level. Any "apparent" shadow would all be an effect of the illusion and not an actual change in light conditions. So no shadow jump or any of that sort of thing. Otherwise why have the Darkness spell at all?
Light is considered a force of the universe. Therefore, I believe you could create the illusion of shadows pretty readily with figments.
Just glancing at a tree and noticing it doesn't cast a shadow, therefore getting a save, would be a considerable nerf of the spell compared to having to "interact" with it before getting a save.
Oh no... to those effected by the illusion it would "appear" to cast a shadow, but this would just be part of the illusion not an actual shadow.
The fact that the tree or shrubbery did not rustle in the breeze is already a big indicator that its not real. Seeing as how the illusion does not create sound.
I asked a very closely related question here:
My issue with figments being incapable of modifying light levels is this:
How do you adjudicate a situation where an illusion is blocking line of sight to a light source? If the figment is incapable of modifying light levels, the illumination from the light source would carry through the figment to its normal range.
That's a huge limiter on using any sort of figment spell in any area not naturally lit, or one relying on directional light sources.
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Unless an illusion is disbelieved, it "appears" as a real object. To me, that means it casts (an illusion of) a shadow, just as as a real object would. If you successfully disbelieve the illusion, you also see the shadow is illusionary.
That also means tenebrous spells, etc. don't work because it's not a real shadow.
And yes, that's somewhat inconsistant with an illusion being able to provide concealment... but remember, we don't track light sources accurately in the game anyway.How many people cast light on their shield or helmet and ignore the glare effects and shadows?
My issue with figments being incapable of modifying light levels is this:
How do you adjudicate a situation where an illusion is blocking line of sight to a light source? If the figment is incapable of modifying light levels, the illumination from the light source would carry through the figment to its normal range.
That's a huge limiter on using any sort of figment spell in any area not naturally lit, or one relying on directional light sources.
From the perspective of a DM, I'm saying that the 1st level spell Silent Image cannot modify light levels to create actual shadow. This would cause it to be more powerful than the second level spell Darkness.
It can "appear" to alter light levels for those who do not make a save vs. the spell. I'd say trying to block a light source would cause all in the area of the light source to get a save vs. the illusion automatically.
What about this:
You want to create and illusion of a chest over an wooden floor.
You go and create the image of the chest. And then, you realize it's lacking a proper shadown on the floor.
If you can create shadows, no problem, done. If you can't, you instead create the illusion of an identical floor, only slightly darker, and place it directly above the real floor, where the chesy would be casting its shadow.
Ta-daaa!
If the players bring their light source (such as a lantern or a shield under effect of the Light spell)it counts as interacting with the illusion, therefore, they get their saving throws.
Related issue: Illusory Wall.
If I cover the windows of my house with it, does it block light coming in? Heck, does it block outgoing light?
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Well, since you can't see what is behind the illusory wall, I suppose it can block light just fine.
That is one of those shady areas (see what I did there?) that are only resolved through the magic of DM fiat.