A lighting appliance for vehicles with a light unit includes a light source and a light guide assigned to the light source for the creation of a given light function, wherein the light guide is embodied as a rod-shaped light guide with a punctiform surface for the coupling-out of light or as a flat light guide with a line-shaped or a sheet-like surface for the coupling-out of light, wherein for the creation of the light function, a light surface magnifying unit is provided, which comprises a light source and a mask template unit for the generation of an illumination pattern from a light beam sent from a light source onto a projection screen.