[eyre]

I'm currently working on my first digitally rendered piece...I have most of the shapes, highlights, shadows and details added... but my lighting doesn't feel very dramatic.

Anyone know of any tutorials or have any tips for painting lighting? That soft glowy look... the rays of dusty light (I forget the technical name), etc.

Thanks!

[Loki]

When painting realistic scenes / images all you do is paint light. All we see with our eyes is basically light that bounces into them.

So it's kinda hard to make a tutorial for how to paint light. I'm sure there's stuff out there for doing god rays and similar things, but looking at your surroundings and enviroment with a focus on what the light actually does helps alot too.

Photographs are nice also, since they are a 'frozen' and you can really check out what's going on.

Looking at old masters would be nice too - and they also just learned it from looking at light.

That was probably not the answer you were looking for but maybe it helps.

[Dr. Bang]

quote:

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Originally posted by balistic:
General tips for interesting lighting:

- Don't be afraid of shadows. The detail contained in darker areas is often a very important part of the definition of a scene's atmosphere and mood.

- Consider color. Don't make all your light sources gray. And there's no rule that keeps you from using a cool key light with warm fills . . . it can be an interesting reversal of the norm.

- Remember that light affects the air. We exist in a volume of gas that can be illuminated . . . don't just light surfaces, remember to light volumes.

- You don't always need to highlight the most important part of a scene. Sometimes a portrait is much more powerful when the subject is in relative shadow.

- Remember to cast shadows. I am amazed at how often 2D artists neglect this. They'll "shade" their drawings, but they won't actually put in cast shadows.

- Lighting that originates from near the camera is going to suggest flash photography. Its usually undesirable, but you can use it to intentionally create a feeling of confrontation.

- Don't forget radiance. Light doesn't stop when it hits a surface (unless the surface is black), it assumes the color of that surface and will influence surrounding surfaces and volumes.

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shit, thats some extremely helpful tip you got there. How did you know them?

[Anthony]

Being a 3d artist has its advantages too :] One of the first things you figure out in CG is not to use white/grey lights for your scenes. An easy way to give, say, a figure, more realism is to give it some nice self shadowing. If you want a photo look, try a hard edge shadow. Many people seem to avoid it, as Ballistic says.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. Bang:

shit, thats some extremely helpful tip you got there. How did you know them?

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[eyre]

I second that...some very useful info. Thanks!

[balistic]

General tips for interesting lighting:

- Don't be afraid of shadows. The detail contained in darker areas is often a very important part of the definition of a scene's atmosphere and mood.

- Consider color. Don't make all your light sources gray. And there's no rule that keeps you from using a cool key light with warm fills . . . it can be an interesting reversal of the norm.

- Remember that light affects the air. We exist in a volume of gas that can be illuminated . . . don't just light surfaces, remember to light volumes.

- You don't always need to highlight the most important part of a scene. Sometimes a portrait is much more powerful when the subject is in relative shadow.

- Remember to cast shadows. I am amazed at how often 2D artists neglect this. They'll "shade" their drawings, but they won't actually put in cast shadows.

- Lighting that originates from near the camera is going to suggest flash photography. Its usually undesirable, but you can use it to intentionally create a feeling of confrontation.

- Don't forget radiance. Light doesn't stop when it hits a surface (unless the surface is black), it assumes the color of that surface and will influence surrounding surfaces and volumes.

[Christian +]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. Bang:

shit, thats some extremely helpful tip you got there. How did you know them?

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I triple that.... great tips !!!

would anyone care to quadruple that

[balistic]

Wow, I was just kind of rambling off the top of my head there, didn't think I had communicated very well.

I'm thinking about doing . . . not so much a "tutorial" . . . but maybe an article about lighting concepts, with illustrations. I'll beta test it with you guys if I get anything worth looking at.

And yeah, doing 3D CG will definitely improve your 2D lighting skills . . . it teaches you how shadows will fall, and where highlights should go.