3d Lighting Learning Basics

Three-dimensional software can create the freedom of any type of light at will, and sometimes it makes it difficult to make a realistic appearance in a delicate image. It is often helpful to know some of the traditional lighting basics when you are not able to achieve light effects in a particular scenario. Recommended reading: 3DX Max Lighting Tutorial

When you are ready to illuminate a scene, you should pay attention to the following questions:

-What is the type of environment in the scene?

Scene lighting is usually divided into three types: natural light, artificial lights and the combination of the two.

The representative natural light is the sun. When using natural light, there are a few other questions to consider: What time of day is it, whether it is blue skies or overcast, and how many lights in the environment reflect to four weeks?

Artificial light can be almost any form. Electric lights, fires, or any kind of environment illuminated by both can be considered artificial. Artificial light may be the most common of three kinds of light sources. You also need to think about where the light comes from, and how well the light is. If you have a few light sources, figure out which one is the main light source? It is also important to determine whether colored light is used. Almost all light sources have a colored color, not pure white.

The last type of light is a combination of natural and artificial light. In bright outdoor films, photographers and lighting professionals sometimes use mirrors or auxiliary lights to soften the shadow of a thorn.

-What is the purpose of the light?

In other words, what is the tone and atmosphere of the scene? Expressing a tone in the light is critical to the appearance of the entire image. In some cases, the only goal is to see one or several objects clearly, but this is not usually the case, and the actual goal is quite complex.

Lighting helps to express an emotion, or to guide the viewer's eyes to a specific position. can provide a greater depth for the scene, showing a rich level. So, when creating a light for a scene, you can ask yourself, what tone should you express? Does the light you set improve the plot of the story?

-Are there special lighting effects in the scene, and if so, should they be created with lights or other channels?

In addition to the usual types of lighting, many three-dimensional animation software provides many special effects in the form of incandescent, stereo light and special material properties. Although strictly speaking, some types that do not belong to the lamp, in the scene, they are usually added to the appearance of the visible light effect. A simple example is the sparkle or glow of a visible light source. Since these effects are not automatically generated in 3D, you need to include them specifically in the rendering and consider their appearance and strengths.

-Are there any sources of reference for the creation?

In creating realistic scenes, you should develop the habit of drawing materials from actual photographs and movies. Good references can provide clues as to how specific objects and environments look at different times of day or under certain conditions.

By carefully analyzing the position of the highlight and shadow in a photograph, you can often reconstruct the basic position and intensity of the light that works on the image. The use of existing raw materials to reconstruct the lighting layout, you can learn a lot of knowledge.