Get started in CG lighting – part four

Lighting is one of the most fundamental aspects of any 3D scene. Get it wrong, and the result will be a flat, artificial-looking render. Get it right, and the result will be an image with genuine atmosphere. In the first three tutorials in this series, we looked at the skills required to light a scene. In this final instalment, we’ll reveal how to create that atmosphere.

Or rather, two kinds of atmosphere. Over the course of the tutorial, we’ll create two lighting set-ups: one to mimic an interior scene lit by candles, and one for an exterior scene taking place on a clear, sunny day. As ever, we’ll be using LightWave 3D, but the same principles apply equally to other 3D software.

Let’s talk for a moment about the characteristics of interior and exterior lighting. Outdoors, there are two primary light sources: the sun and the sky. Most people don’t think of the sky as a light source, but it is: it’s the inside of a huge sphere emitting light towards the earth. On a sunny day, the light is blue; on a cloudy day, it’s grey.

This is because the atmosphere contains minute particles such as dust and water droplets. Some of the light from the sun strikes those particles and bounces around in the atmosphere before eventually reaching the ground. This means that while the sky can’t be considered a direct light source, it’s certainly an indirect one, and one that will make every difference to your scene. The sun creates a single hard shadow, and the sky creates a single soft shadow.

In addition, the sun is exponentially brighter than most other exterior light sources. Indoors, there will often be two or more light sources of similar intensity, each of which will create its own shadows. Multiple light sources, such as chandeliers and candelabra, will produce multiple shadows.

Artificial light also varies greatly in hue and colour temperature, while sunlight usually falls within a narrow range. All of these are important factors to take into consideration when creating a lighting set-up that will create a believable interior or exterior effect. As ever, full supporting files are provided, so to follow the tutorial, all you need to do is load one in and begin.

Click here to download the support files (~5MB)