3D Art Essentials

13

LIGHTING THE WAY

Lighting a scene isn’t just about being able to see things. It serves to create mood. Imagine a setting with a crooked house, gnarled trees, and a strange little bunny holding a sharp object. If the scene is dark with clouds and a full moon casting long shadows, it looks creepy. Put the exact same scene in daylight, and you can see the green grass, puffy clouds, and that the pointy object is a carrot. Though it is still quirky, it’s no longer threatening. Both lighting setups are natural. There are lots of tools to recreate natural lighting, but we will also need the lighting tools that can be found in a studio (Figure 13.1).

When using artificial lighting, a standard approach is the three-point lighting rig (Figure 13.2 ...