Maya® Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting

1-, 2-, and 3-Point Lighting

As discussed in Chapter 1, lights used for stage, motion picture, and 3D lighting are often classified by their roles. Thus, a key light is the most intense light in the scene, such as the sun. A fill light is a weaker, secondary light or is light from the key that has bounced off a surface. A rim, back, or hair light is a stylistic light used to outline the edge of a person or object. Whether a lighting setup uses 1-, 2-, or 3-point lighting depends on the number of lights used; that is, the setup is dependent on whether it uses a key, fill, and/or rim light.

The 1-point lighting scheme is dramatic, sometimes stark, and often foreboding. The lighting involves a single, easily identifiable key light source with no ...