Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Studio Lighting and Rendering
With models completed and textures created, lighting and render setup are the final steps for creating a fin-
ished image. Lighting can help to accentuate details in an object, glamorizing or romanticizing it. Properly
setting up a lighting scenario will allow you to adapt your renders to fit the needs of your project. This chapter
covers the following:
• Creating a studio environment with simple geometry
• Setting up lighting based on geometry
• Optimizing render settings for final output
• Using high dynamic range (HDR) environments
Creating a Studio Environment with Simple Geometry
In Chapter 5, “Subdivision Surface Modeling,” you created models for lighting and environment setup. These
will play a major factor in many aspects of the finished render. When used as lights and reflectors, real geo-
metry can add subtlety and nuance to a lighting scenario, but can also help make reflections in objects that
traditional CG lights will not. In addition, these objects can help provide visual cues that make the finished
image look more realistic to the viewer. To start, each object needs to be prepared for use in lighting and re-
flections.
Let's start with the mesh camera model from Chapter 5, also found on the DVD. To make the camera work
as you want it to, you will need to center it in the world, apply textures, and then attach it to the render camera
so that the mesh camera follows the render camera around the scene. Follow these steps:
1.
Select the camera and go to Polygons mode.
2.
In model view, select Center Selected and choose All. This places the camera geometry in the middle
of your scene.
3.
The camera uses two materials: one for the body and another for the lens. For the body, enter a dark
color for the diffuse material. Turn on some soft, blurry reflections if you like (shown in
Figure 7-1
)
.
For the lens, choose the medium gray with 20% reflective amount and 100% Fresnel. These materials
should be simple so they do not require much render time but still look good in terms of reflections and
refractions in the scene.
Figure 7-1:
The camera with simple materials applied
