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Understanding Lighting, Color, and Composition Lighting is a cornerstone of any 3D project. Although you can easily create and position lights within a scene, an understanding of lighting theory will help you make aesthetically is full of inspiring examples to choose from. Although 3-point lighting is a mainstay of 1 92730c01.indd 1 3D, 1-point, 2-point, and naturalistic lighting provide alternative lighting methods that better match the real world and the art traditions of the past.
Understanding the Art of Lighting Like every aspect of 3D, lighting must be created from scratch. Unfortunately, the techniques for emulating the real world are not always obvious or intuitive. Luckily, a wealth of lighting theory exists in the form of historical artwork, photography, and motion pictures. For the sake of clarity, I’ve broken the discussion of lighting theory into the following categories: 1-point, 2-point, 3-point, naturalistic, and stylistic.
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Key Figure 1.1 A theater audience is lit by a movie screen in a 1-point lighting setup. 3 Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Figure 1.2 Stark lighting in a film noir–style film. Classic film noir films include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Touch of Evil (1958). More recent examples include Blade Runner (1982) and Sin City (2005).
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Film noir is closely related to German expressionism, which was an art movement popular in Germany from 1905 to 1925. German expressionism was dominated by the dark, sinister aspects of the human psyche. The movement is known for its bold, simplified woodcuts (see Figure 1.3) and its atmospheric horror cinema (for example, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919).
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Figure 1.4 Rembrandt. The Supper at Emmaus. 1648. Oil on wood. Louvre, Paris. 5 Figure 1.5 Rembrandt. The Return of the Prodigal Son. 1662. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Note that the wall and central character in the background are barely visible. 92730c01.
In comparison, true 1-point lighting is sometimes found in portraiture. For example, in Figure 1.6 there is a single light source in front of and higher than the man. A secondary light source is not identifiable. The painter, Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641), was an influential baroque portraitist. chapter 1: 92730c01.indd 6 Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 6 Figure 1.6 Van Dyck. Portrait of Cornelis van der Geest.
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Figure 1.7 A fashion photograph displays 1-point lighting. 7 Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Modern painters have also made use of 1-point lighting. For example, in Figure 1.8 a boxing match is lit by a single strong source from frame left. As with the work illustrated in Figures 1.4 and 1.5, there is an extremely soft fill present; the fill lights the back of the rightmost boxer.
Left Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Mannequin model courtesy of Kristen Scallion It’s easy to set up 1-point lighting in 3D. The most difficult aspect of the scheme is the creation of aesthetic patterns of light and dark. For example, in Figure 1.9 a film noir–style photo is re-created in Maya. A series of trial-and-error renders were necessary to position a directional light in a satisfactory manner.
9 ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Fill Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Key Left Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Figure 1.10 A couple receives sunlight from above and as a bounced fill from the sidewalk. The lighting is a 2-point setup. Figure 1.11 (Left) Hals. The Laughing Cavalier. 1624. Oil on canvas. The Wallace Collection, London. (Right) 2-point lighting re-creation in Maya. The scene is included on the CD as 2_point.ma. 92730c01.
The intensity of the key light as compared to the fill (key-to-fill ratio) should vary with the subject and location. The optimum intensity of any light used in a scene depends on its position and the qualities of the materials involved. Nevertheless, as a rough rule of thumb for an initial lighting pass, you can set the intensity of a fill light to at least half that of the key. For the 3D reproduction illustrated in Figure 1.11, a directional light serves as the key.
Using 3-Point Lighting Perhaps the most commonly discussed and applied lighting technique is 3-point lighting. Descriptions can be found in numerous 3D, film, and video instructional materials. Although 3-point lighting is a reliable way to light many scenes, it has inherent drawbacks. In the standard 3-point lighting scheme, a strong key is placed to one side of a subject (approximately 15 to 45 degrees off the camera axis).
Note: Four-point lighting simply adds a fourth light to illuminate the background or set behind the subject. The 3-point lighting scheme is popular in the realm of 3D because it lends depth to a potentially flat subject. For example, in Figure 1.15 a sphere is given additional roundness with three lights. A spot light, which serves as the key, is placed screen left. An ambient light, which serves as a fill, is placed screen right.
Figure 1.16 (Left) Rembrandt. Portrait of an Old Woman. c. 1650. Oil on canvas. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. (Right) Modern photo with similar “Rembrandt patch” on subject’s left cheek. Rim lights, in particular, were developed to separate the actor from a dark or cluttered background. Rim lights (and other fundamental aspects of lighting design) can trace their roots to early theatrical stage lighting.
Photos © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Figure 1.17 Three variations of glamour lighting, as seen in photographs of Jane Wyman (left), Ida Lupino (center), and Mary Pickford (right). chapter 1: U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 14 92730c01.indd 14 Proper 3-point lighting is fairly difficult to find in the world of painting. Clearly defined rims are not generally painted in.
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation 15 ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Photos © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Figure 1.18 Giovanni Battista Moroni (1520–78). The Tailor. c. 1565. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London. Figure 1.19 Naturally occurring examples of rim lighting 92730c01.
Using Naturalistic Lighting Naturalistic lighting is an adaptable scheme that matches the natural lighting scenario of the subject location. Any light that is visible is logically driven by a recognizable source. Naturalistic lighting is sometimes called “transparent” in that no artificial lighting methods can be detected. Another way to define naturalistic lighting is to list what it lacks: chapter 1: 92730c01.
Figure 1.21 A lamp unrealistically casts three sharp shadows of itself (as seen in a frame blowup from a 1950s motion picture). 92730c01.indd 17 ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g In contrast, naturalistic lighting is often found in post-1950s historical dramas, particularly those set in times before the advent of the lightbulb. Prime examples include Barry Lyndon (1975), directed by Stanley Kubrick (1928–99), and 1492 (1992), directed by Ridley Scott (1937–).
chapter 1: 92730c01.indd 18 Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 18 Figure 1.22 Van Eyck. Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami. 1434. Tempura on wood. National Gallery, London. Realism, as an art movement, appeared in the mid-19th century and placed a premium on an accurately portrayed world with no hint of idealism or romanticism.
Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation 19 ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g t h e A rt o f L i g h t i n g Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Figure 1.23 De Hooch. A Musical Party in a Courtyard. c. 1677. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London. Figure 1.24 Manet. A Bar at the Foiles-Bergére. 1882. Oil on canvas. Courtauld Institute Galleries, London. 92730c01.
Naturalistic lighting, by its very nature, does not dictate a fixed number of lights or specific light locations or intensities. However, you can use the following guidelines to assist you during setup: • Determine what the strongest light is and where it should be coming from. Is the light source visible within the frame or is it arriving from offscreen? Set one or more key lights in appropriate locations. Match the type of light to the type of source.
Left Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation For practice, you can always re-create existing images. For example, in Figure 1.26 the lighting of a Vermeer painting is replicated in 3D. Using Stylized Lighting Stylized lighting pays no heed to the real world but fabricates fantastic sources of light or simply ignores the lighting information altogether. The oldest form of stylized lighting can be called 0-point lighting. In this case, lighting plays no part in the artistic representation.
You can find stylized lighting in numerous pieces of modern art. Many times, this style is evident even when distinct modeling is given to the subject. (That is, the subject is painted to have three-dimensional form.) For example, in Figure 1.28, a man is completely disconnected from his environment. Although it can be assumed to be night, there is no way to tell for sure. No shadows of lighting clues exist to establish a real-world lighting scheme. chapter 1: 92730c01.
Color Theory Overview In the traditional color theory model, red, yellow, and blue are considered primary colors. As such, they follow these rules: • No combination of any two primary colors can produce a third primary color. • Combinations of all three primaries can produce a wider range of colors than any other combination of colors. You can form secondary colors by mixing together primary colors, which produces orange, green, and violet (purple).
Complementary colors A pair of colors at opposite ends of the color wheel. For example, in Figure 1.30, the blue-cyan body and red-orange head of a bizarre character compose a complementary color set. © 2005 Lee Lanier chapter 1: U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 24 and blue light to produce additional colors. Added in equal proportions, RGB primaries produce white.
Split complement One color plus the two colors that flank that color’s complementary color (for example, green, blue-violet, and red-violet). Analogous colors Colors that are side-by-side. For example, in Figure 1.31 the cloaks of two women are red-orange and yellow-orange. In RGB, red-orange is a mixture of primary red and tertiary orange; yellow-orange is the mixture of secondary yellow and tertiary orange.
Checking Color Calibration chapter 1: U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 26 92730c01.indd 26 Maya operates in RGB color space. Color space represents all the colors that a device can produce. The color space available to various output devices varies greatly. For example, the color space that a television can display is significantly different from the color space available to a computer monitor or a printer.
Figure 1.32 A calibration chip chart. This file is included on the CD as chip_chart.tif. A Note on Color Temperature 92730c01.indd 27 ■ U n d e r s ta n d i n g C o l o r a n d C o m p o s i t i o n Color temperature is based on the wavelength of light emitted by a material when it is heated. Technically speaking, if a light source is said to be 5500 kelvin, it emits the same wavelength of light, and the same color of light, as a black body radiator heated to 5500 kelvin.
7500 North light (blue sky) 10000 K 7000 Overcast daylight 7000 K 6500 6000 5500 Daylight metal halide bulb 5500 K 5000 Noon daylight, direct sun 5000 K 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 chapter 1: U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 28 92730c01.
it was originally perceived by the human eye. Obviously, if you are matching 3D to a live-action plate, colors should be replicated regardless of what they might be. However, if the 3D is only meant to look real, colors—as they’re perceived by the human eye—should be matched. For more information on color manipulation, see Chapter 6. For information on color bit depth, see Chapter 10. Applying the Golden Mean 1.618 . . . 1 Figure 1.
1.618 1 1 1.618 chapter 1: 92730c01.indd 30 Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation U n d e r s ta n d i n g L i g h t i n g , C o l o r , a n d C o m p o s i t i o n ■ 30 Figure 1.35 The golden mean and golden rectangle used in a composition by Seurat. (Circus Sideshow. 1888. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.) The painting is repeated twice. The golden mean has many natural occurrences.
Photos © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation Rule of Thirds Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation The rule of thirds is a compositional technique developed for modern photography and videography. Simply put, you can take any frame and divide it into three horizontal and vertical sections to determine the alignment of subjects (see Figure 1.37). For example, you can align a tree, a person, or other vertical element with a vertical line. You can align the horizon or a building with a horizontal line.
The rule of thirds is not an accurate representation of the golden mean (see Figure 1.38). However, the rule may have evolved as a simplified variation of the golden rectangle subdivided according to the golden mean. (Unfortunately, the exact origin of the rule of thirds technique remains murky.) The rule of thirds is useful for modern media, such as videography, that often require quick compositional decision making.
© 1998 Pacific Data Images Figure 1.39 Millennium Bug, 1998 33 © 2000 Lee Lanier ■ S t e p - by- S t e p : 3 D L i g h t i n g E x a m p l e s Mirror employed an extreme example of chiaroscuro lighting. Many shots possessed only a single key with a limited cone size and no fill. In Figure 1.40, a woman is lit with a single spotlight from screen left. The shadow directly behind the woman was fabricated in the composite and is hence less dense than other shadows in the shot.
In Day Off the Dead, a combination of naturalistic and 2-point lighting was used. For exteriors, one to four lights were placed to emulate a bright, sunlit day (see the top of Figure 1.41). For the interiors, rarely more than two lights were used; in each case, there was always a strong key. Many of the shadows were created during the composite, which allowed the shadow shapes to go off in unrealistic and inappropriate directions (see the bottom of Figure 1.41). This lent a dreamlike feel to the piece.
© 2004 Lee Lanier model the characters in an interesting fashion. In the end, the animation took on the feel of stop-motion cinematography. 35 © 2005 Lee Lanier and The Bronx Casket Co. ■ S t e p - by- S t e p : 3 D L i g h t i n g E x a m p l e s Figure 1.42 Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2004. A QuickTime movie excerpt is included on the CD as womd.mov. Figure 1.43 Little Dead Girl, 2005 92730c01.
