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c h a p t e r 1: UNDERSTANDING LIGHTING, COLOR, AND COMPOSITION ■

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.

Figure 1.28 Vincent Willem van Gogh (18590). Portrait of Dr. Gachet. 1890. Oil on

canvas. Whereabouts unknown.

Stylized lighting is well suited for 3D animation, since the medium places no

limitation on the type of lighting employed. For 3D examples of this style, see the

section “Step-by-Step: 3D Lighting Examples” at the end of this chapter.

Understanding Color and Composition

Successful lighting is not dependent on appropriate light placement alone. One cru-

cial component is color. Unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of this book to cover the

bulk of color theory. However, a discussion of the RYB and RGB color models, color

wheels, color space, color temperature, and light color is worth a look.

At the same time, composition is a critical component of any animation that is

rendered. Composition—the aesthetic arrangement of objects within a frame—can be

reduced to the golden mean and the rule of thirds.

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