How you can make your lighting even more realistic.

In the following article we would like to give you a few tips on how you can illuminate your pictures professionaly. Illumination plays an important role in the creation process of 3D configurators.

Lighting is fundamental to every 3D project you work on. At the most basic level, it is a way to make objects visible. But cameramen will tell you that light is much more.

Lighting gives the scene a certain mood and sound. It allows you to subtly manipulate the viewer to see where you want them to be. It`s a way to make their work stand out from the 3D real, by conveying the warmth of an oil painting or the feeling of a photo.

And when you model a real object, it is essential that you get the right lighting if you want a chance at a photorealistic finish.

In the following passages you will learn some interesting lighting techniques that will help you quickly improve your work.

1. collect several references.

It does not always depend on the performance of your visual memory. You will always get better lighting results if you have already accumulated a larger number of references. If you model something from the real world, you will find images that you can use.

If this is not possible, or if you face the challenge of creating something from your imagination, take your own photos as  a light reference. Place an object on a flat surface and against a flat background, illuminate it from one direction and take your photo. Move the light further and photograph the result and you will soon have an extensive photo reference database where you can use lights and shadows for different light sources.

Do the same with a transparent object and place more than one object in a scene so you can see how the light behaves when it hits multiple objects.

2. Use masks to illuminate models.

For this picture, a low-poly model was designed that is as simple as possible. Prepare the UV and import the model into ZBrush. Make sure the SUV (Smooth UV) is turned on and then edit the geometry as much as you feel necessary.

Now prepare a black and white mask in Photoshop and import it as an alpha mask into ZBrush. Then use the masks to select only the parts you need. To extrude the details, use inflate (deformation).

Prepare a dome light setup with a hdri and then check what your model looks like. In this example, simple material without bump was used because all details are from the displacement.

3. Create a convincing composition.

Composition works with light when it comes to manipulating the eye of the beholder and directing attention to where one wants it to be. The model and textures can be perfect, but if the composition is not good, the overall result will be unsatisfactory.

If you find composition difficult, you should look at traditional art theory. Artists and photographers have worked out all kinds of rules for a successful composition, from the Rule of Thirds to the Grid Theory to the Golden Ratio. If you study the gaze of the beholder, you can use the light to create a successful composition.

4. Add dramaturgy with strong contrast.

This is an excellent example of how you can draw all your attention to a part of the image by using a strong contrast to create a silhouette. In this example, there is alos a clear separation between positive and negative space, which helps to emulate high-quality photo quality and deliver something interesting and dynamic than just a car model.

5. Experiment with lenses.

Do not limit yourself to normal lenses (50 mm). Instead, combine different objects, angles, camera movements, speeds, and durations. The height of the camera can change greatly and give a completely different impression, which in turn opens up new lighting possibilities that you may not have considered.

6. Position the main light.

If there were no sound in a film, one could still tell a story or convey an atmosphere and mood through light and shadow. The main light must be well positioned and its shadows must explain the shape and structure of the scene. So the composition can additionally be influenced by separating the positive and negative space.

Here it would have been easier to fill the interior with light, but the placement of the main light where I did it gives the feeling that the viewer is in the car looking through the front seats. A feeling of depth is created and the light falls where it accentuates the materials.

7. Build up your light.

Depending on the situation and requirement, adding more lights helps us to fill something else or to justify the impact of the light.

Try to describe the areas you are illuminating as well as possible. It is best to begin out of total darkness. You don`t always have to be guided by a standard “hdri” setup, but if you use it awkwardly you get washed light, which is hard to control. Play with the lights, but always remember why this particular light is in that particular place.

8. Tidying up the composition.

Composition is the final phase of an image and allows you to quickly and easily combine many different layers to affect contrast, color, depth or field, motion blur, lens breathing and much more that is necessary to make your image look like it was taken with a film camera.

It is necessary to be aware that some things can be done more easily in the compositing phase, rather than wasting your time trying to do ot in 3D. In the above rendering, for example, we clearly see the reflection of the wheel on the door that needs to be removed. According to the plan, the spotlight should be painted on the floor under the wheel, the highlight on the rear wheel strengthened and generally reduces the lights.

9. Use effects to direct the viewer`s gaze.

It`s really tempting to be carried away by shiny light effects like bokeh and glow, but if you use them too often, you just lose every kind of effect. Limit them to strong highlights in certain parts of the image, such as metal and glass, and strong light sources.

Although this picture is only a part of the Porsche, the Glow and Bokeh effects draw attention to a diagonal plane in the middle. I started with lines to work out the composition of the picture and then applied the effects that follow those lines.

10. Add selective highlights.

The use of photographic techniques, such as shallow depth of field, is a useful way to draw attention to an area, but highlights can also help achieve the same result. The problem with a shallow depth of field is that all details of the focus area are directly on the front of the image, making it difficult for the viewer to see where he can look.

In our example above, highlights are used to highlight the texture of the headlight and Porsche logo. This not only gives the image a haptic quality, but also helps to make the image no longer look flat.

11. Illuminating multiple materials.

Play with the angle of the source light to get the most out of the textures. The lighting in this area is placed to accentuate the textures. If it were placed elsewhere, some of this detail would have been lost. If you`re aiming for photorealism, you need to highlight recognizable elements.

12. Illuminating a scene.

Of course, the lighting in its simplest form is a way to set the scene for your picture. If it is a real object, think about how the lighting can be used in a real environment.

For example, a motor shows dark backgrounds are often used, where the car is strongly brought into the foreground. It`s not complicated, but it`s a recognizable setup that helps you make your image credible.