Lighting in animation is what makes the finished work look
believable to the audience. There are many different types of lighting,
depending on both your scene and your software.
·
Point or
omni light casts illumination in every direction from a single, small
point. This is used to simulate light that would be thrown from sources such as
light bulbs or candles.
·
Directional
light is used for distant light sources like the sun or the moon.
·
Spot
light, same as a physical spot light, is a cone of light emanating from a
single spot.
·
Area
light casts directional rays from within a boundary, like a room. They are
usually rectangular or round in shape, as a real world fluorescent light would
be.
·
Volume
light has similar single point directionality as omni light, but can be set
into primitive shapes, where it will light only in those perimeters.
·
Ambient
light has no specific direction, therefore does not cast a shadow. It is a
soft lighting technique that creates a kind of diffused illumination.
Below is an example of different lighting in a 3D scene.
3D Rendering is “the process of producing an image based on
three-dimensional data stored within a computer” (Birn, 2002), and it adds
information to an object such as lighting, shadows, colour and texture. Essentially,
rendering is the computer software photographing each pixel of the image, a
process that can take months or even years, depending on the level of detail in
the project.
Compositing is “the creative process of assembling and
combining filmed or rendered elements from multiple sources, to create a final
lifelike illusion or fantastical visual effect, delivered as a set of still or
moving pictures” (The Foundry, n.d.). It is either node-based or layer-based,
which are both equally good compositing methods. Node-based displays the
composite like a map, whereas layer-based, as the name suggests, composites
each object on a layer one atop another.
References
Birn, J. (2002). 3D
rendering (for dummies). Retrieved from
http://www.3drender.com/glossary/3drendering.htm
http://www.3drender.com/glossary/3drendering.htm
The Foundry. (n.d.). What
is digital compositing?. Retrieved from
https://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/nuke/about-digital-compositing/
https://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/nuke/about-digital-compositing/
