How to light a model: Part 2

More about Lamps

In the second part of my lighting tutorial, we will take a closer look at the types of lights in blender.
Please note: I am not a master at blender, nor do I pretend to be. I will not be covering everything about every type of light. Just the basics for the lights that I know how to use effectively.

To jump to Part 1, click here.

There are 5 types of lights; Lamp; Area; Spot; Sun; and Hemi. All of these lamps are useful for different types of renders.

All of these lights can be added or changed in 2 ways.

1. Selecting your lamp, go to the Material Settings (F5) and change the lamp from there. More about this later.
2. Press Space/Add/Lamp/ and select your light from that sub-menu

 General Lamp Settings

Some settings are available for all lamps. 
Energy
 The "energy" slider controls the amount of light that the lamp emits. This is usually one of the more commonly changed settings when making a complicated scene.
Layer
 The "layer" button is a useful option that makes the lamp cast light only on objects of the same layer. This works even if multiple layers are visible.
Negative
 Makes the lamp into a "black hole" that sucks in all light. Effective for making shadowy corners and other dark areas.
No specular
 Makes the lamp not cast shine on objects. Very useful for fill lights.
Color 
 Changes the color of the lamp. Represented by the (usually) white box.


Types of lamps


Generally, I don't use the Area or Hemi lamps much. I know a bit about them but not enough to write an article on them. Sorry. I will cover the  Lamp, Spot, and Sun lamps.




Lamp
the "Lamp" lamp is the most simple of lamps. It projects light in all directions and is very versatile. I use this lamp for general lighting and for objects such as Streetlamps.
Useful Settings
"Sphere"
Sphere basically makes a large visualized ball around the light that shows you when the light "drops off". You can change the "Drop Off" point by changing the "dist" (default  is 30). This is useful for making nighttime scenes where you want far-off objects in shadow.

Spot

The "Spot" lamp is a useful lamp that lets you illuminate a single round or square area. You can think of it like a stage light. Spot lamps are good for illuminating a single object without casting extra light on surrounding objects.
Useful Settings
"Halo"

this setting makes the projection of the light visible. For example, a shaft of light coming from an alien spacecraft to pick up cows would have a "halo".

"Square"
This setting changes the round illuminated area to a square illuminated area.
"SpotSi"
This setting changes the diameter of the illuminated area.

Sun

The "Sun" lamp is basically an imitation of our real sun. It provides light to all objects as if it were infinitely far away. All of the objects illuminated are illuminated from exactly the same angle. It's kind of hard to describe, so see the render for a visual representation.
 IMPORTANT: The direction of the lamp (the dotted line) is the direction the sun is pointing, or the direction all objects are illuminated from.





Example renders

The below renders are here to show confused viewers the visual uses of the lamps I covered today.

Stage-light

The stage-light in this scene is using a spot light (with halo settings) to cast an illuminated beam of light onto the "stage". A very simple render to make, with satisfying results. The stage/background was made from a large number of extruded planes to make a roughly boxy background. Note: the ambient light you see is the product of another lamp, not the spot lamp.

Sun example

 No, this is not a render. But I think that it clearly shows how the sun lamp (though in the center) illuminates the sides of the objects that would not normally be in light.

I do not have an example for the "lamp" lamp because I'm pretty sure that most people get the general idea. Basically, it acts just like a normal light, casting illumination in all directions equally.

I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial. Here is a link to the first part of this tutorial.

How to light a model: Part 1

Introduction to Lighting

Here is a link to the second part of my tutorial.
 
Lighting models is probably one of the more important aspects of Blender. If the lighting is laid out badly, than models lose detail and therefore look less appealing.

 

Their are many parts to lighting a model; the location of the lamp(s); the type of lamp(s); the energy of the lamp(s). In this tutorial, we will cover the more basic ways to light a model; the 3-point lighting system.

[Right: the default lighting setup]

The 3-Point lighting system

 

The 3-point lighting system is one of the most commonly known lighting system used by photographers and 3D artists. The system is based around the use of 3 lights: 1 "primary" light that is used as the main light source; 1 "fill" light which is placed on the other side of the object than the "primary light"; and 1 (optional) "backside" light, which is placed behind the object to light it from behind.

[Right: the standard 3-point lighting system]

"Primary" Light

In blender, I use the primary light with the default "lamp" settings: 1.000 energy; standard stuff.

"Fill" Light

The fill light is used to show the detail of the other side. I set the settings for it with around 0.6 energy, and use the "No specular" option. "No specular" is a useful option that makes it so the lamp will not make any "shine" on its objects. It is not noticeable most of the time, but it does a lot to help the model with some renders.


"Back" Light

The back light is a very optional lamp that is used to light the back of a model. I don't usually find it necessary unless I'm using mirrors. The settings for the back lamp are very similar to the "fill" lamp, the only difference being that I set the energy to around 0.4 instead of 0.6.

Here is a link to the second part of my tutorial.