Week 5

Lighting

 

Week 4

There was no lessons last week due to the day trip to London which I participated in  for the Multimedia Production Module.

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This week we began to look at a variety of lighting features available in 3DS Max. These ranged from the different types of lights and their parameters, to environmental effects such as fog.

The whole concept of lighting within 3D Studio Max is a vast element that can significantly alter the appearance of a scene by adding another level of depth via the use of strategically placed lights and detailed shadow positioning.

To start off with I experimented with the array of light types offered in the "Lights" command panel.

Omni Light

Omni lights are perhaps the most commonly used lighting type due to their ability to add even lighting to an entire scene. Various parameters concerning Omni Lights can be altered including their multiplier which basically changes the colour of the light being emitted, for example a slight reddish colour could be used to portray a warm/cosy atmosphere within a room. The image below is of a chest of draws that I created in an enclosed room scene. I added an omni light with a slight pink/red multiplier colour to give the room a more warmer feel.

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Spot Light

Spot lights are rather self explanatory, consisting of a focused directional beam of light to add detail to a portion of a scene or to light a specific object for example. Spot lights are specifically useful to recreate the effect of real "spot lights" in a darker environment where the direction and beam of light is more visible i.e. stage lights at a concert.

Below is a render of the same scene that I used for the Omni Light, however that light has now been removed and a spot light has been positioned above the drawer instead.

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The difference between the two types of lights is clearly visible and I am particularly pleased by the outcome of the spot light scene above as it conveys a exceptionally more dramatic feel with the heavy use of shadows.

 

Environmental Effects

Another feature that incorporates the existing lights within a scene is the "Environment and Effects" settings found under the rendering menu. These allow a range of rendering effects to be applied to a scene which takes into account any prior lights which have been created and positioned. The image below was created using the spot light scene in addition with a combination of a "volume light" and a "volume fog" atmosphere effects. Both of these effects were given a dark grey colour to create the impression of a smoky room due to a fire or a heavy build up of cigarette smoke for example. Various parameters were configured such as the density and wind direction on each effect to produce the final smoke effect seen in the render.

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