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Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
Sprache: Englisch

Beschreibung

Level up your skills with powerful texturing and lighting techniques Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition leads you through the latest advanced techniques for adding realistic detail to your models. This new edition is up-to-date with the latest Maya texturing, lighting, and rendering features, including an exploration of the Node Editor, new Maya utility nodes and expanded coverage of mental ray shaders, and render settings. The proven tutorials are culled from real-world experience and refined to give you the ultimate in practical skills. You'll learn workflow tips and tricks, the construction of custom shading networks, and the application of time-saving tools that bring your project from concept to reality. The companion website features several gigabytes of Maya scene files, texture bitmaps, and QuickTime movies that support the exercises in the book, giving you everything you need to advance your animation skillset. This book helps you take your rendering skills to the next level with the advanced tools and techniques that take animation from good to great. * Learn the theory behind expert lighting design * Understand shadows, shading components, and texture mapping * Work with node networks, raytracing, and global illumination * Try new approaches to rendering using Maya Software and mental ray If you're ready to take a big step forward and fine-tune your style, Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition is the practical, hands-on guide you need.

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Leseprobe

Titlepage

Credits

Dedication

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Chapter 1: Understanding Lighting and Color

Using 1-Point Lighting

Using 2-Point Lighting

Using 3-Point Lighting

Using Naturalistic Lighting

Using Stylized Lighting

Understanding Color

Step-by-Step: 3D Lighting Examples

Chapter 2: Applying the Correct Maya Light Type

Reviewing Maya Light Types

Linking and Unlinking Lights

Generating Fogs and Glows

Chapter Tutorial: Lighting an Interior

Chapter 3: Creating High-Quality Shadows

Rendering Depth Maps

Raytracing Shadows

Linking and Unlinking Shadows

Creating Effects Shadows

Chapter Tutorial: Creating Quality Shadows with nCloth and Paint Effects

Chapter 4: Applying the Correct Material and 2D Texture

Reviewing Shading Models and Materials

Reviewing 2D Textures

Mastering Extra Map Options

Layering Materials and Textures

Chapter Tutorial: Re-creating Copper with Basic Texturing Techniques

Chapter 5: Applying 3D Textures and Projections

Exploring 3D Textures

Applying Environment Textures

2D Texture Projection Options

Chapter Tutorial: Creating Skin with Procedural Textures

Chapter 6: Creating Custom Connections and Applying Color Utilities

A Closer Look at Nodes

Creating Custom Connections

Shifting Colors

Chapter Tutorial: Creating a Custom Iridescent Material in the Node Editor

Chapter 7: Automating a Scene with Sampler Nodes

Coordinate Spaces and DAG Hierarchies

Employing Samplers

Tying Into Nonmaterial Nodes

Chapter Tutorial: Building a Custom Crosshatch Shader

Chapter 8: Harnessing the Power of Math Utilities

Math Utilities

Using Esoteric Utilities and Scene Nodes

Chapter Tutorial: Creating a Zoom-Dolly by Connecting Nonmaterial Attributes

Chapter 9: Improving Textures with Custom UV Layouts and Maps

Preparing UV Texture Space

Using the 3D Paint Tool

PSD Support

Bump, Normal, and Displacement Mapping

Creating Textures with the Transfer Maps Tool

Chapter Tutorial: Generating and Rendering a Displacement Map with the Transfer Maps Tool

Chapter 10: Prepping for Successful Renders

Determining Critical Project Settings

Mastering Render Settings

Rendering with the Command Line

Selecting Image Formats

Creating Depth of Field

Applying Motion Blur

Working with the Render Layer Editor

Chapter Tutorial: Test Rendering with Maya Hardware 2.0

Chapter 11: Raytracing, mental ray, and Effects Rendering

Maya Software vs. mental ray

Raytracing with Maya Software

Raytracing with mental ray

Solving Raytrace Errors

Rendering with Dynamic Effects Systems

Chapter Tutorial: Texturing and Rendering an Ice Cube

Chapter 12: Working with mental ray Shaders, Global Illumination, and Final Gathering

Applying mental ray Shaders

Contour Rendering

Understanding Indirect Illumination

Tracing Photons with Global Illumination

Applying Photon-Traced Caustics

Activating Importons

Final Gathering

Using Irradiance Particles

Working with Volumetric Shaders

A Note on Photonic Shaders

Using mental Ray Light Shaders

Chapter Tutorial: Using Global Illumination and Final Gathering with the Cornell Box

Chapter 13: Color Management, HDR Workflow, and Render Passes

Managing Color Spaces

Working with HDR

Applying Image-Based Lighting

Using Physical Sun & Sky

Rendering Passes

Overview of Third-Party Renderers

Book Wrap-Up

End-User License Agreement

List of Tables

Table 6-1

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List of Illustrations

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Guide

Cover

Title Page

Front Matter

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1: Understanding Lighting and Color

Start Reading

Chapter 2: Applying the Correct Maya Light Type

Chapter 3: Creating High-Quality Shadows

Chapter 4: Applying the Correct Material and 2D Texture

Chapter 5: Applying 3D Textures and Projections

Chapter 6: Creating Custom Connections and Applying Color Utilities

Chapter 7: Automating a Scene with Sampler Nodes

Chapter 8: Harnessing the Power of Math Utilities

Chapter 9: Improving Textures with Custom UV Layouts and Maps

Chapter 10: Prepping for Successful Renders

Chapter 11: Raytracing, mental ray, and Effects Rendering

Chapter 12: Working with mental ray Shaders, Global Illumination, and Final Gathering

Chapter 13: Color Management, HDR Workflow, and Render Passes

End-User License Agreement

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Advanced Maya® Texturing and Lighting

Third Edition

Lee Lanier

Copyright

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-98352-2

ISBN: 978-1-118-98353-9 (ebk.)

ISBN: 978-1-118-98354-6 (ebk.)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015933608

TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Maya is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Credits

Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo

Development Editor: Jim Compton

Technical Editor: Stanley "Grey" Hash

Production Editor: Christine O’Connor

Copy Editor: Elizabeth Welch

Editorial Manager: Mary Beth Wakefield

Production Manager: Kathleen Wisor

Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel

Compositor: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Josh Chase, Word One New York

Indexer: Nancy Guenther

Project Coordinator, Cover: Brent Savage

Cover Designer: Wiley

Cover Image: Lee Lanier

Dedication

Art is always worth the effort.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to all those who’ve bought previous editions of this book. What can I say? You rock. Thanks to the fine Sybex staff and freelancers, including Mariann Barsolo, Christine O’Connor, Jim Compton, Liz Welch, Josh Chase at Word One, Maureen Forys at Happenstance Type-O-Rama, as well as my technical editor Grey Hash.

About the Author

Lee Lanier has worked as a professional computer animator and visual effects artist since 1994. While at Buena Vista Visual Effects at Walt Disney Studios, he created VFX for numerous feature films. While at PDI/DreamWorks, he served as a senior animator on Antz and Shrek. Along the way, he directed a series of independent, animated short films that went on to play 200+ film festivals, museums, and art galleries worldwide. His work has been featured at such venues as Sundance, Slamdance, SXSW, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution. As a world-renowned expert in the VFX field, Lee has written high-end software books that have sold 30,000 copies, has authored VFX training videos for lynda.com, has taught VFX compositing at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood, is a member of VES (Visual Effects Society), is the executive director of the Dam Short Film Festival, and co-manages the Boulder City branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. He has worked on over 70 features, shorts, music videos, trailers, and commercials.

Introduction

There’s nothing quite like turning a gray-shaded model into something that looks real—or that could be real.

When I wrote the first edition of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting in 2006, it was to shed more light on the powerful lighting and texturing systems found in the Autodesk® Maya® program. I’m very flattered to meet people to this day who drag around old dog-eared copies of that book. Yet the success of this book is not so much a compliment to my writing skills as it is a nod to the amazing possibilities within the reach of any animator willing to put in hard work and long hours. After all, there’s almost nothing you can’t create with a good 3D package like Maya.

I should stress that I am self-taught. In 1994, I sat down at a spare seat of Alias PowerAnimator 5.1 and started hacking away. After several years and various trials by fire, 3D became a livelihood, a love, and an obsession. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to work with many talented artists at Buena Vista Visual Effects at Walt Disney Studios and Pacific Data Images (which became PDI/DreamWorks). In 2000, I switched from PowerAnimator to Maya and have since logged tens of thousands of hours with the subject of this book.

Because of my unusual combination of an informal and professional background, I do not profess to know everything there is to know about Maya. However, I’ve made a point to cover the most critical aspects of texturing, lighting, and rendering, at least from my personal and professional perspective.

Third Edition

The first edition of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting was written with Maya 7.0 and published in 2006. The second edition was written with Maya 2008 and published in 2008. This edition represents a major revision and is written with Maya 2014 and Maya 2015. Although the core functions of Maya have remained the same since 2006, you’ll find many significant updates that are worth learning. These include new Maya utility nodes, upgraded mental ray® shaders, nDynamics simulation tools, the new Node Editor window, the Bifröst fluid simulation system, advanced indirect illumination components like importons and irradiance particles, more robust viewport rendering options, and expanded render pass support.

Who Should Read This Book

Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition, is designed for anyone with a working knowledge of Maya. Specifically, this book was written with the following people in mind:

Students who are reaching the upper levels of their 3D curriculum

Hobbyists or amateurs who are self-starters and would like to rapidly refine their Maya skills

Professionals working in other areas of Maya, such as animation or rigging, who would like to expand their knowledge of texturing and lighting

Although most of the information in this book is Maya-specific, you can apply the texturing and lighting theories and approaches to other 3D programs. This book also refers to digital image manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop and compositing software such as Adobe After Effects. Basic knowledge of such programs is useful but not mandatory when using this book.

How to Use This Book

Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition, is divided into 13 chapters.

Chapter 1 discusses lighting history, technique, and application, as well as basic color theory. Naturalistic, stylistic, 1-point, 2-point, and 3-point lighting are covered in detail. If you are new to lighting, this is the best place to start.

Chapters 2 and 3 detail Maya lights and shadows and how to apply them properly. Specialized effects, such as Environment Fog, Light Fog, Paint Effects, Maya Fur, and Maya nHair, are also covered.

Chapters 4 through 8 delve deeply into Maya materials and utilities. Most Maya books barely scratch the surface in this area. If you’ve ever wondered what each Maya node actually does, check out these chapters. Custom networks are also discussed at length. Numerous examples are provided with clearly labeled illustrations, and you’ll find that the examples are easy to follow (as much as such a complex subject allows). I’ve also included detailed information on the Node Editor.

Chapter 9 takes a detour and reviews UV texture space issues. It also covers bump, normal, and displacement mapping.

Chapter 10 concentrates on scene optimization and batch rendering preparation.

Chapters 11 and 12 delve deeply into raytracing, mental ray shaders, Global Illumination, and Final Gathering. Here you’ll find many of the important new Maya 2015 features.

Chapter 13 looks at color management within Maya, as well as HDR workflow and mental ray render pass management.

If you’re fairly new to Maya or 3D in general, I suggest starting with Chapter 1 and then work your way through the book. If you’re experienced with Maya, I recommend hitting the chapters that contain information that’s poorly documented by other sources. In this case, Chapters 6, 7, and 8 should prove the most interesting.

Eleven chapters of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition, contain tutorials. These tutorials allow you to practice advanced techniques that are employed regularly in the visual effects and animation industries. Each tutorial is accompanied by ample illustrations and completed Maya scene files. In addition, short step-by-step guides are included for specific tasks in every chapter.

Tutorial Files

Several gigabytes of Maya scene files, texture bitmaps, and QuickTime movies accompany this book. Many of the book’s figures include the original Maya scene file, which is listed with the figure captions. (Note that some of these files contain simplified geometry.) The tutorial files are hosted on the official Sybex Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Third Edition website, which is:

www.sybex.com/go/advancedmaya

The tutorial files are organized in the following manner:

DirectoryContents

Project_Files\Chapter_n\scenes\

Maya 2014 and Maya 2015 scene files saved in the MA format

Project_Files\Chapter_n\images\

Reference and high-dynamic range bitmaps saved as TIFF and HDR files

Project_Files\Chapter_n\textures\

Texture bitmaps saved as TIFF, PSD, and JPEG files

Project_Files\Chapter_n\movies\

Sample QuickTime MOV movies

No chapter has all of these folders, but most have at least two of them.

To avoid lost or missing texture bitmaps, I recommend copying the files for a given chapter to your desktop and setting the Maya project to the appropriate chapter directory. For example, if you are reading Chapter 2, choose File > Set Project in Maya and select the /Project_Files/Chapter_2/ directory before opening any Chapter 2 files. You can find more information on bitmap use in Chapter 4.

Maya Versions

The scene files included with the tutorial files are saved in the Maya 2014 or Maya 2015 MA text format. (MA stands for Maya ASCII.) The files have been tested with versions 2014 and 2015. Any significant differences between the two versions are noted in the text.

You can open newer versions of Maya scene files with an older version of the software. To do so, choose Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences, click on the File/Projects section, and select the Ignore Version check box.

Abbreviations

Since Maya requires a three-button mouse for proper operation, the abbreviations LMB, MMB, and RMB are used and stand for Left-Mouse-Button, Middle-Mouse-Button, and Right-Mouse-Button, respectively.

Contact the Author

Feel free to contact me at www.BeezleBugBit.com. You can also find me on popular social networks. For any updates that may accompany the book, go to the book’s website at www.sybex.com/go/advancedmaya.

Chapter 1Understanding Lighting and Color

Lighting is a cornerstone of any 3D project. Although you can easily create and position lights within a scene, an understanding of lighting theory will help you make aesthetically solid choices. The history of art and cinema is full of inspiring examples to choose from. Although 3-point lighting is a mainstay of 3D, 1-point, 2-point, and naturalistic lighting provide alternative lighting methods that better match the real world and the art traditions of the past. On the other hand, stylistic lighting can free an artist from traditional bounds and thereby place no limits on expression.

Chapter Contents

Common lighting terms

An overview of 1-, 2-, and 3-point lighting

An exploration of naturalistic and stylistic lighting

A quick review of color theory and monitor calibration

Exploring the art of lighting

Like every aspect of 3D, lighting must be created from scratch. Unfortunately, the techniques for emulating the real world are not always obvious or intuitive. Luckily, a wealth of lighting theory exists in the form of historical artwork, photography, and motion pictures.

For the sake of clarity, I’ve broken the discussion of lighting theory into the following categories: 1-point, 2-point, 3-point, naturalistic, and stylistic. The first three categories refer to the number of lights employed. The last two refer to a particular style. Before delving into 1-point lighting, however, I’ll define a few common lighting terms:

Key

The most intense light in a scene. The key light’s source is generally identifiable (the sun, a lamp, and so on). The key light usually produces the strongest shadow in the scene.

Fill

A secondary light that is less intense than the key. This light “fills” in the dark areas of a subject and the shadows produced by the key. Fill lights often represent light from a key that has bounced off a surface, such as a wall.

Rim

An intense light source placed behind a subject that strikes the subject along the edge. Rim lights are often employed as hair lights. When a rim light strikes the side of a subject, it’s also referred to as a kicker. Note that you can refer to any light arriving from behind the subject as a backlight.

Using 1-Point Lighting

The 1-point lighting scheme is dramatic, sometimes stark, and often foreboding. The lighting involves a single, easily identifiable key light source, with no significant supplemental sources. You can find 1-point lighting in the following situations:

A man lights a cigarette in an otherwise dark alley.

A woman drives a car down a dark country road, lit only by the car’s instrument panel.

Sunbeams burst through the window of an otherwise unlit interior.

A theater audience is illuminated by the light of the movie screen (see

Figure 1-1

The motion picture genre that most closely emulates 1-point lighting is film noir. Film noir is a style historically associated with crime dramas of the 1940s and ’50s. The style is typified by black-and-white film stock, sparsely lit characters, and deep black shadows. Aesthetically, the lighting stemmed from stories with cynical, paranoid, or nihilistic outlooks. Technically, the stark lighting was the result of placing only a few lights on the set, in some cases because of budgetary restrictions. Although multiple lights were generally needed for any given shot for proper exposure, the result often appears as if a single light source exists. For example, in Figure 1-2 a key light strikes a man from screen right, thereby creating a dark shadow on the wall; however, the horizontal streaks of light from a set of Venetian blinds originates from a weaker fill light.

Figure 1-1: A woman is lit by a movie screen in a 1-point lighting setup.

Figure 1-2: Stark lighting in a film noir–style photo

Classic film noir films include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Touch of Evil (1958). More recent examples include Blade Runner (1982) and Sin City (2005). The lighting style employed by film noir is often referred to as low-key lighting, where there is a strong key light and little, if any, fill.

Film noir is closely related to German expressionism, which was an art movement popular in Germany from 1905 to 1925. German expressionism was dominated by the dark, sinister aspects of the human psyche. The movement is known for its bold, simplified woodcuts and its atmospheric horror cinema (for example, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919).

The roots of expressionism can be traced to the chiaroscuro painting style of the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy and Flanders. Chiaroscuro is defined by a bold contrast between lights and darks (the word is Italian for light-dark). This is often characterized by figures in bright pools of light jutting through dark spaces. Chiaroscuro reached its pinnacle with the baroque art movement (17th and 18th centuries in Europe) and is exemplified by master painters Caravaggio (1573–1610) and Rembrandt (1606–1669).

When painters push for stronger contrast, unlit areas of the scene are rarely painted with pure black. In Figure 1-3, an unidentified key light arrives from above and to the left. No other source of light is apparent. Yet, a background wall is dimly visible thanks to a faint fill. In addition, the right sides of the character faces are seen in the shadows. Hence, such paintings bridge the gap between 1- and 2-point lighting.

Figure 1-3: Rembrandt, Abraham and the Three Angels, ca. 1630–1640, oil on canvas.State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

In comparison, true 1-point lighting is sometimes found in portraiture. For example, in Figure 1-4 there is a single light source to the left and in front of the couple. A secondary light source is not identifiable. The painter Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641) was an influential baroque portraitist.

Figure 1-4: Van Dyck, Princess Mary Stuart and Prince William of Orange, 1641, oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

You’ll see 1-point lighting in contemporary photography and videography. In particular, this technique is used in work created for the fashion industry, commercial advertising, and music videos. A strong, diffuse key light, sometimes in the form of a “soft box” light diffuser or a large ring of fluorescent lights, is placed around, beside, or above the camera. This setup creates evenly lit faces with little sense of additional lighting (see Figure 1-5).

Figure 1-5: A fashion photograph displays 1-point lighting.

It’s easy to set up 1-point lighting in 3D. The most difficult aspect of the scheme is the creation of aesthetic patterns of light and dark. For example, Figure 1-6 shows the film noir–style photo from Figure 1-2 re-created in Autodesk® Maya®. A series of trial-and-error renders were necessary to position a spot light in a satisfactory manner. The horizontal shadows are created by shadowing primitive geometry in the foreground (out of the camera’s view). The intensity of the key should be high enough to illuminate the parts not in shadow but not so high as to “blow out” or overexpose some areas.

Figure 1-6: 1-point lighting re-creation in Maya. The scene is included with the tutorial files as 1_point.ma.

Mannequin model courtesy of Kristen Scallion

Using 2-Point Lighting

The 2-point lighting scheme matches many of the lighting scenarios we encounter in our everyday lives. The scheme often involves a strong key and an extremely diffuse fill. The following are examples of 2-point lighting:

Sunlight streams through a window. The light bounce from the interior walls serves as a fill.

Office workers sit in a windowless room lit with overhead fluorescent lights. The light bounce from the walls, desks, and floor serves as a fill.

A cat walks down a sidewalk on a sunny day. The light bounces off the concrete, providing fill to the bottom of his neck and belly (see

Figure 1-7

Figure 1-7: A cat receives sunlight from above and as a bounced fill from the sidewalk. The lighting is a 2-point setup.

You’ll often see 2-point lighting in painted portraits. For example, in Figure 1-8 a man is lit by a strong key light arriving from the left. A second light source delivers fill from the right; thus, no part of the person or his outfit is left unlit. This painting was created by Frans Hals (1582–1666), a baroque painter whose loose, powerful brushstrokes inspired the impressionism movement. This style of lighting is called broad lighting, whereby the side of the head facing the viewer receives the key. The opposite style of lighting is called short lighting, whereby the side of the head facing away from the viewer receives the key.

Figure 1-8: Left: Hals, Portrait of a Member of the Haarlem Civic Guard, ca. 1636/1638, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.; Right: 2-point lighting re-creation in Maya. The scene is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as 2_point.ma.

The intensity of the key light as compared to the fill (key-to-fill ratio) should vary with the subject and location. The optimum intensity of any light used in a scene depends on its position and the qualities of the materials involved. Nevertheless, as a rough rule of thumb for an initial lighting pass, you can set the intensity of a fill light to at least half that of the key. For the 3D reproduction illustrated in Figure 1-8, a directional light serves as the key. The directional light’s Intensity value is set to 1.75. An ambient light, which serves as the fill, is placed screen right with its Intensity value set to 0.2 (see Figure 1-9).

The 2-point lighting scheme is not limited to portraits. Many outdoor scenes exhibit two distinct sources of light. For example, in Figure 1-10 a watercolor scene portrays a strong key light in the form of the sun arriving from the left. An even fill along the front of the building represents the bounced sunlight, which serves as the second light source.

Figure 1-9: Two-point lighting set up for the Hals painting re-creation

Figure 1-10: A painting of the outdoors shows 2-point lighting.

Using 3-Point Lighting

Perhaps the most commonly discussed and applied lighting technique is 3-point lighting. Descriptions can be found in numerous 3D, film, and video instructional materials. Although 3-point lighting is a reliable way to light many scenes, it has inherent drawbacks.

In the standard 3-point lighting scheme, a strong key is placed to one side of a subject (approximately 15 to 45 degrees off the camera axis). A fill light is placed on the opposite side and is at least half the intensity of the key (see Figure 1-11). A rim light is placed behind the subject so that it grazes the subject’s edge.

Figure 1-11: Standard 3-point lighting applied to a mannequin. This scene is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as 3_point_man.ma.

Note: Four-point lighting simply adds a fourth light to illuminate the background or set behind the subject.

The 3-point lighting scheme is popular in the realm of 3D because it lends depth to a potentially flat subject. For example, in Figure 1-12 a sphere is given additional roundness with three lights. A spot light, which serves as the key, is placed screen left (that is, at the left side of the frame). An ambient light, which serves as a fill, is placed screen right. A directional light, which functions as a rim light, is placed behind the sphere. The balance between the key and fill creates a slightly dark “core” down the center of sphere. The bright edge created by the rim helps separate the sphere from the dark background.

Figure 1-12: Standard 3-point lighting applied to a primitive sphere. This scene is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as 3_point_sphere.ma.

Three-point lighting was developed in the “Golden Age of Hollywood,” which refers to the period between the advent of “talkies” and the years immediately following World War 2. Studio cinematographers developed the technique as an efficient way to light scenes when time was somewhat limited and production schedules had to be met. When lighting actors, cinematographers often sought out the “Rembrandt patch,” which is a triangular patch of light on the cheek opposite the light source (see Figure 1-13). The patch was named after the painter, who often featured such a pattern in his portraits.

Figure 1-13: Modern photo with “Rembrandt patch” on subject’s left cheek

Rim lights, in particular, were developed to separate the actor from a dark or cluttered background. Rim lights (and other fundamental aspects of lighting design) can trace their roots to early theatrical stage lighting. Early examples of their use in motion pictures include, but are not limited to, Old and New (1929), directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and the 1920s comedies of Charles Chaplin (A Woman of Paris, The Gold Rush, and so on). Eventually, rim lights were used to impart a fantastic glow to the hair of heroines such as Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (1942), Rita Hayworth in Gilda (1946), and Grace Kelly in Rear Window (1954). The use of rim lights does not necessitate the use of a definitive fill light. Glamour lighting, a name loosely given to the lighting style of publicity photography of American motion picture studios from the 1920s to the 1940s, often used only a key and a rim (see Figure 1-14).

Figure 1-14: A variation of glamour lighting using a key light (high and to the right) and a kicker (a rim light hitting the left side of the model’s face)

Proper 3-point lighting is fairly difficult to find in the world of painting. Clearly defined rims are not generally painted in. In many cases, a portion of a subject that is dark is allowed to blend into a dark background (refer back to Figure 1-3). In other situations, the chosen background is bright enough to delineate the outline of the subject (see Figure 1-4).

On the other hand, rim lighting can often be found in nature. For example, in Figure 1-15 clouds cover the sun and pick up bright rims. The plane gains a similarly bright edge. A girl’s hair is lit from the sun that sets behind her. These natural occurrences, however, do not fit the standard 3-point lighting system. None of the subjects are affected by more than two distinct sources of light—the key light and the fill light. (Note that professional photographers sometimes add to the fill light by using a reflector; even so, 2-point lighting is often maintained, as is the example of the girl in Figure 1-15.)

Figure 1-15: Naturally occurring examples of rim lighting

Many contemporary cinematographers and videographers consider 3-point lighting either antiquated or unsatisfactory for many lighting situations. The necessity of specific positions for key, fill, and rim lights guarantees that 3-point lighting does not match many real-world situations. The alternative to 3-point lighting is thus naturalistic lighting.

Using Naturalistic Lighting

Naturalistic lighting is an adaptable scheme that matches the natural lighting scenario of the subject location. Any light that is visible is logically driven by a recognizable source. Naturalistic lighting is sometimes called “transparent” in that no artificial lighting methods can be detected. Another way to define naturalistic lighting is to list what it lacks:

Unmotivated shadows

Impossibly distinct rim light

Perfectly placed lights that never permit a character to fall into shadow or be unglamorously lit

The field of motion pictures has numerous examples of non-naturalistic lighting. Many films feature stylized or exaggerated lighting. This is particularly evident with musicals, which are fantastic by their very nature. Such films as The Band Wagon (1953) and Silk Stockings (1957) employ high-key lighting, in which the fill light is intense and there is a low key-to-fill ratio. The characters in these films are therefore evenly lit and carry a minimum number of deep, dark shadows. High-key lighting is also evident in many television sitcoms, in which it is necessary to keep a character well lit at all positions on the set. Similar lighting is employed for advertising and catalog art (see Figure 1-16).

Figure 1-16: High-key lighting demonstrated by ad photography

In other situations, non-naturalistic lighting is a result of technical limitations or time and budget restrictions. A common problem with older motion pictures is the unintended creation of unmotivated, multiple shadows. For example, light representing the sun casts multiple shadows of a character on the ground. More commonly, a lamp casts multiple, distinct shadows of its own fixture (see Figure 1-17). This is caused by a need to illuminate a set with multiple lights to attain correct exposure even though the desired light source—in terms of the story—is singular.

Figure 1-17: A lamp unrealistically casts three sharp shadows of itself (as seen in a frame blowup from a 1950s motion picture).

In contrast, naturalistic lighting is often found in post-1950s historical dramas, particularly those set in times before the advent of the lightbulb. Prime examples include Barry Lyndon (1975), directed by Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999), and 1492(1992), directed by Ridley Scott (1937–). In these works, lighting is motivated by combinations of sunlight, moonlight, candlelight, and firelight. Keys, fills, and their resulting shadows are often extremely soft. The naturalistic lighting approach is not limited to historical drama, however. Kubrick also employed naturalistic lighting in such films as A Clockwork Orange (1971) and The Shining (1980).

In the world of art, naturalistic lighting can be found in any of the painting genres that placed a premium on accurate lighting. For example, Jan van Eyck (1385–1440) was an early adopter of physically accurate painting. In Figure 1-18, the light from several windows bounces through a room, creating soft shadows along the way. Van Eyck helped to establish the style of the Early Renaissance, which placed an importance on the study of the natural world. Note that the subtleties in lighting are easily seen even when the painting is reproduced in black and white.

Figure 1-18: Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434, tempura on wood. National Gallery, London.

In addition to chiaroscuro works, the baroque movement produced many naturalistic paintings. The movement placed an emphasis on emotionally and physically accurate portrayals of subjects. Two Dutch painters, Jan Vermeer (1632–1675) and Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684), were particularly successful at rendering soft, naturally lit interiors and exteriors.

Realism, as an art movement, appeared in the mid-19th century and placed a premium on an accurately portrayed world with no hint of idealism or romanticism. Realist artists include George Caleb Bingham (1811–1879) and Jules Breton (1827–1906), both of whom are noted for their accurately rendered outdoor scenes. Impressionism, centered in France in the 1860s and considered a branch of realism, sought to faithfully portray light and color as perceived by the human eye.

Naturalistic lighting, by its very nature, does not dictate a fixed number of lights or specific light locations or intensities. However, you can use the following guidelines to assist you during setup:

Determine what the strongest light is and where it should be coming from. Is the light source visible within the frame or is it arriving from offscreen? Set one or more key lights in appropriate locations. Match the type of light to the type of source. (See Chapter 2, “Applying the Correct Maya Light Type,” for more information on Maya light types.) Render tests to determine the appropriate intensities of the key or keys before adding fill lights.

Determine what secondary light sources are needed. Are these sources physical (that is, a lamp, a candle, and so on), or are they actually the bounced light of the strongest light source? Set fill lights in the appropriate locations. If you are copying an existing location, replicate the key-to-fill ratio. If the scene you are creating does not exist in the real world, apply a key-to-fill ratio that is similar to an equivalent location in the real world.

When applying shadows, replicate the type of shadow that is naturally produced by a specific light source. For example, midday sunlight creates hard-edged parallel shadows (see

Figure 1-19

). An artificial source close to the subject, such as a lightbulb, produces a shadow that widens and softens over distance. (See Chapter 3, “Creating High-Quality Shadows,” for information on shadow creation in Maya.)

Color is equally important when reproducing a particular location. Different light sources create different wavelengths of light, which in turn produce specific hues that are perceived by the human eye or recorded on a medium such as film or video. (See Chapter 2 for information concerning Maya light color. For information on color temperature, see “A Note on Color Temperature” at the end of this chapter.)

Figure 1-19: Left: The sun creates parallel shadows of stone columns; Right: An artificial light source creates a shadow that widens and softens over distance.

Using Stylized Lighting

Stylized lighting pays no heed to the real world but fabricates fantastic sources of light or simply ignores the lighting information altogether.

The oldest form of stylized lighting can be called 0-point lighting. In this case, lighting plays no part in the artistic representation. You can see this in prehistoric art, as well as in the art of ancient or primitive cultures (see Figure 1-20). To this day, 0-point lighting survives as cartoons and comic strips where no shading is added.

Figure 1-20: Petroglyphs, hieroglyphics, and some comic art carry no lighting information.

Left: Photo © Galyna Andrushko/Dollar Photo Club. Center: Photo © Patryk Kosmider /Dollar Photo Club. Right: Art © KMT/Dollar Photo Club.

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

Successful lighting does not depend on appropriate light placement alone. One crucial component is color. Color theory is an enormous topic, and it is beyond the scope of this book to cover more than the basics. However, a discussion of the RYB and RGB color models, color wheels, color space, color temperature, and light color is worth a look.

Color Theory Overview

In the traditional color theory model, red, yellow, and blue are considered primary colors. As such, they follow these rules:

No combination of any two primary colors can produce a third primary color.

Combinations of all three primaries can produce a wider range of colors than any other combination of colors.

You can form secondary colors by mixing together primary colors, which produces orange, green, and violet (purple). You can form tertiary colors by mixing primary colors and secondary colors; the resulting colors are generally given hyphenated names, such as blue-green. The primary, secondary, and tertiary colors are often represented by a 12-step color wheel (see Figure 1-21).

The red-yellow-blue (RYB) color theory model evolved in the 18th century and was based on color materialism, which assumes that primary colors are based on specific, indivisible material pigments found in minerals or other natural substances. The popularization of specific RYB colors was aided by printmakers such as Jakob Christoffel Le Blon (1667–1741), who developed the color separation printing process. The color wheel itself was invented by Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) in 1704, although his variation contained seven hues visible when white light was split by a prism.

Figure 1-21: Left: Red-yellow-blue (RYB) color wheel re-created in Maya. The scene is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as RYB_wheel.ma; Right: Red-green-blue (RGB) color wheel re-created in Maya. The scene is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as RGB_wheel.ma.

The development of computer graphics, however, has added a new set of primary colors: red, green, and blue, or RGB. This produces its own unique color wheel (see Figure 1-21). Through an additive process, computer monitors mix red, green, and blue light to produce additional colors. Added in equal proportions, RGB primaries produce white. In contrast, the RYB color theory model is subtractive in that the absence of red, yellow, and blue produces white (assuming that the blank paper or canvas is white). In this case, if colored paint or ink pigments are present, they absorb certain wavelengths of light, thus preventing those wavelengths from being reflected back at the viewer. When combined in equal proportions, the RYB primaries produce black (having absorbed all visible wavelengths of light). Modern printing techniques follow the subtractive model by using cyan, magenta, and yellow primary inks, with the addition of black ink (CMYK, where K is black). Cyan, magenta, and yellow happen to be secondary colors on the RGB color wheel. The Color Chooser window in Maya represents the RGB color wheel as a circular shape, with red in the 3 o’clock position. (For more information on the Color Chooser, see Chapter 6, “Creating Custom Connections and Applying Color Utilities.”

Despite the disparity between color theory models, methods of using a RYB color wheel are equally applicable to RGB color wheels. As such, the goal of color selection is color harmony, which is the pleasing selection and arrangement of colors within a piece of art. The most common methods of choosing harmonic colors produce the following color combinations with the RGB color wheel:

Complementary Colors

A pair of colors at opposite ends of the color wheel. For example, in

Figure 1-22

, the blue-cyan body and red-orange head of a bizarre character compose a complementary color set.

Figure 1-22: A blue-cyan body and a red-orange head form complementary colors. This still is taken from the short film 7 Deadly Sins for the 21st Century.

Split Complement

One color plus the two colors that flank that color’s complementary color (for example, green, blue-violet, and red-violet).

Analogous Colors

Colors that are side-by-side. For example, in

Figure 1-23

the leaf color varies from red-orange to yellow-orange. In RGB, red-orange is a mixture of primary red and tertiary orange; yellow-orange is the mixture of secondary yellow and tertiary orange. If compared to the RYB color wheel, the colors correspond to secondary orange and tertiary yellow-orange, which are also analogous.

Figure 1-23: The colors of the leaves on the ground in a painting form analogous colors, both in RGB and RYB.

Diad

Two colors that have a single color position between them (for example, secondary violet and primary red on the RGB color wheel).

Triad

Three colors that are equally spaced on the wheel.

Note: A common mistake made by many 2D and 3D animators is the overuse of pure primary and secondary colors in their designs. Colors located between the secondary and tertiary elements will provide a more diverse palette. For instance, instead of choosing 1, 0, 1 in Maya RGB color space, try selecting 0.5, 0.4, 0.8 for a more muted variation of violet.

Checking Color Calibration

Maya operates in RGB color space. Color space represents all the colors that a device can produce. The color space available to various output devices varies greatly. For example, the color space that a television can display is significantly different from the color space available to a computer monitor or a printer.

Never assume that a computer monitor is displaying your renders correctly. If you are creating an animation for video, it’s best to check the resulting edit on a professional broadcast monitor. If you are creating a render for print, bring the render into Adobe Photoshop or a similar program, convert the RGB color space to CMYK color space, and choose the correct color profile. If you are creating the animation for motion picture film, calibrate your monitor based on the suggestions of the service or personnel transferring the frames. In many cases, a lookup table (LUT) is developed to properly map the gamma of the computer monitors used by animators. Portable calibration hardware, and matching software, is also used to check the calibration result. (The color displayed by a monitor “drifts” over time.) Although monitor calibration equipment may be impractical for an independent animator, calibration shortcuts can be taken.

A quick-and-dirty method of checking the color calibration of a monitor involves the use of a chip chart. For example, in Figure 1-24 a chart runs from black to white in 11 distinct steps and in a continuous gradient. When displayed on a monitor, a portion of the chart may appear “crushed.” (Certain steps may no longer be visible, and the gradient may no longer be smooth.) If this is the case with your monitor, you might unintentionally base a scene’s lighting on an inaccurate view of the scene’s actual color space. The end result might be an animation that appears too dark and muddy on video or too bright and washed out on film. Adjusting the brightness, contrast, gamma, and color temperature of the monitor can alleviate this problem. Although you can usually adjust the brightness and contrast through a monitor’s external control panel, the gamma and color temperature are usually controlled through a piece of calibration software (for example, the Windows 8 operating system provides color management software tools). For more information on gamma, see Chapter 6.

Figure 1-24: A calibration chip chart. This file is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as chip_chart.tif.

A Note on Color Temperature

Color temperature is based on the wavelength of light emitted by a material when it is heated. Technically speaking, if a light source is said to be 5500 Kelvin (K), it emits the same wavelength of light, and the same color of light, as a black body radiator heated to 5500 K. A black body radiator is a theoretical material that absorbs 100 percent of the radiation that strikes it when the body is at absolute zero (–273 C°). Although there are no true black bodies in the real world, graphite and various metals come close. In the original experiments by William Kelvin (1824–1907), a block of heated carbon was used. The Kelvin, on the other hand, is a measurement of temperature that adds 273 to the temperature read in Celsius. The Kelvin measurement only refers to the thermal temperature of the theoretical black body radiator and is not the actual temperature of a light source. In other words, a fluorescent lightbulb does not have to reach a real-world 4000 K to produce the same color of light as the black body radiator at 4000 K; instead, the color of the bulb is roughly correlated to the color of the heated black body.

When a material is heated to a temperature above 700 K, it emits visible light. At temperatures close to 700 K, the light wavelength is long and the perceived light is red. At temperatures above 6000 K, the wavelength becomes shorter and the perceived color shifts to blue. The chart in Figure 1-25 indicates the color temperature of various light sources and their perceived colors. The colors represented are only a rough approximation. In addition, the color temperatures listed for each light source are an average; depending on the circumstance or the method of manufacture, color temperatures can easily vary by hundreds of Kelvin. Light-emitting diode (LED) lightbulbs are also rated for specific temperatures. For example, a “warm” LED bulb may be 3000 K whereas a “cool white” LED may be 4100 K to 5000 K. Some LED lamps offer the ability to shift between color temperatures.

Figure 1-25: Color temperatures of common light sources. This image is included with the Chapter 1 tutorial files as color_chart.tif.

Setting a White Point (White Balance)

When you work with monitor calibration, color temperature is used to set the white point of the hardware. (Setting the white point is also commonly referred to as setting the white balance.) A white point is a coordinate in color space that defines what is “white.” If a monitor is given a white point with a high Kelvin value, the display has a blue cast. If a monitor is given a white point with a low Kelvin value, the display has a yellow cast. The flexibility of the white point is necessary to match potential output formats. For example, graphic artists might set their monitors to 5500 K to better match the appearance of physical paper or canvas in a common work environment. For 3D animation intended for video, 6500 K generally works, because 6500 K is a common setting for SDTV and HDTV television sets. Many HDTV sets, both consumer and broadcast, offer the option to switch to 5400 K to better match motion picture film or 9300 K for cooler colors.