Lights, Camera, Render!

So it is July 31st and I have completed 3 pieces of artwork.(Check them out in the selected works page.) As I mention in my previews blog post, I have learn a lot about materials. Since then I have learn a lot more about materials as well as other stuff. Since I talked about materials in the last blog post, I won't go into depth about materials however I will say this, you can make your own material by take pictures of things and uploading them into a 3d modeling software program. Anyways, besides material I have been working to learn more about lighting, camera, and rendering, as you can tell from the title. It is important to learn all three of of these skill because they are all connected to each other.

In past pieces of artwork I have only been making objects, however now I as I continue working 3D models I now incorporate setting into my artwork. I have made basic scenes that include a backdrop and ground, however I find to be a very important aspect in my artwork. When making a single object a person can figure what that object is and what it might do, however when you add a setting it give the object a story. Now there are plenty of other thing that can give an object a story but for now I will stick to setting. Now you may be wondering how creating a scene for your artwork has to do with lights, camera and rendering. Well, these 3 things have everything to do with creating the perfect scene for you object(s) and thus creating the perfect story.

First I will talk about lights. The main goal of lights is to help the audience see. The question is though, what do you what the audience to see. If you have a chess board you modeled and you want to show off the queen piece, you will shine lights on the queen piece. You won't just put lights on the queen piece because then your audience won't see the rest of the chess board. Another thing to consider with lights is at which angle do you want the light to shine. Different angles have different shadows and that can have a big impact of your artwork. Color is also another important thing to consider with lights. Different colors send different mood, however be careful because some colors are easier to see than others. Lights may sound easy to do however when considering all factors is can get real complex. Now when you have an object with a setting you have to remember to light the setting as well as the object. That way your audience can see everything. This of course is easier said then done.

Camera is a little simpler than lights but still important. The camera you place in a 3d model will be used to take a snapshot of your work. When that being said you have to position your camera in a way the incorporates all that you want you audience to see. You also have to be mindful of the lights that you place because you don't want your camera taking a picture with too much or too little light. Now typically you place you camera first and the place you lights according to the camera's position, however it does,t hurt to be mindful of lighting when placing your camera.

Last but certainly not least is rendering. Think of rendering as a computer polishing of the artwork for it's final display. Now I am no expert in rendering to say the least, however I do the basics. There are different qualities for rendering as well as different formats. Its is important to choose the right quality and format that fits your needs. A higher quality takes longer but it more smooth and detailed while a lower quality is quicker but might not be as smooth and detailed. In the 3d modeling software I use, the quality it set to standard and that is typically what I use. As I mention earlier there are different formats you can have you final rendered image be in. You might even decide to have a final rendered animation instead of an image. With my time to watch TV artwork I actually animated the piece however I was not able to render it in a video format. There is a lot more to rendering that I am not quite sure of however I plan to learn more in the future.

To conclude, lighting, camera, and rendering are all important techniques that I have learned a little more about over this summer. Going into this new school year I believe I will use these techniques a lot and refine them as time goes on.

• Lighting, Camera and Rendering techniques.