Lighting and Atmosphere

NGartplay

I'm very interested to hear how you lit your scenes.  I've forgotten most of what I knew about it so maybe I'll remember something hearing how you did it.

The image that I'm posting is very old and was made around the time that I learned about half dome lighting.  The dome is made up of radial lights and your subject is placed inside the dome.  I used the dome so often that I saved a Bryce object of it.

Rusty Paws (could also call it Conundrum)

 

Horo

NGartplay - very nice how the cat watches the fish.
How I light a scene? Well, we could go on for hours but in a nutshell:
Before Bryce 7, I also used a half dome of radials or rings of radials. With Bryce 7 came Dome and Fill lights that replace the elaborate radial setups. We also got true parallel lights and a distant light that can be used as a sun. We also got IBL (since Bryce 6) and an HDRI can be used as a dome light. A dome light is always single colour, a HDRI can have many colours shining from different sides. We also got True Ambience that really works (the one in Bryce 5 and 6 was not very good). Meanwhile, we have many different and very powerful means to light a scene. There is no best method, but maybe one that is best suitable for a particular scene.

NGartplay

Thanks Horo.  I was spending a lot of time learning the lighting before I left Bryce a few years ago.  Now I have to learn it all over again.  I have never had good success with spot lights and I don't know what parallel lights are.  Didn't even know there was a dome light in Bryce.  To me, lighting is the most important factor in a scene.

I'm going to have to start learning it all over again.

Hansmar

NGArtplay. Very nice old render. I use various ways of lighting, dependent on what I want to achieve and what works for the render I want to make. I regularly use IBL or distant lights to lighten too dark parts of the render (shadows), but also dedicated spotlights (to provide light on specific elements I find too dark otherwise. Sometimes I use dome lights for e.g. insides of buildings. I have hardly ever used parallel lights.

Rashad Carter

Horo said:

NGartplay - very nice how the cat watches the fish.
 

I observe the fish is also watching the cat. Everyone seems to know what's up!

mermaid010

NGArtplay very nicely lit scene. There are some awesome videos by David at Bryce.info

adbc

NGartplay : I love that cat's look at the frightened fish, great lighting.

hubert

NGartplay : Wonderfully done! Great expressions and wonderful lighting.

NGartplay

Thank you everyone for the compliments...too kind.  I will be looking at tutorials and links.  I'm off for a wedding in Colorado soon, so afterwards and it's a long winter.

Rashad, the fish's look at the cat always makes me smile.