Light

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6 types of light sources:

-ambient

-directional

-point

-spot

-area

-volume

you can add a light by going to [create] -> [light]

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ambient:

-brightens all parts of the scene uniformly

-useful for: simulating a combination of direct ad indirect lighting

directional:

-even illumination for a scene using parallel rays of light

-useful for: extremely far away sources eg. sunlight

point:

-light radiates in all directions from a single point

-ideal for: omni-directional sources eg. lightbulb

spot:

-creates a cone of light in one direction

-useful for: beams of light eg, flashlight, lighthouse

area:

-2D rectangular light sources

-longer render time

-useful for: windows, ceiling lights

volume:

-light fills a 3D shape (sphere, cylinder, etc.)

-useful for : a visual representation of the extent of the light

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three point lighting

key light:

-main source illuminating the object

secondary (fill light):

-highlights details of the object and the shadows that the key light leaves

-only about 50% of the key light

backlight:

-'halo effect' where the object has a light silhouette around it

-separates the object from the background

angle between the lights are stages between 20-45*

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attribute of lights:

-intensity

-fall-off/decay

-cone angle

-penumbra angle

-drop-off

-colour

intensity:

-how much light emitted from the light sources

decay:

-how much light diminishes away from the sources

cone angle

width of the lights cone of influence:

-area outside out not illuminated

penumbra angle:

-fall off at edges of cone angle

-gives a softer edge to the light cone

drop off:

-how much the light diminishes at the outer edges

colour:

-set an RGB colour for the light -affects colour of the scene

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shadow effects:

-hard shadows

-default shadow option

-faster render time

-soft shadows

-creates soft and more realistic faced edges around shadow

-longer render time

-fall-out

-acts like a colour gradient

-shadow becomes lighter at the top

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shading

shading is a combination of the basic material of an object and an features

blinn:

-simulates diffuse reflection and soft specular highlights

-takes into account viewing angle for specular highlight (phong does not)

-used for: metallic surfaces

lambert:

-simulates diffuse relation, no specular highlights

-used for: matte surfaces

phong:

-simulates diffuse reflection and hard specular highlights

-faster render time than blinn

-used for: shiny surfaces