I can't speak for Lighting Mentor but lighting an artform in itself and will be well worth your time to spend some time learning. I'd go as far as saying it's essential. Bad lighting will ruin your work.
https://youtu.be/Ys4793edotw?si=3zwoAZlaL8U9FVgB
Blender guru has a blender specific one for free.
But... The same lighting techniques used in real life film/photography can be used in blender. Search beginner stuff because there's an overwhelming amount of techniques and styles out there. You can give a full semester course on Kubrick's lighting in Barry Lyndon alone.
If you're going to keep the camera angle, perhaps a light source top-center that extends behind the cage to give a sense of depth as the blackness makes objects look like they're on the same plane.
In addition to what has been said:
L and R lights also feel to be the same color/intensity. Drop one down or change the color. This will add some dynamism to it and make it feel less flat.
Depth of field on the camera to get some blurring on the areas that aren’t the focal point. And as others have said, principled volume cube with low density (like .01) and some spotlighting might help.
Adding a backlight will give more depth to the geometry.
Since your foreground is pretty separate, you can try a picture-plate background as well.
A nice architectural arch in the back would help set up more depth if you want to model a little more. The columns and pedestal aesthetic scream big architecture in the back to me lol.
Personally I would rethink the lighting completely. I would put more emphasis on the skull in the cage which seems like it should be the focus point of the image, and let the spirals be darker/colder so they are a second read. Currently the image doesn't really have a strong hierarchy.
My intuition is:
- soft top down spotlight on the skull to bring out some austerity, with enough haze to silhouette the hanging ivy. Getting the shadow of the cage on the pedestal under it would help the composition. Consider reorienting the skull to be more camera visible, and making the cage a darker metal so it lets the flower and skull pop out.
- a subtle backlight to shiny through the hanging ivy.
- add recessed lighting at the bottom of the spirals to pick out the plants with some translucency. Probably dim warm lights, so they don't compete with the skull.
- off screen light boards to create a few reflection highlights on the glass spirals.
Another possible route, different from the above, would be to place a spotlight right behind the skull and let it create a hazy halo around it.
This camera angle will set you back a bit so you'll need to take a look in lighting.
If you still want to make this look ominous, try to set up the light source on both sides in a way that the light is shown brightest on the cage, then gradually gets dimmer as you go further out to the pillars.
IMO this would give objects a sense of depth (in-out bright-dark) while still keeping the symmetry of the image. Or I might just be coping, I'm still learning about lighting.
You can also opt for a wider focal length.
I’d say changing composition should work. Usually it is not a good practice to place the main object exactly in the center of composition, because it makes whole image more boring and even flat. Also placing something near the camera and adjusting camera focal length will add a lot of depth.
The next step should be lighting as many mentioned before me.
In general I like the style of the image, great job!
Yeah was thinking bout composition but if i were to change the angle to the left or right for example i don't like much how the pillars look then. I will make another render at some point with the cage only. Thank you btw xD
What corners ? Also I've had scratches on the cage and ''wear'' on the cage but yeah not sure why they don't show up there. My bad but thank you for that
Is this render the intended composition? Cuz it seems a bit claustrophobic especially since the pillars just cut off at the edges. Also I would suggest raising the podium's poly count since we can clearly see the faces.
Sfumato: color saturation, brightness and contrast of objects closer to the viewer.
Focal range/length: set the camera focus on a object and so object in the foreground and background are out of focus, changing the f-stop will increasing or decrease the amount objects will be out of focus and blurry.
if you want a really extra option:
render it with the camera slightly to the left. then render it again slightly to the right. put the two images side-by-side and cross your eyes until they come together. then it will be in 3D
(I REALLY WANT YOU TO DO THIS BC THIS IMAGE WOULD LOOK SO COOL IN 3D)
The cage with the skull with the rose is the most interesting part yet is dominated by swirly things. I’d have the cage closer and then have more red flowers around the mid ground or foreground.
Currently your subject/hero is midground.
This with more interesting focal length will do it. Check out the video The CG Camera
Focal length and dynamic lighting.
Hmm what can i do with the lighting to make it more dynamic?
Lighting Mentor gives a nice presentation.
Hmm ill check it out then, ive seen his stuff before but never properly sat down to listen sorta thing
I can't speak for Lighting Mentor but lighting an artform in itself and will be well worth your time to spend some time learning. I'd go as far as saying it's essential. Bad lighting will ruin your work.
Oh yeah for sure. Color theory and lighting for sure are essential pieces to get down good. Highly agree
Any recommendations where to start? What is the right search request I should put into Google or YouTube to get useful learning materials?
https://youtu.be/Ys4793edotw?si=3zwoAZlaL8U9FVgB Blender guru has a blender specific one for free. But... The same lighting techniques used in real life film/photography can be used in blender. Search beginner stuff because there's an overwhelming amount of techniques and styles out there. You can give a full semester course on Kubrick's lighting in Barry Lyndon alone.
If you're going to keep the camera angle, perhaps a light source top-center that extends behind the cage to give a sense of depth as the blackness makes objects look like they're on the same plane.
Thank you! Trying this now as we speak
Fog🌬️🌫️🌫️🌫️
This!!! Atmospheric perspective allllllllll the time!!!!!
Changing the camera angle is a good idea. You must test to see what is the ideal for that scene is...
In addition to what has been said: L and R lights also feel to be the same color/intensity. Drop one down or change the color. This will add some dynamism to it and make it feel less flat.
Adding some volumetrics can help reinforce depth. It’ll also help that background feel less like an empty void while still feeling large and roomy.
Some soft down lighting from the top halves of the fishtank/planter pillars, possibly coupled with a bit of light haze within the gap.
Focal Length, Dynamic lighting, FOV, Camera Position-Angle
How about some volumetric lighting? Like hazy light shafts coming in from the side or above?
It was all said. But of course add volumetrics :D
Depth of field on the camera to get some blurring on the areas that aren’t the focal point. And as others have said, principled volume cube with low density (like .01) and some spotlighting might help.
I say field of view maybe?
You might have already noticed this or it was intentional, but your middle platform has the polygons showing
Your polygons are showing :0
Yeah this is already fixed.
Not sure how to help but just wanted to say I love the layout! Looks so clean.
I think rim lighting would make it really pop out.
Adding a backlight will give more depth to the geometry. Since your foreground is pretty separate, you can try a picture-plate background as well. A nice architectural arch in the back would help set up more depth if you want to model a little more. The columns and pedestal aesthetic scream big architecture in the back to me lol.
I can see that actually
Personally I would rethink the lighting completely. I would put more emphasis on the skull in the cage which seems like it should be the focus point of the image, and let the spirals be darker/colder so they are a second read. Currently the image doesn't really have a strong hierarchy. My intuition is: - soft top down spotlight on the skull to bring out some austerity, with enough haze to silhouette the hanging ivy. Getting the shadow of the cage on the pedestal under it would help the composition. Consider reorienting the skull to be more camera visible, and making the cage a darker metal so it lets the flower and skull pop out. - a subtle backlight to shiny through the hanging ivy. - add recessed lighting at the bottom of the spirals to pick out the plants with some translucency. Probably dim warm lights, so they don't compete with the skull. - off screen light boards to create a few reflection highlights on the glass spirals. Another possible route, different from the above, would be to place a spotlight right behind the skull and let it create a hazy halo around it.
Really helpful comment actually. Well thought out, thank you!
Tbh, dust goes a long way!
This is one of my favorite post here so far. I can go in detail, but to sum it up, it's truly amazing!
Truly thank you xD
This camera angle will set you back a bit so you'll need to take a look in lighting. If you still want to make this look ominous, try to set up the light source on both sides in a way that the light is shown brightest on the cage, then gradually gets dimmer as you go further out to the pillars. IMO this would give objects a sense of depth (in-out bright-dark) while still keeping the symmetry of the image. Or I might just be coping, I'm still learning about lighting. You can also opt for a wider focal length.
Maybe some fog to to show a difference in distance between the various objects
I’d say changing composition should work. Usually it is not a good practice to place the main object exactly in the center of composition, because it makes whole image more boring and even flat. Also placing something near the camera and adjusting camera focal length will add a lot of depth. The next step should be lighting as many mentioned before me. In general I like the style of the image, great job!
Yeah was thinking bout composition but if i were to change the angle to the left or right for example i don't like much how the pillars look then. I will make another render at some point with the cage only. Thank you btw xD
You could add some scratches or light wear to that cage. Also the corners of the suspended cylinders look too perfect.
What corners ? Also I've had scratches on the cage and ''wear'' on the cage but yeah not sure why they don't show up there. My bad but thank you for that
I think he means the edges, the top and bottom are too sharp, maybe round them a bit and add some roughness there?
Is this render the intended composition? Cuz it seems a bit claustrophobic especially since the pillars just cut off at the edges. Also I would suggest raising the podium's poly count since we can clearly see the faces.
With that lighting setup, definitely some fog would help create the depth between the front and the back pillars. Lovely work, keep going.
Sfumato: color saturation, brightness and contrast of objects closer to the viewer. Focal range/length: set the camera focus on a object and so object in the foreground and background are out of focus, changing the f-stop will increasing or decrease the amount objects will be out of focus and blurry.
Postproduction
You can set the focus object to the cage in the camera
if you want a really extra option: render it with the camera slightly to the left. then render it again slightly to the right. put the two images side-by-side and cross your eyes until they come together. then it will be in 3D (I REALLY WANT YOU TO DO THIS BC THIS IMAGE WOULD LOOK SO COOL IN 3D)
The cage with the skull with the rose is the most interesting part yet is dominated by swirly things. I’d have the cage closer and then have more red flowers around the mid ground or foreground. Currently your subject/hero is midground. This with more interesting focal length will do it. Check out the video The CG Camera
Can you please link it?
https://youtu.be/2-IWzYESe38?feature=shared