Post by a Chunk on Jan 17, 2019 17:45:41 GMT
Lighting Fundamentals - Using Colored Light
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This 2005 article Steve Theodore focuses on what he considers to be the fundamentals of lighting. Though the article is quite old, the information in it is just as relevant today as it was then. Before we get to deeply into it, check out this glossary of terms provided in the article:
KEY LIGHT: In a conventional lighting setup, the key light is the major source of light. Typically, the key light stands for the sun, the moon, or the main room lighting. Key lights are frequently positioned at about a 45 degree elevation and 45 degrees to one side of the main subject.
FILL LIGHT: Typically, the fill light is positioned about 90 degrees away from the key light, and generally is a complementary color. The fill light is not as strong as the key and is intended to bring the major forms of the subject into relief.
KICKER OR RIMLIGHT: In theatrical lighting, a kicker is a positioned behind the subject so that a glancing reflection forms a highlight around the subject's outline. Kickers are usually placed opposite from and lower than the fill light.
FILL LIGHT: Typically, the fill light is positioned about 90 degrees away from the key light, and generally is a complementary color. The fill light is not as strong as the key and is intended to bring the major forms of the subject into relief.
KICKER OR RIMLIGHT: In theatrical lighting, a kicker is a positioned behind the subject so that a glancing reflection forms a highlight around the subject's outline. Kickers are usually placed opposite from and lower than the fill light.
With that out of the way, let's get on with it! Here's what Steve had to say about lighting in games:
The most important advance in next-generation graphics quality will be a huge leap in quality of lighting. In most contemporary games, lighting is utilitarian at best: It helps players perceive the structure of 3D spaces, provides directional cues, and indicates places of concealment. In far too many games, the lighting doesn't even reach that basic level. In film and theater, though, it's universally recognized that lighting isn't simply about making things visible. Lighting is the instrument that controls the emotional pitch of a scene. For character and environment designs to engage the player's intellect, the lighting (much like music) must bypass the analytical, and works directly on emotions.
The most obvious way to impact a players emotions with lighting is through the use of colored light. While it's important not to go overboard with colored light, it also most definitely should not be avoided. This begs the question, "How to best incorporate color lighting into my level?"
The simplest kind of lighting designs work like a kind of coloring book. With strong key lights and appropriate fills, you can "paint" a scene to set a mood. We all know the basics of color association: red for danger, blue for peace, green for life, and so on. It can be very tempting to fall back on these old standbys as a shortcut to an emotion. This approach can work well deep red emergency lights and inky shadows in the underground bunker might be just what you need to create tension and set the player's nerves tingling. Often, though, dominating color schemes can backfire. One of the important practical functions of good lighting, after all, is to help the characters pop off the screen and capture the player's attention. Your need for contrast between character and environment can easily work against your attempt to set an emotional tone. If your villain is clad in typically villainous purple and green, he's not going to stand out particularly well if the same sickly colors are washing the walls of his air. Some textures won't stand up to strong colored lighting either. Without careful planning, you might find a colored light reveals an annoying repeat pattern you never noticed in one of your textures, rather like a color-blindness test. So how do you set a mood with color when you also have to provide visual clarity?
Next, we come to 'Kickers'...
When theatrical lighting designers need to pop a character out of the "canvas" of the screen or stage, they'll add a complementary rim light or kicker to provide a strong edge highlight. This separates the character from the backdrop without undercutting the color theme. Many games shy away from overtly theatrical lighting, fearing that players will wonder where that helpful little light is coming from.
You do need to remember that players are free to wander and can easily roam into areas where they can unveil our clever impostures. When lighting an environment, try not to place strong lights that don't have a possible physical source. Softer lights will usually escape scrutiny, particularly if they are colored to simulate radiosity bounces. However, the basic principle remains: Light for the effect you need, and to hell with physics.
To cover the subject of Hot and Cold colors, Steve turns to Star Wars:
In conventional color terms, you'd expect the imperial sets to be drenched in reds and pooled with ominous shadows, but instead the Death Star is lit up like a cross between a dentist's office and a meat locker. It's dominated by fluorescent haze and cool blue accent lights (see Figure 1). The cool colors reflect off the spotless plastic of the stormtroopers and the black vacuum of Darth Vader to perfectly embody the Empire's impersonal, bureaucratic brand of evil.
By contrast, the rebels are always lit warmly; the classic shot that really establishes Luke Skywalker's character, as he watches the twin suns set on Tatooine, is as pink as the Barbie aisle in your local toy store. The warm/cool opposition is an extremely simple design, but it's absolutely critical for establishing the emotional underpinnings of the story.
By contrast, the rebels are always lit warmly; the classic shot that really establishes Luke Skywalker's character, as he watches the twin suns set on Tatooine, is as pink as the Barbie aisle in your local toy store. The warm/cool opposition is an extremely simple design, but it's absolutely critical for establishing the emotional underpinnings of the story.
The article then goes on to point out that some games, like Half Life 2, use these colors in reverse, with the warmer colors indicating danger while the cooler colors indicate that the player is in a safer area.
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This is the first of a two part article. The second part will focus on Contrast. Keep an eye out for it coming soon.
Source: www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192391/Lighting_design_fundamentals_How_and_where_to_use_colored_light.php