Class 1 handout

Here is the class curriculum:
Studio Arts Course Outline
Lighting

This course covers the principles and practice of CG lighting and rendering.

Structure
The class lectures will consist of both demonstrations and hands-on practice sessions. Please practice the techniques and do any exercises or assignments before the next class.

Recommended reading
[digital] Lighting & Rendering by Jeremy Birn
Understanding 3D Animation Using Maya by John Park
Learning Maya 7: The Special Effects Handbook by Alias Learning

Curriculum
Class 1:
• Lighting Workflow: Projects, Interface, Globals, Buffer, IPR, Shelf, Look through light camera
• Light Types: Point, Spot
• Dropoff, penumbra
• Attenuation
• Colored Light
• Shaping Light Throw with Barn Doors
• Exercise: lighting a statue

Class 2:
• Light Types: Directional, Ambient
• Shaping Light Throw with Gobos
• Depth map shadows
• Negative light
• Camera Fundamentals
• Image Planes
• Clipping Planes
• Exercise: lighting a still life in a kitchen


Class 3:
• Three-Point Lighting Setup
• False Color Rendering / light isolation
• Sample rates and anti-aliasing
• Area Lights
• Optical Effects, shader glow for bloom
• Exercise: lighting the statue with three-point techniques

Class 4:
• Maya’s Render Engines
• Raytracing Reflections
• Raytracing Refractions
• Raytracing Shadows
• Fake Reflections
• Exercise: reflection trees in an ornament

Class 5:
• Caustic Reflections
• Global Illumination with photons
• Exercise: caustics on a bar
• Exercise: temple lighting

Class 6:
• final gathering
• Studio Lighting with fg
• Car Lighting with fg
• Exercise: fg lighting a rocket

Class 7:
• Ambient Occlusion texture
• Depth of Field
• Exercise: DOF

Class 8:
• Image Based Lighting
• HDR
• Creating Your Own HDR Maps From Photographs
• Exercise: IBL and HDR

Class 9:
• Ramp Shaders for Toon Shading
• Paint Effects for Toon Shading
• Contour Rendering
• Exercise: Toon shading

Class 10:
• Render Layers
• Rendering Multiples Passes
• Compositing Render Passes




Pixel Cinematography