Lighting a room – is it cheating?

[mazoola]

Absolutely lovely work. Clearly, though, there are more hours in the day in Norway than here in California...

I was wondering about the three lights shielded by the black box with the reflector behind them. Do they actually cast light on the scene? I didn't know SunFlow supported radiosity or other such indirect lighting effects.

Thx,
maz

[Ceciliabr]

@mazoola

Maybe I have been cheating myself?
Well, SOMETHING seems to be reflecting, when I do a quick render on my tiny 13" Macbook, using one light source.



I noticed that I got unwanted reflections from lights some time ago, when I made a small lightbox in order to focus the light beams and prevent them from hitting the ceiling. There was a distinct difference in quality between using a white or a black surface on the walls of the lightbox. So I tried to see how I could use this to my advantage.

I am not presently able to check if it makes any difference to the image I used as an example in the thread, since I'm on vacation and don't have access to the actual project-files, only the documentation.

I'm in the land of the midnight sun, so; yes, the days are longer. We only have about four hours of night at this altitude ( 950 meters). Officially the days are about 17 hours long now, but that's at sea level. The bigger the altitude, the longer the days.

Cec

[mazoola]

@Cecilia

That's a little different, I think -- that appears to be the light reflecting in a shiny surface rather than it being cast by bouncing off the reflector. I'll have to play with this some when I get home, but I *think* a scene with, say, a semi-enclosed light source, an angled reflector, and a target object will show the object, shielded from direct rays, will receive no illumination. (A shiny target object will display a reflection of the reflector but otherwise remain unilluminated.) (I think.)

Maz

P.S. I suspect -- even with long days, short nights, and a total refusal to sleep -- I would still be working on the first scene from the film. The quality of your work is astonishing -- but the speed at which you achieve that quality is stupefying. Compared to you, I might as well be using MS Paint....

[mazoola]

Yes, as I thought, no radiosity in SunFlow as it now stands, so there's no light "bounced" off of reflectors, walls, etc. (Supporting such effects wasn't a trivial 6task -- at least, it wasn't the last time I was playing around with ray tracing. There ain't half been some clever algorithms devised since then, though.)

Note you can see the reflection of the illuminated reflector panel in the red light domes on the robot's head.

[Ceciliabr]

@mazoola

Indeed, you are right. The only thing that happens is that you get some reflections on reflecting surfaces, be that desired, or not.


And don't be so modest about your capabilities. We have all seen what you can do. Wow!


Cec

[sharewithkinjal]

@ mirakels

Thank you!
I have actually for some time been thinking about writing an article about lighting in SH3D, a much more in-depth article, and a lot better illustrated, but I have grown a bit uncertain about the general interest in lighting, and I think the majority of those who are taking an interest in such matters, probably already know just as much, and probably more, about how SH3D and Sunflow works as I do. Articles about lighting in general, there are plenty of on the net, so writing about that is a complete waste of time.

Well... time will show.

Cec

Oh, how desperately do I need that article about lighting in SH3D. Definitely it would be of great help to persons like me. I'm especially interested in focused lighting without light-bombing the object and lighting in smaller space where reflections play a major role in ruining the scene.

And by the way, needless to say but nevertheless, fantastic story telling and gorgeous renders. Enviable talent.

[okh]

Hi Cec, missed these wonderful images while on holiday. Beautiful with great detail - and the illustrations of how you use lights are very useful, really a reference guide in how to get good renderings.

..Oslo, Norway, a fictional variation of a city I used to live in for twenty years...

Your view up "Universitetsgaten" could pass for the real thing. Level of detail is impressive. Your mountain bunker reminds me of a trip in the densely forested hills surrounding Oslo. Through the trees, up on a steep hillside, we caught a glimpse of something that looked man-made - a gate in the rock with no apparent access road. Later I checked out satellite imagery. But zooming in, there were always thin clouds covering just that spot. Probably nothing mysterious, but it always struck me as something for fiction: that it would be possible to hide a large secret installation in this millennium - even near a capital city.

Again - please keep posting about the story - I shall be looking forward to exploring the final product.

ok

[Ceciliabr]

@sharewithkinjal

Thanks for your kind words!

Oh, how desperately do I need that article about lighting in SH3D.

Maybe this can be an inspiration for others to start a discussion about lighting. As I mentioned, there are several members of this forum that holds lots of knowledge on the topic, and I would definitely be participating if a broader discussion came up, and share some more of my lighting techniques.


cec

[Ceciliabr]

@okh

Your view up "Universitetsgaten" could pass for the real thing

Well, there's a reason why I have chosen to render it at night. In the dark it's easier to manipulate the brain to see details that are not there [;)]

Probably nothing mysterious, but it always struck me as something for fiction: that it would be possible to hide a large secret installation in this millennium - even near a capital city.

There are lots of "secret" underground installations , both in Norway and in Denmark. And I think we can safely assume that a number of these old installations still serve a purpose.
As for the secrecy, quoting one of my story's characters:
"Knowledge is power, and the powerful will always control the powerless. So when you find their secrets, don't let them know. Let them keep thinking they are still in control."

I shall be looking forward to exploring the final product

I wish there was a way to show small video sequences here without publishing and linking to Vimeo or Youtube. I have several sequences I could show as work-in-progress.

cec

[okh]

lots of "secret" ..underground installations...

Yes. This one I know, my old school [:)] . But as you say, there are many similar installations all over Europe. ok