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HOW TO LEARN GOOD LIGHTING WITH AFTER EFFECTS?
Hi:
I’ve been watching several motion graphics projects where they use paper cuted characters in 3D space kind of the modest mouse vdeo, or some of the cartoon network promos, all of them have a great lighting set up, which make the images look very real and also add a lot of depth to the scenes.
what would you recomend to learn how to set up good lighting in AE?
Thank you
Roberto Puig
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2 Replies
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hey, lighting in general is a field in itself. To orient yourself, set up a table in a room with a few objects on it, then take three lights and place them around the table. Turn all but one off, then start placing your lights, and turning them on. Play with the distance and direction of the lights. Do a web search for “three point lighting” which, in film, is a good beginning lighting scheme.
Remember, in After Effects, lighting is affecting a 2d plane, so objects have attached shadows they cast upon themselves. Also, don’t use too many lights- there is a limit to what can be believable depending on the scene, plus, they take too damn long to render.
Also, the material attributes of the objects will help get that look you are trying to achieve. -
Keep in mind that the examples of which you speak, many are done in proper real 3d programs – not in AE’s 2.5d.
Lighting will take practice. Use a good output monitor to see what you’re doing, the computer screen is not good for judging.
– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great)No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.
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