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Trouble with creating volumetric lighting (a beam of light)
I have an image that contains a TV and I need to make it look like it is in a foggy environment and emits a realistic beam of light. The TV is turned away from the camera, so we don’t see the screen.
I have googled for tutorials quite a bit but I am still having trouble getting it right. Using 3D objects (which I don’t have any experience with) I can sort of get the correct flat-top-pyramid like shape of the light beam and create the light fall-off with a gradient texture. But I am having problems with the volume, since the 3D object seems to be empty. The light should be weaker at the corners (where there is less light/fog between us and the background) and thicker in the middle of the beam, of course. Not sure how to get that.
Also the cone of light should get more diffuse the further the distance from the TV. But I guess I can blur that by hand.
TL;DR: What is the best way to create a realistic rectangular light cone emerging from a TV standing in a foggy environment.
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2 Replies
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Hey, do you have a photo sample you can send?
The easy way is to use a rectangle with a transparent to white gradient. Use Transform (Warp) to curve the item or make it look more round and adjust the opacity to get the right texture. You can also use a 10-15% Gaussian noise (monochrome) with a slight Gaussian blur over the gradient to add some variation. Then adjust the opacity and you might want to add a layer mask to the volumetric light part to fine tune it all. Would love to see it.
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Jonathan Ziegler
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Unfortunately, I am not allowed to put the unfinished image up. But the whole issue has sort of dissolved anyway, for now, since we hired a 3D artist to create the light. But thanks anyway!
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