Cinema 4D: Studio Lighting

Learn to light diffuse, reflective, and transparent objects in CINEMA 4D.

It's not enough to know about the many light types available in CINEMA 4D—you need to know how and where to place them to create a desired effect. In this course, Donovan Keith covers some basic photographic lighting concepts and shows how to turn CINEMA 4D into a powerful virtual lighting studio. Learn how to reveal the form and texture of diffuse objects, and use special techniques for lighting reflective and transparent surfaces. Donovan also shows how to accurately place highlights in order to shape the contours of objects, and use contrasting light and shadow to dramatic effect.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using the exercise files

1. Important Lighting Concepts

• Describing light
• Differences between real light and the CINEMA 4D default light

2. Creating a Studio Lighting Kit

• Modeling a seamless backdrop
• Creating a better default light
• Identifying common studio lights and their CINEMA 4D equivalents

3. Lighting Diffuse Objects

• Using light direction to reveal form
• Adjusting light hardness to make textures pop
• Top lighting a white subject on a white background

4. Lighting Reflective Objects

• Understanding how reflective objects react to light
• Rendering reflective objects on a dark background
• Rendering reflective objects on a light background
• Placing reflection cards with the Lighting tool

5. Lighting Transparent Objects

• Understanding how transparent objects react to light
• Shooting glass on a light background
• Shooting glass on a dark background

6. Lighting for Dramatic Effect

• Leaving darkness with spot lights
• Separating objects from their backgrounds
• Using lights with gobos to draw focus
• Changing light color for dramatic effects

Conclusion

• Next steps