MaXenzie's Lighting Process

[MaXenzie]

This is not a guide, this is a representation of my usual method of lighting things.
If you want to see a guide, go check out the Light Your Shite Guide, found in the Important Links and Guides thread within the Creative Section.

Here is a doomer on a bench

Start by enabling lighting.

Depending on your map, everything may go black.

Add the first light.

Drag the light into the viewport in order to turn it into a pseudo-camera.

Open the body of the subject, and CTRL-click their head bone. Make sure your light is still selected.

You can now use ALT-click on the viewport to orbit the light around the subject's head. Get a good angle for the first rim light.

Now edit the light's settings, and make them look good for the scene. In this instance, I use this.

If needed, create another rim light and position oppositely. Do this by copypasting the light.

Now for other lights. This is the key light, the brighest non-rim light, and lights up most of the scene. I have positioned and set it as such:

Then I add a faint orange light for the cigarette

Then I add a Sub Surface Scatter light, which is incredibly faint and pure red. This makes shadows have tone, and makes skin react to lighting.

Final Image without Post Processing:

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[Piggo]

That ciggy is wayyyy too bright though
Now you've got no clear shadow defining everything

 

[MaXenzie]

That ciggy is wayyyy too bright though
Now you've got no clear shadow defining everything

yes

 

[Piggo]

yes

that final pic you posted in art comp was lit
post that on this one too imo so you can show where you go from a base lighting set up

also shows that just cause lighting might be iffy doesn't detract from what a scene can be with some thought

 

[Deleted member 4795]

This is fantastic and very helpful. I suck ass at lighting.