Lighting basics

In this tutorial, I'm gonna try to explain how the lighting works, then apply these basics to the cracks, rivets, and chrome.


First, the light is always coming from above, and vertically, not perpendicularly.
Now, we make a crack in this wall
the face looking down (red) doesn't receive light, but the face aiming up does (yellow)
that's why a crack is done by painting a dark line (the red in precedent pic)and underlining it with a light one(yellow).
This time, we make a rivet (or a roll).
as for the crack, the face aim up is lightened(yellow) and the face looking down shadowed (red)...BUT this time, the lightened part is above the shadowed one. And you have the rivet casting shadow over the wall (green).

from front, the rivet (or roll)will look like this (note the ellipsoid shape of the shadow casted by the rivet).


what about chrome?? well, chrome just reflects the environment, so to simulate chrome we just use a fake "sky over desert" picture. (it's just a dark to light gradient aboce another dark to light gradient).
note: generally, it's better to "curve" the skyline to simulate the rounded shape of the rivet
now, to make a rivet on your skin, use the retouch tool, darken mode, size 2 or 5, opacity 15 or 20, and draw an ellipse (upper half center being darker).
use lighten mode (size 1or 2, opacity 15 or 20) to draw the rivet. highlight the top of the rivet.
Applying the lighting basics to the model

first we need to find how the light is applied. play with the model in 3D to see which faces are aiming down or up.


from a side view you can see what's the shape
and how to apply lighting
So, we can prepare the skin (painting in NST with adequate colors)

Then add more details to the shading

and smooth everything in PSP. now you have the shaded base of your skin, you can play with it to make muscles, armor, etc..

24 bit
quake2 palette
on the model

 

Making the chrome effect

If you want to make a chrome effect, do the sam as above with grey

And make a gradient in psp with the airbrush or the lighten tool (size 2 or 5, opacity 15 or 20) the closer to the shadowed area, the lighter. and smooth it.

24bit
quake2 palette
on the model

now, in NST, paint a gradient (orange/brown because it's stroggos ground color (ok ok, it's sky color too ;P), in the shadowed area, the closer to the bright line the darker. Go to PSP, smooth it, darken the line just below the brightest parts and highlight the lower part of the gradient a bit.

from NST (quake2 palette)
after smoothing/retouch

load the quake2 palette, save, go back to NST, hit F5...

the skin
on the model

of course, you can use different colors if you want.

 

 

©F-X Delmotte 1999