Custom Lighting
Lighting effects are subtle, but have a HUGE impact on the final quality of your pictures. Our brains are used to seeing complex shadows in nature, and if they're missing, "something" looks artificial. A "well lit" scene can be very convincing.
Here's a look at software that calculates HOW light should behave in a 2D background, and adds it to 3D objects with appropriate lighting sources. It looks incredibly believable thanks to virtual lighting and shadow!
1. ADD a CUSTOM LIGHT
Start in "Quad View" mode (tap the period on your numeric keypad)
Use BUILD | ADD LIGHT from the dropdown menu
The default is an "INFINITE" light - it can be effected by it's DIRECTION, but not it's LOCATION. That means you can AIM it, but moving it around on the screen has no effect.
The new light will appear at the top of your scene - hit F to see it
Try to SELECT and ROTATE it so that it has a slight angle from the SIDE and FRONT
(Note - MOVING it will have no significance since it is an "INFINITE" light)
2. CREATE SHADOWS
Double click the LIGHT
Choose ADVANCED, and turn on "CASTS SHADOWS".
The light is now capable of creating shadows, but none will appear until you complete step 3 below.
NOTE: The default shadow algorithm is a "VOLUME" type. If it ever fails to work, you can try using "Ray Trace" instead. "Ray Trace" is much slower, but much more accurate.
3. DISPLAY SHADOWS
Double click the SAUCER (or whatever object you want)
Toggle on CASTS and RECIEVES in the Shadow options.
The shadows will appear when you render an image of your scenes... keep going to the next lesson!