How to light and shade materials in a 3D scene

When working with accurate and realistic lighting and reflections, I like to use LightWave: the Surface Editor and its fast rendering speed make it the perfect tool.

I created this image, Gold Skull, to test the lighting and reflections on materials, to give me accurate control over the shine and reflections on surfaces. I wanted to give the environment a gothic atmosphere by placing a golden skull on a marble floor. To make the image more interesting, I added some antique gold coins, which fall from above using LightWave's Bullet Dynamics.

LightWave 11.6 offers you the choice of nine types of lights – even more if you install external plug-ins – making a very flexible tool to set up accurate lighting. I lit the scene with a simple set of lights helped by a HDRI environment.

The three light types are as follows: An area light is used as the main light source on for the model. This gives the skull volume and realistically casts shadows across the whole scene. I also use a linear light, as this helps to enhance the specular and bump effects on the skull. Finally I use a spotlight as a fill light to give the scene depth.

• Download the source files for this tutorial here

Creating the skull scene

01. Bullet dynamics

Use the native physics simulator in LightWave to add the coins. I place them above the skull, then let the software drop the coins in a random and natural way.

02. Metal matters

The metal elements are created with the Surface Editor controls. I achieve a good result with the help of images, bump gradients and displacement.

03. PSD export

I use PSD Export to create the necessary layers to improve the final image. I finish the work in Photoshop, adding the church background and volumetric lights.

Words: Lorenzo Zitta

Italian digital artist and freelance graphics designer, Lorenzo Zitta has won numerous awards for his photography and CGI. This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 181.