Chapter 10: Maya Lighting

Light shapes the world by showing us what we see. It creates a sense of depth, it initiates the perception of color, and it allows us to distinguish shape and form. For a scene to be successful in CG, these realities of light need to be reproduced as faithfully as possible. The trick is learning to see light and its astonishing effects on the world around us.

Topics in this chapter include:

• Basic lighting concepts
• Maya lights
• Light linking
• Adding shadows
• Raytracing soft shadows
• mental ray lighting
• mental ray Physical Sun and Sky
• Lighting effects
• Lighting the decorative box
• Further lighting practice
• Tips for using and animating lights