Unde r re vie w
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Book Re vie w
DigitalLigh ting and Re nde ring Th is is s ue w e are re vie w ing “[digital ] Ligh ting and Re nde ring” by Je re m y Birn. By now w e h ave al lfigure d out, or s oon w il l , th at l igh ting is a ve ry l arge partofany s ucce s s ful proje ct. You can h ave th e be s tm ode l s, m ate rial s and com pos ition, butw ith outprope r l igh ting your im age w il lfal lfl at. Ente r “[digital ] Ligh ting and Re nde ring”. Je re m y Birn tak e s you s te p by s te p, w ith l ogicaland cl e arl y e xpl aine d e xam pl e s , th rough th e ofte n com pl e x and confus ing are a ofl igh ting. H e s tarts you offw ith h ow to s e tup a good l igh t w ork fl ow and th e n e xpl ains e ach type ofl igh t you s h oul d h ave avail abl e. H e continue s w ith in-de pth dis cus s ions on w h at l igh ting is and h ow l igh tand s h adow be h ave in th e re alw orl d, th e n progre s s e s th rough col or th e ory, q ual ity ofl igh tand s h adow and e xpos ure . No book on l igh ting w oul d be any good w ith out a th orough dis cus s ion ofl igh ts e tups . And th is one is an e xce l l e ntre s ource for l e arning about th e various l igh ts e tups and th e ir us e s . H e goe s on to e xpl ain h ow m ate rial s fitinto th e re nde ring pipe l ine . Starting w ith s h ading s urface s , h e w ork s h is w ay th rough de tail ed e xpl anations ofh ow diffe re ntm ate rials e tups
affe ctl igh ting and re nde ring. In th is s am e ch apte r h e al s o e xpl ains th e us e s and advantage s ofraytracing and gl obalil l um ination. Th e finalch apte r cove rs com pos iting and re nde ring in l aye rs , s h ow ing th e us e ofdiffe re nt re nde r pas s e s to ge tjus tth e e ffe ctyou are l ook ing for. Th is book is a de finite “m us tre ad” for be ginne rs and ye te ve n an e xpe rie nce d CG artis tw il lfind itw orth a l ook . --bl e nde rart