Making photorealistic renderings depends on your ability to control gamma correction.
Category: Light and Color
Mirror reflections in animation
Representing mirror reflections is a tricky business in all visual arts. Nowadays, we can use 3D software to calculate reflections. But before CG was available, any mirror reflections in animation, drawings, and paintings had to be figured out by the artist, and matching the subject with its reflection was solely the artist’s responsibility. We see […]
Lightning burn reference
If a character or environment object in your scene is struck by lightning, you’ll need some reference for the jagged burn pattern that will visibly emerge after the strike. The burns from a lightning strike aren’t just random lines—they follow a specific type of pattern. Lichtenburg figures, besides providing a great lightning burn reference, are […]
Fresnel, or why the lake is opaque
When you look down into ocean or lake water, sometimes you can see objects or surfaces just below the surface while other times you can’t. In other words, in some places the water is transparent, but in other places the water is opaque. At first glance, you might think the reason you can see the lake’s […]
The colors of space
The Hubble Telescope has given us some beautiful images from deep space. A familiar example is the Pillars of Creation formation in the Eagle Nebula, a breathtaking formation of gas clouds in our own galaxy. Much of the light it emits is in the red part of the spectrum, when considered strictly in terms of light wavelength. […]
Color and Perception
For anyone with working eyesight, color is an integral part of everyday life. We use colors to tell one thing apart from another. Animals use color to detect danger or food. We are so accustomed to color in our everyday lives that it’s easy to forget that color is just a perception. Color is not […]