INTEGRATION: interactive LIGHTING

Interactive lighting is one of the most common and effective types of integration. When it’s missing it’s presence is felt, and I was excited to delve into what different types of interactive lighting there were.

ADDITIVE INTERACTIVE LIGHTING

This is the classic “adding a light source that illuminates the scene” effect. Below are two practical examples of interactive lighting - notice how they fluctuate with the light source intensity and how it fills in spaces that were previously in shadow:

SHADOW CASTING

Something about interactive lighting that I didn’t notice until I started to learn painting is shadow casting. It’s a small effect in this scene, but what makes for solid integration of the practical light Han is using is the shadow of the Falcon in the top screen left corner. Not only is the light lighting objects, but those objects are casting shadows in a chain reaction of integration.

Another example is Leia’s shadow:

REFLECTION CASTING

One concept that I learned at ILM that was pretty mind blowing for me was the idea that I’m calling “reflection casting”. Only lit objects are shown in a reflection in a dark scene, so when there is a flash of light/spark, only the lit objects show in a reflective material. Shown in “Once Upon A Time” below: