A Guide to

Structure
and
Lighting
for
Painting
made with

Table of Contents
1.

Structure for Painting: 3 Ways to Solve the

Construction Problem

2.

Lighting your Painting: 4 Ways to Solve the

Lighting Problem

3.

Find me

Structure for Painting: 3

Ways to Solve the
Construction Problem

Our goal is to create good paintings. This website is about painting. Which
means that we should be concerned with Shapes, Values, Colors and Edges.
However, good painting requires good drawing fundamentals aka
construction, so that we can place the right shape, values and colors when
approaching painting. If we want to change the shape, then changing the
structure is a must. Thats why Im covering drawing in this article so you
can make paintings with sound drawing fundamentals.

Gil Elvgren - Something New; What we need to do first is establishing the

structure. Once that is done, we can begin painting;
Before you spent 10000 hours practicing drawing, please take some time to
learn about the principles that make a good drawing. Most problems arent
problems of anatomy, but problems of proportion, basic forms and space.
Read on to identify your own drawing problems as well as to study
practicing smart.
There are 3 principles that need hawk-eye attention, which are Proportion,
Basic Forms and Space/Perspective.

Fundamental #1: Proportion

The proportions need to be well considered and experimented upon.
Proportions are the relationship between sizes. If you think about the
proportion, then a lot of your drawing problems will disappear. Bad
drawings most of the time have no care for proportion. Shapes are copied,
but because the proportions arent well considered the forms look cluttered
in the drawing.
To expand your visual library means to memorize the proportion of forms!
That will make anything you draw way easier. Because you know the
proportion, it also helps to visualize it in perspective as well. Even when
drawing boxes, thinking about the proportions of the box will help

enormously. You will stop drawing random boxes, but boxes with a design,
namely a certain proportion.

Considering the Proportion in 3-dimensional space will help you draw the
objects correctly. Left: One box is 1/3 of the whole; Middle: Length and
Height have the same Size; Right: The width is 2/3 of the height
Even if you are drawing fairly realistic proportions, knowing them will help
you make good measurement judgements. Proportions ARE a form of
comparative measuring.
Below you can see how the length and width is compared to arrive at the
right proportions.

Pink: Proportion between Width and Length Red: Proportion between two
Widths Blue: Proportion between two Lenghts
A drawing THRIVES on good proportion.
Remember when painting, you should begin with big forms? This will ensure
that the proportions are right from the start, and smaller proportions are
only added after that. The smaller proportions fit in easily, because the
overall proportions are already correct.
While there are proportional relationship inside an objects, there are also
proportional relationships between objects. The house in Zorns
"Midsummer Dance" is 3 times the height of the people until it goes out of
the picture frame. The proportions are well juggled. Compare all objects one
to another to establish a believable scene.
Example #1:

Anders Zorn - Midsummer Dance; Notice the proportions of the figures

themselves and the proportions between the objects and people
Example #2:

Anders Zorn - From Algiers Harbor; We have clearly the relationship

between the houses in the back, the ships, the boat in the front, the water
ripples, the stairs, the boy and the two women in the front. Just compare
these elements to make good proportion judgements.

Fundamental #2: Basic Forms

Lets have a look at the objects themselves. They consist of basic forms.
Every forms can be simplified into cubes, spheres, cones and cylinders.
If you look at the chicken below, it consists of a bunch of cylinders and
stretched spheres. Now, chances are you already know that and you hear
about basic forms all the time.
Lets dig a bit deeper. Knowing about form is easy. But drawing form has
some problems in themselves, which Im going to show you.

A chicken simplified into basic forms

Problem #1: Forms with Proportions
Simplifying is easier said then done. Otherwise beginning artists wouldnt
struggle with that as much.
It gets easier, once we consider the Proportions as well. It isnt enough to
simplify objects into basic forms, but you also need to think about the
proportions of the forms(sorry for the repetition, but this one is very
important). As you can see we build up from the previous part. Combine
Forms with Proportions and you can draw anything.

Example #1:

Because we think about the proportion when drawing the box in space, it
gets MUCH easier. We are more DECISIVE with what we want to do
Example #2:

Here the basic forms are modified to have certain proportions.

Form+Proportion=Good Drawing
Example #3:

Giovanni Costa; Can you see how the proportions of this painting makes it
special? We have a variety of round forms and a variety of proportions.
Problem #2: Linking Forms
The problem with drawing forms is that often times they dont fit in
together. They are drawn flat. When forms look flat it has a simple reason:
The forms arent drawn through with cross-sections.
Forms all have cross-sections. The cross-sections help us see the form and
place them in perspective.
If they dont have the right cross-sections they will float or dont connect at
all. Watch out for forms that unrealistically cross each other. Cross-Sections
help us see where the objects are positioned, so they dont overlap.
Linking two forms is just as important. Here, many mistakes are made. You
need to think about the cross-sections between two forms to link them well.

As you can see below, when you draw through the form, you get a sense of
volume. Additionally, you know EXACTLY where two body parts connect.

Cross-section help you see the form. Mistakes are done when you
overestimate yourself by not drawing the connections.
Problem #3: Wrap-around
The Forms themselves should be simplified first, but after that we can build
up the more complex forms.
We can go more complex by wrapping forms around underlying forms.
Muscles wrap around the Bones, Skin wraps around the muscles. Clothing
wraps around the body. Belts wrap around the clothing. The wrapped
around forms need to relate to the underlying forms. Thats where crosssections come in handy. Because they wrap around, they will have correct
perspective.
Here is where a lot of artistic freedom is taken. The wrapped forms are
designed according to any artists choices. You can basically go as complex
as you want as you build your forms. When wrapping around the forms, the
shape need to start becoming very accurrate and the forms should show
overlap.

(c) Mjranum; The clothing is drawn over the body so they have correct
perspective.

Fundamental #3: Space/Perspective

By now we know how to draw basic forms and proportions. Usually this
should be enough to sketch out a variety of figures. But figures need to
exist in space.
Every object is in space, be it objects, mountains, clouds or houses. So it is a
good practice to imagine a space in which the objects can be in.
You probably know about 1-point, 2-point and 3-point perspective. But lets
dig a bit deeper.
Here are the 5 concepts of drawing objects in space:

#1: The Bounding Box

Think about the object as inside a box(remember the proportion ;)) to
visualize the object in perspective better. The objects fit into the box so it
becomes easier to determine the relative positions of the parts of the
object. This concept is easy to understand and solves most perspective
problems if you start to apply it to your own drawings.

Al Parker; In front view, the danger of flatness is most apparent. Drawing

the bounding box helps to define space. The structure of the figures relate
to the bounding box.
These bounding boxes are inside an arrangement or scene, which is why we
need to look at the Space itself to place boxes correctly.

#2: The Box on the Ground Plane and the True

Horizon
The True horizon is the horizon based on the eye level(the height at which
the viewer looks at something), but every object, when rotated will have its
own horizon as well(see #3).
When we place the box into the scene , then the eye levels can be used to
show the objects from different perspectives. There are 3 basic viewing
angles, which are frontal, below or from above.

The Eye Level is the True Horizon

Boxes are usually placed on the ground plane.
However perspective of the ground plane deals with simplification of space.
In real life there is no such thing as 1-point- or 2-point-perspective. They are
simplifications of real space. Our eyes work curvilinear. They are used as
simplifications to determine the angle of the ground plane and its space.
Below are the simple set-ups for space with its true horizon and ground
plane.

The Ground Plane in Perspective and the True Horizon

Place the objects on the ground plane.
The ground plane relates to the eye level, which is why objects sitting on the
ground plane need to have the same eye level. So the foreshortening needs
to be consistent.

To think about space correctly, the object and space needs to relate
correctly. To achieve a consistent eyelevel, the foreshortening needs to be
consistent.

#3: Box Rotations

Since boxes can rotate freely in space, their horizons dont necessarily need
to be the same as the ground plane.
Imagine you are in Free Space. In Free Space there is no ground plane, so
we dont need to relate everything to it. The only things you need to pay
attention there is
1. Consistent Field of View(Foreshortening) and
2. Horizon of the Object and its Vanishing Points
Look at the objects themselves. They can be tilted sideways, lean forward or
back, or rotate inside the space. These are just local rotations.
And because they rotate, they will have individual horizons.
Example #1

In this example, the boxes have free rotations. Just make sure that the
foreshortening looks natural and the Field-of-View stays consistent(if the
boxes are random like below you can just approximate)
Boxes that are in front have more distortion. Boxes in the back have less
distortion.
Example #2

In Free Space objects arent bound to the Ground Plane. The cubes all have
individual rotations and have their own horizons.
To put everything in order and to make multi-figure compositions, start to
relate the boxes one to another.
You can have
1. Relationship between ground plane and bounding box,
2. Relationship between two bounding boxes or
3. Relationship between two basic forms
In the example below, the middle box was drawn first and every other box
was relating to it, so foreshortening became consistent. Nothing needs to
relate to the ground plane, because rotations are compared between
boxes.
If we relate the box to the ground plane we would have basic 1-point, 2point or 3-point perspective(considering boxes sit on the ground plane
without rotations).
Example #3

Relationship between boxes

In the Illustration below the boxes sit on the ground plane(with 3-pointperspective) and the bounding boxes rotate on the y-axis.
This is one of the most common set-ups in more complex illustrations and
look most natural.
Example #4

Austin Briggs; Here the objects are placed in Space; Bounding Boxes have
individual rotations.

Conclusion
Combine Proportion with Basic Forms and Space and you will end up with a
complete construction.

Lighting your Painting: 4

Ways to Solve the Lighting
Problem

Anders Zorn - Baking bread; Notice how the bounding boxes are rotated in
Space, the simplification of the figures into basic forms and their distinct
proportion.
There is one thing though which will be another article in itself. If your
drawings are stiff, then they probably lack awareness of Shape and Rythm.
Im covering it in a later article.
Im aware that there are a lot of technical aspects, that I dont cover. But
Hey! So we have been looking at creating structure using the principles of
technicalities can be learned in books that cover them thoroughly(such as
Proportion, Basic Form and Space in the previous article. If you have
transposing objects in perspective or drawing ellipses in perspective)
learned and practiced these drawing principles and are fairly proficient, you
can
startto
todraw
light anything
your structure.
To learn
and as a guide for drawing fundamentals, I
recommend Preston Blairs book Cartoon Animation. This book isnt
If you want to Light your drawings from Imagination, then you will need to
about anatomy. This book is about drawing fundamentals, design as well as
learn about these lighting fundamentals. Most of the time when we are
the drawing the figure in movement.
painting, we get so overwhelmed with all the info, which is why practicing
the
lighting fundamentals
beforehand
willdraw,
be beneficial
for future work. This
To practice,
use this book as
a guide and
draw, draw.
will be a pretty lengthy article, but it is pretty comprehensive in terms of
And once you
can make aWe
drawing
that doesnt
need
fixing you can
begin as
necessary
fundamentals.
will mainly
look at the
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tobasis
paintfor
using
light and
and then
shadow,
paying
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Bonus Download: Download your copy of "A guide to Structure and

Lighting for Painting", compiling 2 complementary articles into a small

eBook. (Click to download)

Fundamental #1: Importance of the Plane

When painting and using light, you need to switch from the form build-up
approach to thinking about the right plane structure to make the right
lighting decisions.
As soon as you got the big shapes in you need to start thinking in terms of
smaller planes and continue to detail the painting, always thinking about
and following the forms.
If you can simplify the elements into the proper planes you will understand
the structure better and you will be able to assign the right values(when
lighting).

The planes solve the problem of how fast something turns.

Then imagine the location of the Light Source first and then shoot rays to
the planes.

Plane Advantage #1

In painting, we dont think in terms of lines anymore and switch to the

shape mindset completely, which is why thinking about plane changes will
be neccessary.
Because we think in terms of shapes, it will be easier to determine how the
light will have an effect on the value and colors.
What you need to do especially is to always feel the form when
painting(whether you paint diffuse or specular reflection). You can even
ghost the structure first, like an insect crawling on the object, before putting
in the final mark. That will ensure that you get a feeling for the form AND
planes.

Plane Advantage #2

Plane Advantage #4

This article is about Imaginative Lighting. That means you need to know
about it so much, that you will be able to light anything from imagination or
reference following some simple rules.
When our painting gets messed up, it is because we dont follow a simple
process to build up the lighting.
Note that instead of copying shapes, you will be required to think and
simulate the light situation.
As anything it is difficult at first, but you will be able to do it if you practice it
often enough.
In the image below you can notice how thinking about the sphere will help
you identify where the planes are located in 3-dimensional space and thus
allowing you to light the plane correctly.

Plane Advantage #5
When starting to light your structure, there are only 2 basic things you need
to pay attention to. First, the kind of light you are using in your scene and
second the material it interacts with. Sounds easy? Lets break it down
further into actionable information so you can actually use these principles
and paint.

Instead of pure technical information like for 3D CG, what you will learn are
the physics behind it and its application in regards of value and color for
2D Painting.
While the physics will help you understand things, I will also explain them to
you so that they are ready to be used for painting.
I recommend that you read this article multiple times as you practice.
Sometimes we overlook things that might be crucial to make our paintings
work.
The main takeaway of learning the principles is it allows you to paint

completely from imagination without boundaries, which gives you complete

artistic freedom.

Fundamental #2: Light Properties

There are some consideration to make when thinking about lighting. I will
try my best to explain some of properties and explain how the lights affect
the values and colors of a scene.

#1: Light-Shadow Ratio

The light-shadow ratio determines how much of a contrast there is between
light and shadow. A higher contrast is created due to sunlight, and a lower
contrast due to overcast weather for example. This is caused by different
intensities in light.
Different light conditions will make for different value keys. Thats why we
need to pay attention to that.
The ratio must be maintained consistently throughout the scene. It is
enough to look at this with one material at first. If all elements in the scene
have the same material, then all elements will also have the same ratio
from light to dark. And that should be maintained consistently.
Once you got this basic down, you can add more materials with different
local values, which will also have a set of ratios that should be consistent to
the light situation.
Using multiply layer will maintain ratios between different local colors.

Does the value in shadow become 40%, 10% oder 90% darker etc.(see
image below)?
The Light-Shadow ratio is calculated by comparing the key light with the fill
light in photography. According to Loomis however, it is calculated by
comparing key light with ambient light(flat base light in this case). Reflected
is calculated separately in Loomis method. I prefer Loomis method,
because it allows you to treat fill light separately.
Using one of these methods will ensure that you are consistent with your
light set-up and know what values to use. But dont forget that it is a
simplification as well.

The Light-Shadow Ratio helps you quickly determine the overall value
contrast to develop your scene.
After determining the Light-Shadow ratio you can continue determining the
Shadow-Ambient Occlusion ratio, which also ideally has a constant value
separation.

#2: Value Keys

Value keying is mainly a design technique used to adjust the value scale
while maintaining the light-shadow ratio. Depending on the light situation
we have a specific value key in the scene.
Loomis gives us a some basic keys to choose from:
High Key, Middle Key, Low Key, Full Scale, Dark against Light, Light against
Dark

Value Keys are a great tool to design your scene.

#3: Value Compression

Value compression is needed, because we as painters cant get the full
range of light into our paintings. We need to decide, if we want to expose
for the light side or shadow side and sacrifice the values on the other side.
Watch the video for an explanation.
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#4: Light Color

Now, it is time to approach color. First of all, thanks Mike Azevedo for his

teachings about color. Of course, the fundamentals always stay the same,
so what I show you here is very similar in approach.
We have been looking at values and how to approach light from a value
stand-point till now.
The first thing to understand about light is that it constantly changes its
wavelengths, therefore changing its color.
When painting, what you want to pay attention in color is the relationship
between the color of the object and the color of the light, just the same as
in value. By color I mean the hue, value and chroma(the 3 properties of
color). Comparing the hue, value and chroma of the light to the hue, value
and chroma of the object, you can determine how the light affects the
object.)
To simplify the process just identify the light as a warm or cold light.
What is often missed, is that diffuse reflection(color of objects) also has a
temperature. It is also light.
Watch the video here for some more info on color temperature(Sorry for the
quality. It was one of my first videos):
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Note that light hitting an object can be considered subtractive, which
means that objects subtract from the lightsource depending on the local
color and reflects the rest.
What you also need to understand is that every color we have exists in a 3dimensional color space and we navigate inside of it to determine the
colors.
This will help us understand the relationship between 2 colors, because
both colors exist in the color space.
Just as the scale from light to dark, there is also a scale from high chroma
to low chroma and from cold to warm.
Example #1

White Light consists of the Full Color Space.

Example #2

Here we have 3 representations of the Color Space. If the software allows

we could navigate through a 3D representation of the Color Space(Credit
Image to David Briggs at Huevaluechroma.com).
Just as with the light-shadow ratio in #1, here you need to determine the
objects in ambient light first. It greatly simplifies the process. Using ambient
light will allow you to determine the key of the light as well as show which
colors the objects have. In a purely black scene we couldnt identify the
colors.

Objects are lit by the Key Light while still considering the restrictions of the
Local Color
What is important in lighting is that an object has a specific local color with
a specific color space and you can only know about that color when you put
it in white light. While you dont paint it in this process you should have it in
the back of your mind and estimate how it is affected by the ambient light
as well as the key light.

The Color Space of this Local Color is LIMITED(the diagonal is created due
to the diagonal spread of the values(ask me in the comments to clarify!))
When we light an object that is in dark ambient light, we need to think
about the color space of the local color and move the spot of the object
color in ambient light towards a point in the space, where it is lit.
For simplification, we can still stay with the same light-shadow ratio for
values, because most colored lights still have a lot of white in them, even
though it is scientifically incorrect due to the different absorbtion and
reflection of diffuse materials. We are idealizing, designing and simplifying
a process here. Monochromatic lights are fairly rare and they are a special
case, which isnt discussed here.
So how do we know where to move the spots?
Now, lets look at the color picker. The color picker is a complete color
space. In the example below you can see that we limit the color space by
comparing both the color of the object(in ambient light) and the color of the
light. The resulting color is somewhere inbetween the 2 colors(depending on
diffuse and specular reflection). Notice how values, chroma and hue
change and move from the color of the object towards the color of the light.
Values are estimated by the light-shadow ratio and the chroma and hue
change according to the local color. Depending on the amount of
specularity, the color can almost completely move towards the color of the
light(fundamental #4).

Due to the Limitation of both Color Spaces(Color of Object and Color of

Light), the Resulting Color needs to be inside the Limited Color Space
specified by the Red Rectangle and the two Red Borders.
If the color is complementary, we cant really adjust the hues relatively. The
only option left is chroma. By making it less chromatic, we make the color
warm or cool respectively. If we have a cool blue and make it less saturated,
then it becomes more warm.
Remember that both light reflecting off of an object and pigment mixing
are subtractive mixing. In both cases we lose light in the process.
When light falls upon an object, it is subtractive mixing, because the object
absorbs the light and reflects the rest. If it was additive, the object would
need to become brighter, but it isnt.
Additive mixing plays a role as well in painting, especially in methods of
color mixing in real paints or when colors mix in our eyes.

#5: Shading Components

Now that we have looked at color, lets look at some of the shading
components. By picking the right color you about smudging your painting.
The painting becomes confident and -not- arbitrary.
If you constantly use the eyedropper to paint then the computer might mix
the colors in a wrong way.
Notice in the image below, every physical effect can have its own value and
color. This way your painting gets organized and you ultimately always
know what you do. I didnt use the eye dropper to paint in the shapes. Only
use the eye dropper to pick those base colors to paint with or only if you are
sure that the color wouldnt get derivated.

I really dont like the term "swatches", because painting isnt about color
formulas, but about picking the right value and color that fits its physical
effect. For every painting the values and colors change depending on the
light situation.

Every physical property can be assigned a separate value and color. This
will greatly simplify your process.
Reflected light indicates that there are other objects in the scene. It is the
only way that you can add value gradations to planes in a direct light
setting, which makes the scene way more livelier and realistic.
Reflected or Bounced light has a significant effect on a lot of plane
surfaces. It also helps us showing plane changes when we need them to
make the form clear.
Ambient Occlusions are areas, where no reflected light can reach. In a

sense it is the opposite of reflected light. The same way shadow is the
opposite of light. It is logical that ambient occlusion happens mostly in
shadow. If direct light would hit the edge of two walls, then the direct light
reaches that area 100%. No ambient occlusion can happen there, because
it is the absence of light.
Halftones
When you render Halftones you actually render all these subtle plane
changes by using subtle value changes. They are the diffuse reflection of
the object.
Changes in values can be very subtle especially if you render objects
realistically. When I say very subtle, I mean that the tiniest of value changes
should be taken into consideration.
These can be changes due to plane changes or due to light changes.
There is a reason Sargent would render the halftones first. He wants to
make sure, that the big planes and the big light relationships are painted in
first and only then continues to paint the details, which are just smaller
planes. So start with the big shapes first, so you can create bigger structure
first, just as we transition from simple boxes to detailed drawings. This
method would ensure that you can control the shapes better. Not only from
a structural standpoint, but also from a compositional standpoint. It goes
from simple to complex and will make your life easier. If you render things
plane by plane the process can be very tedious and have a laboured effect,
and you might even have to repaint certain areas.
Also, you can be sure that the more you model the halftones and the more
complex the structure gets, the more detailed and rendered the final
product will be.
In a painting the Halftones should be considered the Light side, which is
then separated from the Shadow side. So at any given time render the
Halftones separate from the Shadow side.
You can do this by:
1. Rendering the Halftones first(before painting the Shadows) or
2. Paint on Lighten Layer to only affect your Lights.

Light/Shadow Separation, Halftones and the Finish are all crucial to the
painting workflow.
Highlights
Specular Highlights are just specular reflections that come from the light
source.
Another kind of highlights, the Form Highlight is the lightest point of the
diffuse reflection it is perpendicular to the light source.

Fundamental #3: Light Set-up

Now that we know how values and colors and affected by light, lets look at
how to set up lighting situations. These lighting situations are always used,
and can be divided into natural and artificial light.

#1: Light Types

There are only 3 basic light types you need to know to light your scene. Key
Light, Fill Light and Rim Light. In #2 you will learn about the light sources.
Light sources can all function as one of those 3 light types.

Overview of the 3 main Light Types

Key Light
Key Light is the main light and brightest in intensity. It can be the sun or a
strong direct light from an artificial light source. Key light is mostly hard in
quality, but it can be soft as well. It is possible to use multiple Key Lights to
create special light situations.

Fill Light
Fill Light is a secondary light source and acts just the same as the the key
light and it can be treated exactly as that, except that the intensity is lower,
so the value contrast is not as high with this kind of lighting. Full Light
might be created by Reflected Light, Sky Light or a soft Artificial Light
source. When rendering using fill light you should still think about the
direction of the light(which is often missed).

Rim Light
Rim light is light lit from behind. It effectively uses the Fresnel effect to
produce a strong light effect. All types of materials become 100% reflective
at grazing angles, which is why this works so well.

#2: Light Sources

There are only so many light sources that exist. Knowing about them will
help you identifying them in any given reference and use them creatively.

There are only so many Light Sources. Identifying them will let you

understand the scene.

Sun Light+Sky Light
Sun Light is a Direct Light and is hard in quality, so it will create hard
shadows. The Sky Light is cool and acts as a Soft Fill Light.

Sky Light
The sky is a light source that is always used as a light source in outdoor
settings, so knowing its light properties will help you understanding most
light situations.

Rayleigh Scattering creates Soft and Cool Light.

If your painting is mostly in shadow then the Sky Light will act as your
primary light source. It is low in intensity, soft in quality and cool in
temperature. Depending on the time and place, the light can change quite a
bit. The color and softness is created due to Rayleigh Scattering (light
changes its wavelengths due to the particles in the air, so the color of the
sky changes depending on time of day).
Overcast
Overcast Situations are just like the Sky Light soft in quality. Due to the Mie
Scattering(scattering through clouds) the softness is created while retaining
a neutral temperature.

Candle/Incandescent Light
The special property of candle and incandescent light is its very apparent
Fall-Off of light. These light sources lose a lot of energy because they need
to cover a bigger space(spread) as the distance increases. The rules for this
is called inverse square law, which states that light of a point light source
weakens at a rate of the square of the distance between source and
surface(Just look at the image to understand).

As the Distance increases, the more light falls off according to a formula.
In a painting this would make for dramatic value changes and the intensity
of the light on the object varies depending on the distance of the object to
the light source.

The effect cant be seen for sun light. Sun light travels so far, that we dont
notice any fall-off in our spaces(our space distance is nothing compared to
the distance from sun to earth), just as we dont look at the sun as a point
light source. So you dont need to apply fall-off to sun light. However, in the
evening light might fall off due to scattering.
Artificial/Fluorescent Light
Artificial/Fluorescent Light can have a variety of colors and intensities. In
most cases it is used in fairly dark settings like night scenes or dark rooms.

#3: Global Illumination

The characteristics of global illumination is the use of bounced/reflected
light. It is used to calculate where reflected light is coming from, so we

know which planes receive what light in any given scene. You need to treat
it as a diffuse light source. It is most effective when there are a lot of
shadows.
Start with identifying the light source and then follow the light rays and see
how they bounce off of the surface. Keep in mind that the light will lose in
intensity as it travels farther away.
Reflected light should be treated as diffused light first and second as lowintensity light sources.
Opposed to that you can treat areas, where not a lot of reflected light reach
as ambient occlusion(AO). AO is the opposite of bounced light.
AO is calculated by using rays coming from the surface to see which
surfaces it hits. The more surfaces it hits, the more occluded the area is. If a
lot of rays are unoccluded and reach a light source, then that area is well lit.
The term ambient light is used in CGI as a flat value and it used above to
determine the light-shadow ratio. Global illumination would be the correct
method in calculating reflected light and ambient occlusion and it can be
used to support the Ambient Light(in an idealized setting).
Example #1

The Plane that faces the light source directly gets the most photons thus
becoming lighter, while planes that are angled to the light source get less

photons. Due to the diffused quality of the light, the photons hit the ball
more evenly. The Ambient Occlusion can be determined by shooting rays to
see how much occluded it is by the structure.
Example #2

Start with identifying the light source, and then simulate the bounces
thinking about the distance the light rays travel around. You can see that
the ceiling receives less light in this example.
Example #3

Practice Global Illumination by studying photos and see how the light
interacts with the environment. Start with the light source and continue to
simulate light bounces. It doesnt need to be perfect, but you should find a
reason for the lit areas.

Fundamental #4: Material Behaviour

Many Material renders disregard the properties of Light. The reason we
have learned about light in the first place is to convey materials in different
lighting conditions and make them congruent to the scene. Lets look at the
materials and how light interacts with different surfaces.

First of all: Everytime you place a light, you will need to take into
consideration two kinds of reflection(not one), which are:
Diffuse Reflection
In diffuse reflection the light is reflected off the a solid surface. The light
actually reflects off of scattering centers beneath the surface and then
reflects off the material. Unlike often mistaken, a diffuse reflection is not
due to a rough surface, but due to the scatterning directly beneath its
surface.
Diffuse materials absorb the light and turns it into heat. The reflected light
will appear to have a certain color. White materials for example reflect
almost all of the light back.
Due to the absorbtion of diffuse surfaces, we lose a lot of light, which
results in the albedo color(the color of the reflected light).

Specular Reflection
The light reflects almost all of the light source when it is reflective, which is
why the light in reflective surfaces are stronger.
As a general rule, the rendering of the speculars should be treated
seperately from the diffuse reflection, so that you can have a proper
organization of the effects.
First learn to plot these reflections and then most importantly simplify so
that it enhances the design. We can plot it accurately, however all the
details in the reflection dont help the design.
There are some simple rules to specular reflection:
-the amount of specularity is determined by the IOR(Index of Reflection)
-reflects the environment
-sometimes has specular color
-loses a certain percent of light
If the material is glass or has a diffuse reflection, then only light that is
lighter than the value underneath can be seen.

Additionally we will have these two surface properties for each material:
Rough/Matte Surface
A rough surface has a lot of bumps that will make the light reflect unevenly
off of the surface. Any specular reflection would become softer and would
probably lose some of its intensity.

Smooth/Glossy Surfaces
The material of a smooth surface is even and any specularity reflects
perfectly back.

Metal vs. Non-Metal

Generally we can break down solid materials into metals and non-metals,
because they have both the extremes of diffuse vs. specular respectively.
The majority of objects we see in life are matte surfaces. Thats why it is
crucial to understand matte surfaces first.
The color of the metal comes from specular reflection as opposed to diffuse
reflection. Instead of going into the surface first, the light directly reflected
and tints the specular reflection to the color of the metal, which is also due
to absorbtion of light(the physics behind this seem to be pretty complex).
Metals dont have any diffuse reflection, which is why you can treat them as
black diffuse.
Metals can have rust or dirt though, which will make the metal treated as
dielectric materials.
Metals have tiny mirrors on their surface, which might make the highlights
softer. The light is intensified on it resulting in highly saturated or high
reflection of the light source.
Characteristic of metals are the free electrons which cause the light to
reflect. These free electrons are not available in non-metals.
The reflection is intensified due to the focusation of the photons, which
makes the highlights so intense.
Colored metal will reflect light intensely with high saturation due to the
amount of reflected protons(?)

Non-Metals(Insulators/Dielectrics)
Non-Metals have a low reflectance value for F0(Fresnel Reflectance at 0
Degrees) of 2-5%, so it is hardly noticeable. But again, as the angles turn
towards 90 degree it can become 100% reflective.
Certain liquids and glass have also a reflective surface as metals.

This chart shows us some "values" for the diffuse(a for albedo), specular(r
for reflectivity) and the surface(m) and serves as a great reference when
finding out about the properties of a material. MEGASCANS by Quixel(With
friendly permission by Quixel)
Fresnel
Again, every object has some kind of specular reflection. Depending on the
viewing angle, we see varying amounts of reflected light. The amount is
specified by the index of refraction(IOR) and also the fresnel reflectance at
0 degrees(F0). The IOR describes the amount of refraction of a material at
F0. F0 describes the amount of specular reflection, when light hits the
surface perpendicular to the viewer. While we can divide into matte
materials and reflective materials, a better division would be Low-IOR
materials(non-metals) and High-IOR materials(metals). Low-IOR materials
reflect less, while Hogh-IOR reflect more at F0.
The strong light we see in Rim Lights is effectively specular reflection made
possible by the fresnel effect. When we look at mountainscape, some of the

specular reflection is apparent as well, if the surface us at grazing angles.

At F0 the fresnel effect doesnt have a lot of impact on non-metallic
materials as usual.

At F0, the Specular Reflection is less apparent. The amount depends on the
type of Material.

Specular Reflection at Grazing Angles

Enery Conservation

This one is quite important if you want to calculate the right rate of diffuse
and specular reflection.
The way materials work is when a material reflects a high percentage
diffusely, then it cant reflect much specularly. The same way that when a
material reflects a lot specularly, it cannot reflect a lot diffusely.
This is due to the conservation of energy.
Lets say our Light has the enery of 1. The material reflects 0.8 of the light
diffusely. That means that the light can only reflect the light with the rest of
the energy, which is 0.2. The specular reflection cant be higher than 0.4.

Values need to be congruent with the energy distribution.

Multilayer Materials
The Diffuse+Specular workflow works better because materials might have
multiple layers. Simply using the Albedo+Reflectivity(Metalness) workflow
wouldnt work well with multiple layers due to the differences in color and
reflections.

Specular Layer Above, Diffuse Layer beneath.

Concave vs Convex Reflection
Depending on the surface curvature, the reflections squash or stretch. This
is the reason, why highlights tend to differ in size and proportions as well.

The reason why some Highlights and Reflection are stretched are due to the
distortion of the surface.
Anisotropic Reflection
I would like to include anisotropic reflection, because it is pretty common
for materials like metals, hair and water. They are created by directional

unevenness on the surface. What happens is that the specular reflection

distorts towards the direction of the surface.

Anisotropic Reflection on the bottom of a pot.

Texture
The texture describes the light on materials. Depending on how the light is
hitting the texture surface, we can use texture brushes to simulate that
effect by using the right values and colors.
Just as a bump map in 3d we can use different texture brushes to create
some rough surfaces.
What you can do to study the texture and replicating them is simple.
First study what forms and shapes the surface has and then using the right
values to paint the light and shadow of these surfaces.

Use different values and Brushes for Light and Shadow Patterns of the
texture. Building the Halftones will make it easier.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere is created by many air
When you think about the atmosphere, think abut the planes of the
structure first. And then determine how far the planes are from the viewer.
The farther it gets, the more the structure turns into the color of the
atmosphere. Thinking in planes in 3-dimensional space will help you avoid
the flat look of atmosphere. Think about where the atmosphere might
become thicker inside the space.

Planes showing the structure of the Mountains.

Atmosphere affects the Mountains depending on how far the planes are
from the viewer.

Resources
Here are some great resources for further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shading
http://de.slideshare.net/RenaldasZioma/unite2014-mastering-physicallybased-shading-in-unity-5
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/reflection_highlight/reflection_hig
hlight.htm
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/aniso_ref_real_world/aniso_ref_re
al_world.htm
http://www.huevaluechroma.com/
http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/
Everything has Fresnel

https://www.allegorithmic.com/pbr-guide
https://www.marmoset.co/toolbag/learn/pbr-theory
http://www.marmoset.co/toolbag/learn/pbr-practice
https://www.youtube.com/user/kingkostasart/videos

Conclusion

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Anders Zorn - Bather with Parasol, Dalar; Study the Masters to Strengthen
the Principles. Try to think about them next time you are doing a painting.
Of course being able to see is not just a matter of understanding physics,
otherwise every physicist or photographer could paint.

made with

Learn how to think about shapes, value, color and edges and understand it

to apply the knowledge of physics to adjust your values and colors. A

proper artist knows both the mechanics of painting and of physics.
Every physical effect can be boiled down to a simple rule that you can
apply into your own painting.
If you are struggling with rendering something, just go back to this article or
do some research on physics and you will understand how it works to apply
to your painting.
My next article will talk about the big picture of painting. It will put
everything that is written on FoP in proper perspective and gives you a
guideline for a possible path as an artist.
In fact, learning to paint is achievable and shouldnt give you too many
headaches.