© Copyright 2011-2015 Dreamlight AB, basic3dtraining.com, 3dlightmaster.com.Any reproduction, copying or redistribution in any form is strictly prohibited.

ABOUT THE AUTHORVal Cameron is a DAZ Studio expert and coach. Founder and CEO of Dreamlight 3D, an online portal and store (www.basic3dtraining.com) where he's been helping over 50,000 DAZ Studio artists achieve better art and income since 2005.

Val Cameron has created hundreds of bestselling 3D light products, props, plug ins and video tutorials for DAZ Studio and LIghtwave for the DAZ 3D market and his own store. Dreamlight won the aniMate DAZ 3D video animation contest with his DAZ Studio music video “Love”.

Professional 3D artist since 1999, working with animations, logos and short movies.Professional camera man, 2D graphics artist, photographer and video editor since 1993.Former computer game programmer / designer and digital music creator since 1984.

Image by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

WOW, IT’S HAPPENINGIt’s time to put the darkness and confusion behind you. The techniques you’re aboutto discover, will change the way you work with DAZ Studio 3D light forever. Not only will you be able to light your scenes much faster and easier than before, you’ll also find a newconfidence that you thought you never had.

Lighting is 90% of your DAZ Studio art. It's what either makes or breaks your art. It doesn't matter what render engine you're using. These techniques are universal, and they all applyto 3Delight, the new Iray, as well as Reality / Lux and others. I've put together these techniques from a combiend 30+ years as a professional in video filming / editing, photography as well as 2D and 3D art.

My intention with this ebook is to give you a way to work with your 3D lighting thatmeans precision and control. Most importantly, it means PREDICTION. How wouldyou feel if you could envision your results, and they would just be there – time aftertime? This simply equals more joy when it comes to your 3D art creation, regardless ofwhether you’re doing indoor out outdoor scenes.

Let’s be perfectly clear about one thing: Art is about YOU—the artist within you. It’snot about your tools or hardware. It’s how you use those tools that defines your art…

Some of the things I will mention in this ebook might come as a shock to you. That’sok. You might even disagree with parts of it, but I know it works for me and for over fifty thousand of DAZ Studio artists that I have been coaching since 2005.

Therefore, at least for a moment, let go of everything you’ve ever learned about 3Dlighting, and read this ebook with an open mind.

Let’s get started…

Image by Dorothy Mitchell

DARN GREMLINSWhat are the roadblocks most DAZ Studio artists face with lighting? To start with, if you're not familiar with some of the techniques inside this ebook, 3D lighting might be THE most frustrating and difficult topic in the world of 3D graphics.

Why?

Because it’s endless. If you compare 3D lighting to real world lighting, you haveseveral times the options right there… Not only do 3D lights behave differently thantheir real world counterparts, they also have a gazillion more options and features notfound in our reality as we know it.

In 3D you have no lamp cables to handle or trip over nor do 3D lights necessarilycast shadows. 3D lights can go straight through objects and be tweaked for extremeprecision effects, leaving photographers and cinematographers envious.

Now, Is this is a bad thing?

I’d say no, because we artists love our creative freedom, but since there are many options out there, the sheer amount of knowledge needed creates a massive headache to most new and semi-pro DAZ Studio artists…

Common issues include extensive use of the dreadful trial and error concept. Darn,that didn’t work. Let’s try this! Nope, that looks… not so good! How about this?Arrghhh! Not even close! #%&”!!!

Without knowing what needs to be done and why, most artists are doomed toendless random tweaking and frustration beyond words. This often leads tooverusing heavy post work effects, such as glow, smear or high contrast to cover thelack of lighting skills.

When this happens, artists start to blame the software…

Image by Adam Hattrell

NOW, HERE’S A CLUEHow can I be sure that what I teach works? I’ve been training and coaching over 50,000 DAZ Studio artists since 2005, and I‘ve come to understand what works and what doesn’t.

I get emails on a weekly basis from artists who have found their joy with 3D art, which makes me very happy. Here’s what a few 3D artists I’ve come to know under the last yearshave to say:

“I would have never come this far in two years if it hadn’t been for Dreamlight’s vastlist of e-books, video tutorials, forum help and particularly the live training.

Written and video tutorials are a good start to understanding but for me the live training has opened my eyes to the possibilities. Plus you can ask questions.

Val’s recent Light Master series of videos was the final piece of the puzzle, in regards to 3D lighting, that I needed. Whether its Area lighting, Radiosity or just Portrait lighting I now feel I can light any scene in any software.

All I need now is to prove it to myself.”

Peter Thompson

“I have been working with Poser and 3D art since 2001. I am currently taking your Light Master class. At first, I wasn't sure the class was going to be worth the money I was spending on it. After all, I had taken a lighting class in college.

But I must say that I am almost all the way through the class, and I think it's extremely worthwhile. Your lessons are clear, and you break the concepts down in pieces that are well designed.

I've been taking careful notes, since I find I learn better when I write the material down.Your class has improved both my understanding of 3D lighting, and my confidence inmy ability to light my scenes and produce art I can be proud of.

This is a problem I've been working on for a long time, mostly by trial and error. I realized years ago that lighting is the key to creating good 3D art. You can have the most expensive texture, props and characters in the world, but if you light them deadon, they'll look lifeless and flat.

Your techniques make the same image pop. Please note that I teach online classes on writing, since I'm a published best-selling author under the pen name Angela Knight. I'm considered a pretty decent teacher, so I know a well-constructed lesson when I see one.

I have found your class to be well-designed, intelligent, and if you'll excuse theexpression, illuminating.”

Angela Knight – New York Times bestselling author

"If we are lucky, in our lifetime we earn the privilege of getting to know and work withsomeone who can only be described as a genius. Since 2005 I have watched Val's share the incredible genius he has for 3D Art with countless others all over the world in way that allows them to learn and grow from his seemingly limitless experience and talent.

His patient and caring coaching style has empowered others to expand their understanding of what is possible to a point where the impossible, suddenly becomesreality!",

Mike Lewis – Spain

Image by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

YA BORN LIKE THIS, RIGHT?Not even close!

I’ve actually stumbled upon 3D graphics back in 1999, when I was still working as aprofessional camera man and video editor. My first impression was “Whoa!”--that’s someseriously cool stuff! I freakin’ loved computer games and everything that moved on a PCscreen since early childhood and was hooked ever since.

Now how did that work out?

Of course, it didn’t! But it was fun… kind of! Seriously, I was really blown away with thepotential and all the pure coolness in front of me. But I couldn’t even make a single renderthat looked something more than a crushed potato under a 30 ton bulldozer…

I’m not the person that sits and reads loooong manuals or watches 2037 hours of videotutorials. Nope, I’m a searcher, the trial and error rebel maniac that turns everything up side down to find the answers…

BAD MISTAKE! ;)

Hey, no one is perfect…

Boy, if I could turn that one around…

Nope, I was a cool dude, right? I were to figure this out, piece of cake…

Fast forward a few years…

Hello? Anybody home?

Yeah, I made SOME progress, but I was still a million years away from the real masters out there… At least that’s what it felt like!

So, YEARS of of trial and error didn’t do it.

Phew, as hard as it is to say—I still have to say it…

Trial and error sucks!

Image by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

THE HIDDEN TRUTHNow, what DID change things around—and actually came as surprise to me—was when Istarted teaching 3D graphics. Back then, I already had been doing a few bestselling3D lighting products for the DAZ 3D market place, and with my background in photographyand working as a professional camera man and video editor most of my life, things started to fall in place.

Slowly, a pattern started to emerge from the darkness… Hang on, I’ll get there! ;)

Now, most DAZ Studio artists I came in contact with showed the same symptoms;They were clueless! What surprised me though, was that most of them were using trial anderror to light their images.

I started teaching what I knew, breaking things down to its smallest components. It went sowell, that I later started live training as well.

After having produced hundreds of lighting products for the DAZ 3D market place, many ofwhich became bestsellers, I realized one day that I was pretty good at this!

Something just clicked inside of me.

I had found the missing link…

I saw artists around me really PUSHING through, stretching, reaching out to realistic render engines in their quest for beautiful art. Did it work?

Nope, still random results!

So, what did I find out?

The CORE of lighting was missing. What core?

See, what goes into your scene as far as lighting goes, will come out on the other end,despite realistic render engines and fancy tools such as radiosity (automatic light bouncing)...

Before we dig deeper into the core, let’s take a look at some myths around 3D lighting, since they keep artists away from doing what needs to be done.

Image by Dorothy Mitchell

KILLING THE MYTHSHere are some of the most infuriating myths about DAZ Studio 3D lighting out there…

Myth #1: To be good at 3D lighting, you need an expensive high end 3D software.

The truth: You don’t. 3D lighting is NOT in the software. It’s within your skills. This is oneof the most vicious myths of all time, and I’m shocked of how many really believe in this and actually pursue that LIE—and end up even more frustrated!

Myth #2: To produce great lighting, you need a fast PC.

The truth: Nope! Great 3D lighting, again—is not counted in your RAM, CPU horsepower or graphics card. There are ways of using 3D lighting in such ways, that even an ancient PC can deliver wonderful graphics. It’s not what you have, it’s HOW you use what you have.

The techniques I teach involve mostly using a completely manual approach, since that gives you maximum control. Using manual lighting also has the advantage of rendering faster—hence a slower PC doesn’t need to be a huge issue.

Myth #3: To become good at lighting, you can just view a video tutorial or read a book andyou’re done.

The truth: Not even close! See, through my coaching and mentoring experience, havingtrained over 50,000 DAZ Studio 3D artists—I KNOW that most of them still have issues after seeing a video or reading an ebook.

The thing is, you MUST practice and repeat what you do—until you get it. However, there'sa HUGE difference in being on the right path, and just randomly moving forward.

Now, the best way of doing this is to have access to a complete training and on top of that be in an environment that cares for you and supports you. Because when you’re left alone with your newly found knowledge, chances are high that you will hit the wall and encountersome problems.

This is not something I made up—I see this on a daily basis!

Image by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

GIMME DA BIG GUNSo, what is the core and how will it help you? You’re ready for it?

I call these the 5 steps to mastering 3D lighting. They will work in any 3D software, but we're gearing this entire ebook towards DAZ Studio.

Step 1: What You Need

To really master DAZ Studio 3D lighting you need to learn two things:

1. Understand WHAT to learn2. HOW to use what you know

See, the number one mistake most artists make is to try to learn everything… Often at once too! ;)

You don’t have to!

It’s really about narrowing down what needs to be learned, thus eliminating most of the junk that’s out there. Stuff that you really don’t need!

This makes things easier and faster from the start. Now that you only need to learn SOMEstuff, it’s suddenly becomes a lot easier to grasp!

Ok, so what do you need to learn then?

Step 2: The Story

Most artists spend lots of time throwing in tons of lights into their scenes without reallyknowing what they do and why. Hence the random results we talked about earlier!

Now, what differentiates beginner’s and most pro’s from real masters, is their use of light toENHANCE the story of their images.

What story?

Exactly my point!

When did you last really think about what you’re trying to tell with your art? When you carefully place lighting so that it brings out the story of your image it really digs out what’simportant and leaves what’s not slightly darker. You make your images POP into the eyes of the beholder.

For example, when you have a scary scene, don’t go overboard. Use scarcity at its best: less is actually scarier!

Got a hero or a cool dude? Amplify the contrast to bring out the coolness!

Now, this goes way beyond what we can cover in this ebook, and touches deep psychological aspects of your renders, such as object placement, relationship with objects,lighting intensity and color to name a few.

But I can tell you one important thing: Your eyes will go from dark to light, so you can use this to guide the viewer to the focal point (the important part) of your image.

Step 3: The Light Types

What I’ve discovered is that you actually only need to learn to use 5 light types.

Yes. These are the old and mighty:

1. Distant Light (often called Infinite Light)2. Point Light3. Spot Light4. Area Light5. Self-glowing (light emitting) Surfaces

Image by Michael Ambruso

I chose these five because they differ very much from each other and can be used forspecific tasks in your scene. Everything from good broad lighting to fine tuning microprecision effects.

There’s a light for every occasion!

For instance, I use Spot Lights for precision lighting, since this light type offers the mostcontrol of them all. Point Lights are great for simulating real world bulbs or fire and Distant Lights for mimicking the sun. Area Lights and Lighting Emitting Surfaces offer soft lighting effects.

A single Point Light illuminating the entire set. Notice the scary effect from the surrounding darkness.

And that’s it! These are the five you need to know.

No need to dig into stuff like line lights, sphere lights, shape lights, real photo lights, negative lights and hell knows what they will comes up with next…

Now, the real trick is of course learning HOW, WHEN and WHY to use these 5 gems…

That’s beyond the scope of this short ebook, but I can tell you that my favorite light type isthe Spot Light. It needs careful positioning, rotation and narrowing of its spread angle,besides its intensity, color and shadow type. I love Spot Lights for the extreme control theyoffer and hands down—this is one of the most important light types you’ll ever use.

Step 4: The Ultimate Light Set Up

Ever heard of something called the 3 Point Light Set Up?

If you haven’t, read on… If you have, bear with me since I have a DEAL BRAKING point tomake in a moment… ;)

The 3 Point Light Set Up is an old photography light set up, still used today by mostprofessional photographers. This 3 Point Light Set Up has become quite popular among 3D artists too, because of its ease of use.

If you have issues with lighting I highly recommend you start playing with this light set up. It’s very easy to use and once you get the hang of it, you can use it for a wide variety of renders.

The standard 3 Point Light Set Up, using a Key, Fill and Back Light.

To achieve this, you simply use three lights:

1. The Key Light: the main light in your scene. Often this light comes at an angle—fromthe front, side and above the subject in front of the camera.

2. The Fill Light: this comes from an opposite direction—still from the front and above, butfrom the other side of the camera, filling in the blanks of the Key Light.

3. The Back Light: this comes from behind and slightly from the side and above.

Now, that’s better—isn't it?

To tell you the truth, it’s not.

This 3 Point Light set up doesn’t work most of the time. It was made for portrait photography and while it will work in some cases, it’s far from complete to cover your needs for every scene—especially when you want your lighting to work both indoors and outdoors…

So, what do you need instead?

During my work with 3D students, producing animations and hundreds of bestselling lighting products for the DAZ 3D market place and my own online store, I’ve come to design what I call the 7 Point Light Set Up.

Basically, it builds on the 3 Point Lights Set Up, and includes its Key Light, Fill Light andBack Light—but it also extends your set up with four more elements: Bounce Light, Ambient Light, Overall Light and Background Light.

Whoa… Behold the 7 elements of 3D Light!

Image lit using the 7 Point Light Set Up, featuring Key, Fill, Back, Background, Ambient, Overall and Bounce Lights.

What makes this 7 Point Light Set Up so unique is that when you learn to use it, when youdiscover the fragile balance of each of the elements and how they co-work together, you get pure magic.

Literally, you get powerful means to light virtually any scene, both indoors and outdoors—in any DAZ Studio version, using any DAZ Studio render engine (frankly—ANY 3D software out there). The 7 elements can be used to carefully bring out the story in your image and to enhance the mood you’re after.

The control you can have when using this light set properly is outstanding, leaving all the 7components separated from each other—thus making it easy to control them separately.

Life is good, eh?

And like I've mentioned, it works with any DAZ Studio render engine...

Here's a few DAZ Studio Iray renders, made exclusively with the 7-Point Light Set Up techniques:

Both images rendered in DAZ Studio using Iray, by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

And a couple more:

Both images rendered in DAZ Studio using Iray, by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

Step 5: Easy, Speed and Automation

One of the biggest secrets for speeding your rendering time is to fake things. Simply replace 3D with 2D effects. It’s commonly used in the gaming industry because it works! This technique uses flat plane objects with textures to mimic real effects such a trees, fog and lighting.

So, how do you go by making 3D light easier? I’ve discovered this when doing animationsbefore, when I was under time pressure. And I perfected this knowledge, while doing aninsane animation project using a free 3D software, under even more extreme time pressure!

It’s about making fewer lights do more for you. You not only use fewer lights that speed upyour rendering, but you'll also speed up your entire work flow, because—yes, you guessedit—you’re using fewer lights…

“Hey, can I substitute these two with just one”? It’s about faking it when you need to andmaking it good enough. You don’t have to follow any real world rules here. If something looks good, then it’s good, whether you’re using one or five lights to do the work for you.

It’s remarkable what fascinating effects you can get from using fewer lights… And even when using just one!

Also, use radiosity (automatic light bouncing) carefully, since it will easily overpower yourscene. I like cool tools, but I don’t over-use them, since they often take longer to render and also tend to mess up 3D scenes with unwanted effects!

Try to light things manually as much as you can, that is—without using cool tools—since that will really give you an edge when time is of essence.

Image by Val Cameron, Dreamlight

ANY LAST WORDS OF ADVICE?Now, as I mentioned before—KNOWING is one thing. But that doesn’t make you a lightmaster. You HAVE to apply what you know, implement it and LEARN it by experiencing it.

It's about practicing until perfect. There is no other way. Many artists don’t get this and think that there will be a nice sunny day somewhere in the future when they will be “ready”.

There is no ready.

I’ve been doing 3D graphics for more than a decade and a half now. And I’m still not done.

I never will be.

Look at all the cool people in the movie industry who push boundaries all the time, and enter new grounds movie after movie… After 20 years they should have gotten “there”, yeah?

No.

See, there will never be a place or time, when you’re ready.

There are things and techniques you can implement right away, that will make instant improvements in your art. More on that in just a second...

Your journey is ongoing... This is the very nature of the human nature, no pun intended. Therefore, is VITAL that you surround yourself with like-minded people, artists that strive toimprove their skills.

Each 3D scene is unique. Each idea and story is unique. You have a special gift within you—that special something that makes your art uniquely YOU.

It's time you cherish that something, and make it shine… So, it’s your job to find that gift ofyours and perfect it.

It’s time you let your 3D art shine like never before…

Image by Lily

WHERE 2 NEXT?So this is what you need to do in order to master DAZ Studio 3D lighting...

And it’s not something I’ve read or studied. I’ve learned and experienced it myself, and I seethe results with my 3D students. If you like what you’ve been reading, then there’s more…

I’ve put my entire 25+ years experience into a new, unique and comprehensive training programcalled 3D Light Master, which includes everything we’ve been talking about in this ebook.

And them some...

Now, 3D Light Master is not a simple “place this light here” training. It’s also not a simple “follow me along as I play with a few lights” program either.

It DIVES into the core of lighting, shreds it into small, easy-to-understand pieces, gives you multiple options to feed your creativity and explains it all in mind-blowing detail.

There’s not other 3D lighting program like it out there.

3D Light Master goes deep beneath the reasons of exactly WHAT techniques to use, WHEN to use them, and WHY.

In other words…

3D Light Master will show you exactly what you need to GET IT, whether you’re completely new to DAZ Studio 3D art or have been using it for years.

Now, I have a very rare and special offer for you...

Go here now and see more about it (there's a video for you as well):http://www.3dlightmaster.com/get_lightmaster.htm

Make sure you read the entire page, since it's VERY time limited and never before released to the public.

Thank you for taking your time to read this ebook, and I hope it has given you some valuable insights in the real secrets behind DAZ Studio 3D light.

It’s YOUR art, make it shine!

/Val Cameron

CEO and founder of Dreamlight

World Leader In Helping New DAZ Studio Artists Love Their Art And Income Since 2005

DAZ 3D Animate Contest Grand Prize Winner With Music Video "Love"Bestselling DAZ 3D Vendor Since 2005 With Over 190 Products

www.basic3dtraining.comwww.facebook.com/dreamlight3d

P.S. When you act within the next 24 hours, all current bonuses are 100% included completely for free—just my way of saying 'thanks' for reading this e-book:http://www.3dlightmaster.com/get_lightmaster.htm