Xplo Eristotle <inq### [at] unforgettablecom> wrote in message
news:37C### [at] unforgettablecom...

> Lemme see if I can say something useful.

Thanks for the comments.

> The robot you have now has a pretty good "soft metallic" finish, but
> that may or may not be what you intended.

Whatever I intended, I kind of like what I wound up with.  I want to run
with the idea of the robot being very simple in shape, like a post, but the
arms and the attentive posture makes it alive.  The more I can increase this
juxtaposition...

>
> If the robot is highly reflective, it would be an excellent idea to
> finish the room by adding walls behind the camera to reflect off of the
> robot's skin (if you've done this already, they must be really boring
> walls). The walls themselves will never appear, but their effect on the
> scene will. Also note that adding a couple of walls may change the
> lighting in the room, especially if you're using a lot of radiosity.

There are indeed walls on all four sides.  The walls are blank, and I know
it affects the appearance of metal.  That's why I started with an empty room
rather than a black stage.

> As for the lighting itself, hmm...
>
> Well, it's supposed to be an artist's studio, yes? AFAIK, those tend to
> be pretty well lit, and not with point light either. You probably want
> (a) several wide-beam spotlights, similar to track lighting, or a lot of
> sunlight streaming in through windows. (I can't see it real well, but
> you appear to have something like a skylight, which isn't going to do
> the trick.. unless of course you WANTED that.) With that much light, it
> would be safe to turn down ambient light for the whole scene to 0 and
> crank up the radiosity, letting what lighting exists flood the room in a
> more natural manner.

Hmm, the scene is indeed lit from a skylight.  Actually, there is no ceiling
at all in the model <g>.  I'd put in grids to cast shadows if it was
visible.

So, given a "natural light" studio, how can it be well-lit other than a
single point source?  Lots of reflectors to make fill light?  If so, then
the large area light I already put in is the right idea -- models the large
white card or whatever he'll have set up.  Would I get the same effect by
using actual white reflectors and using a radiosity model?

> You're looking for an artificial appearance, so I'll stop here. Hope you
> got some ideas.

Yes, thanks.

--John

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