Rendering Layers in Maya

Read all about rendering layers in Maya.

a. Rendering layers in Maya I
b. Rendering layers in Maya II

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The Power of Diffuse

Texturing and lighting works together to create more believable CG renders. Here's something that I read about using diffuse. I am getting better understanding of using diffuse channel now... oh yes.. diffuse is the absorption of light.

Read about diffuse.

And there are many other tutorials available too. Here is the link: http://www.noir.org/3dTutorials.html

Purpose of lighting

Just to recap a little:
Light can be used to direct the eyes of the viewer to see the focal point of a frame, create depth, to convey the time of the day, to enhance the mood of the picture, and the reveal a character's personalities.

Ratio of Key to Fill Light Ratio

High Key situation: Lots of soft fill light. Overall scene is quite illuminated. Contrast is low, and scene is usually well lit, and few dark areas. Mood conveyed: light hearted story, comedy, happy, minimize suspense, really nothing left to the imagination, straight forward presentation.
Low Key Situation: Scenes are darkly lit, no fill light, dark overall impression (not milky), light is usually used to direct viewers attention, darkness is to stimulate viewers imagination, good contrast, and evokes a feeling of unrest, and moody. Eg. a film noir is a low key lighting situation.

It really depend on the lighting requirement, and the story that the image/ or moving frame is telling, different lighting conditions will result a complete change in mood and drama.

Technically speaking, creating a believable lighting situation is about getting the shadows to look like those in real life. In 3D lighting, shadows are usually created looking too dark, sharp, flat, without interaction with the environment, lacking contact between the object and the floor, or insufficient variations. The lighting situation in real life is very dynamic and it would take more than a light to make a scene to look "real" or convincing.

According to Jeremy Birn, there are several qualities of light he listed in his book: Softness, intensity, color, throw, direction, animation, and shadow. These play together to convey the mood of a scene, and they can all be controlled quite successfully in Maya.