I used to think flat lighting was fine for portraits until a commenter pointed out my shadows

Last month I posted a digital portrait in this forum and someone said all my shadows were muddy and flat because I wasn't using any rim light. I spent two weeks studying YouTube tutorials on ambient occlusion and reworked the piece with a single strong backlight. Has anyone else had a specific critique that completely changed how you light your scenes?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_ward149d ago

Real world lighting is honestly way more chaotic than what we try to fake in digital art. Like driving at night through a city, you see how street lights, car headlights, and neon signs all throw different colors and shadows on everything. That whole mix taught me more about rim light and ambient light than any tutorial ever did. It's wild how once you start noticing it everywhere, you can't unsee it. Makes you wonder why we spend so long staring at screens when all the answers are just outside.

patel.daniel17d ago

oh man, i had that exact same moment. someone told me my lighting looked like it was coming from a ceiling fan and i didn't even know what a rim light was at the time. spent like three straight days just moving a single virtual light around a sphere in blender before i even touched a portrait again. kind of embarrassing looking back but it's all good.

nina_sullivan6117d ago

Totally get that, @patel.daniel. I did the same thing with a coffee mug and a desk lamp for like a week. Felt like an idiot but it really clicked after that. The sphere thing is so boring but it teaches you more than any tutorial. No shame in that grind.