Basics of Lighting

Part Two

Okay, welcome to part two! Now we're going to take things indoors. Indoor lighting isn't really an issue if you're using the game's default lighting, but those utilizing GunMod's lighting might find it a bit tricky. Everything is just so very... dark. It just seems so dang hard to get anything lighted or to see anything, really. Hopefully this tutorial will help with that!

I've set up a temporary little set to demonstrate things. I've only decorated one corner so it resembles a movie set. Sometimes it is useful to do things this way, especially if you don't want to build entire houses or apartments; it's also nice if you're only planning on using one type of angle for your pictures. Currently, it's equipped with one floor lamp and it's pretty dark in there.

Let's add some light. I'm going to get another floor lamp. You can really pick anything you like. You can even use the same lamp you've already got. I tend to stick with lamps that have similar 'shades' of light. These two have a yellow, sort of natural tint. It isn't very white. I like it.

So I'm going to place the lamp out of range just to add some light to the scene. Since we're going using a portion of the set, it's easy to move lights around. They'll never see the otherside of the room and can just assume there's another light source on the wall that's not really there!

Now, with that light in place, we can have the sims interact with the scene and generally not stand around staring vacantly at the walls. You can see in the picture below that the light isn't very forceful, it's gradual, like an actual, distant light fixture in the 'house' we're trying to imitate. It's a good idea to put your extraneous light sources a good distance from your actual sims. We don't want them to look like they're staring into the sun or anything.

This little example works with almost any light source you can come up with! Let's switch things around and say you've placed sconce wall lights on each of the four walls. Now we've got a fully light room. As you can tell, the sconce wall light has a bit of a yellow tint to it, too, and it's a bit more extreme. It's like a warm candle glow.

It's nice... but it's still a little dark. We can fix that.

Yes, I just plopped down a candle on the floor. But look, see how much it brightens everything? Now we're talking! Remember to sort of eye the effect of the light on your sims. Pull it back or move it forward depending on the depth/brightness you're trying to achieve. Always remember to keep your editing steps (if any) in mind when you're doing this.

Let's try pulling in a bit and taking a shot that's somewhat story-esque. Very nice, indeed. We can see the sim's expression clearly! This is what we want.

Of course, if your sims are standing, you may find it more advantageous to try a floor lamp instead of an ordinary table lamp. The color is more even and you won't get strange forehead shadows/etc. Which is kind of alarming when your light source is supposed to be about equal height or higher than your sims! Here you can see I've removed the candle and just placed a floor lamp a good distance from my sims.

Of course, there's always the old standby--the ceiling light. I'm sure you're not overly shocked to find I'm not that big of a fan. Sure, ceiling lights are everywhere, but we're talking about pictures, people. I write stories about demons, vampires, Death, and people turning into dogs. Realism can kiss it.

But I did an example just so you could see. There's no dramatic lighting, just... light. Eh. Not my thing, but if you're finding areas too dark... ceiling lights are your best buddy!

Okay, moving on. Let's ditch a light on the far wall and instead move it over here, as an extraneous light source. Oooh, shadows! I like shadows. It's like instant drama and depth. Things still aren't too dark, but they're not overly bright, either. Feel free to experiment at your own volition. This is just what I like. :)

Let's zoom in and see it at work, though. See what I mean? We get depth, shadows, everything that occurs in real life when you're in a slightly less lit situation. I love it. It's a great way to sort of make your sims look not so much like sims. With some editing, of course.

Of course, there are other lights, too! There's white lights and lights that haven't been included in the GunMod shaders (like newer expansions and stuff packs) also have some pretty neat effects to bring to the table. As you can see, your surrounding color and the overall decor also make an impact. I try to match my lighting color with whatever works best with the decor color I've chosen. Once again, feel free to experiment!

Now, for the final part of this tutorial, we'll tackle something a bit more... fun. The dance lights. Okay, so these aren't used that often, but when they are... they can be a little too dark by themselves. I mean, who doesn't love the funky dance lights? I seriously wish I could use them more--they are awesome! As you can see below, though, my sims hardly look lit up at all. They're extremely... dark. Let's fix that.

Again, we bring out the colored disc lights from NL. Can you tell I love these things? Because I do. Since we're using the blue and green lights, we'll match the colors to the disc lights. I've put them where I've judged to be the best spot. I moved them around until they cast the right light on my dancing sims. You may need to fool around with this a bit before you get it how you want it. But again, this is a picture trick, not necessarily a movie trick... so you don't have to worry about movement!

Let's get a close-up and see it in action. Whoa! I can see sims, and faces, and their skin! Awesome, and as you can see, we still get the mixture of blue and green... so you will never know (or your readers, rather) will never know you've added extra lights! Hooray, everyone wins.

Hopefully this little jaunt into the 'world of lighting' was helpful! Just remember to keep your light sources consistant, match your overall lighting scheme, and not to be afraid to experiment! Just because it works for me a particular way doesn't mean it's necessarily right for you. There's a ton of possibilities, you just have to sort of go after them.

Please don't reproduce or copy this tutorial without asking first! And please, please, don't claim it as your own work. I'm very nice! Just email me if you want to post this somewhere or reference it. I really don't mind, I just appreciate a heads up. Thanks! -Mao