How Learning From Rella Fixed My Boring Lighting

Summary

In this video, the artist explores the lighting mastery of Rella, an anime-style illustrator, aiming to enhance their own work. They deconstruct six of Rella's unique lighting scenarios and apply these techniques to their illustrations. Initially, they focus on mimicking Rella's process but soon realize that a deeper understanding of light and shadow theory is crucial. By studying from 'Color and Light' by James Gurney and 'Light for Visual Artists' by Richard Yot, they gain the knowledge to effectively use lighting to add emotional impact and 'wow' factor to their illustrations. The artist concludes that while techniques are important, it's the fundamental understanding of light that truly transforms their work.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Rella is renowned for her mastery of light and shadow in anime-style illustrations.
• 🤔 The narrator sought to understand Rella's techniques to enhance their own illustrations.
• 📈 A video was created to deconstruct 6 unique lighting scenarios from Rella's work.
• 🖌️ The process began with recreating backgrounds and base colors to facilitate shadow selection.
• 🖼️ Shadows were layered and refined to add depth and form to the illustrations.
• ✨ Rella often adds glows, dust, and sparkles to her illustrations for a magical touch.
• 📚 The narrator studied 'Color and Light' by James Gurney to gain a deeper understanding of lighting principles.
• 🌞 Key concepts from the book included different light sources and the role of clouds in coloring.
• 📈 The narrator experimented with various lighting scenarios, such as night scenes and spotlight effects.
• 🔍 The importance of understanding the direction and source of light was emphasized for creating realistic shadows.
• 🎭 Combining 3D elements with 2D illustrations was explored to create a unique visual style.

Q & A

What makes Rella's illustrations stand out in terms of lighting?

Rella's illustrations are known for their beautiful and diverse lighting, which creates a magical and emotional impact. Her mastery of light and shadow, combined with her unique use of colors and glows, contributes to the distinctive atmosphere in her artwork.

What are the six main steps the creator identified in Rella's lighting process?

The six main steps in Rella's lighting process are: 1) Recreating the background, 2) Adding base colors, 3) Adding the first layer of shadows using the multiply blend mode, 4) Adding a second, darker shadow layer for depth, 5) Adding glows, dust, and sparkles, and 6) Finishing with chromatic aberration.

What was the creator's initial challenge when trying to replicate Rella's lighting techniques?

The creator found that while they could technically replicate Rella’s steps, their own illustrations lacked the same polished look and emotional impact. They struggled with understanding the placement and intensity of shadows and bounce lights, despite knowing how to add them technically.

What realization did the creator come to about using lighting techniques effectively?

The creator realized that simply using techniques is not enough to achieve good lighting. A deeper understanding of lighting theory and principles is essential to know why and where to apply these techniques effectively in an illustration.

What books did the creator use to improve their understanding of light and color, and what were their main takeaways?

The creator used two books: 'Color and Light' by James Gurney and 'Light for Visual Artists' by Richard Yot. 'Color and Light' helped the creator understand different light sources and phenomena like Rayleigh scattering. 'Light for Visual Artists' provided detailed explanations of different lighting scenarios, which helped them understand specific lighting conditions better.

What techniques did the creator use to recreate the 'Dappled Light' effect in their illustration?

For the 'Dappled Light' effect, the creator used shadows in the shape of leaves or clouds by applying an image set to multiply mode. They added a pinkish glow around the light areas to create a calming and sentimental feel, and adjusted curves and brightness to enhance contrast between light and shadows.

How did the creator incorporate 3D elements into their stage light illustration, and what was the result?

The creator used 3D software to model elements and achieve realistic light refractions, inspired by the work of illustrator Redjuice. Although the process involved several trial-and-error steps, the creator was pleased with the outcome, successfully enhancing the stage lighting with the added 3D elements.

What were some key mistakes the creator made in their illustration attempts, and how did they address them?

The creator often struggled with flat and awkward character poses and compositions. They found that focusing more on the overall composition, camera angles, and pose dynamics, along with experimenting with contrasts and details, helped improve the visual impact of their illustrations.

What did the creator learn about the importance of background and base colors in setting the scene for an illustration?

The creator learned that starting with the background makes picking colors for shadows easier and sets the overall mood of the illustration. The base color establishes the character’s relation to the background, helping to integrate them into the scene more naturally.

How did the creator use chromatic aberration in their illustrations, and why is it significant?

Chromatic aberration was used by the creator as a finishing touch in most illustrations to mimic the effect of a camera lens, adding a subtle visual interest and depth to the image. It helps blend the elements of the illustration together, creating a more cohesive and polished final look.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Mastering Anime-Style Lighting with Rella's Techniques

The video begins with an introduction to Rella, an anime-style illustrator renowned for her mastery of light and shadow. The narrator expresses admiration for Rella's diverse lighting techniques and the emotional impact they bring to her illustrations. The goal of the video is to deconstruct six of Rella's unique lighting scenarios and apply them to the narrator's own illustrations to enhance their previously monotonous lighting. The process starts with recreating the background and base color, followed by adding shadows and highlights to create depth. The narrator also discusses the use of glows, dust, sparkles, and chromatic aberration to finalize the illustrations. Despite successfully recreating Rella's techniques, the narrator realizes that understanding the 'why' and 'where' behind the techniques is crucial, leading to a deeper study of light and shadow theory.

05:02

🌌 Exploring Night Scenes and Spotlight Effects

The second paragraph delves into creating night scenes and spotlight effects in illustrations. The narrator starts with a night sky background and adds stars, followed by base color and shadows. They discuss the importance of selecting shadow colors that reflect the background and the use of darker gradients to indicate areas unreachable by light. The spotlight effect is achieved by painting a circular light source and adjusting shadows accordingly. The narrator also experiments with adding flowers and blur to enhance the composition. They reflect on the limitations of their composition and camera angle but are satisfied with their technical execution. The paragraph concludes with the narrator's intention to apply the learned techniques to contrasting lighting scenarios.

10:02

🌅 Sunset Inspirations and Creative Lighting Experiments

In the third paragraph, the narrator is inspired by the vibrant colors of sunsets and decides to create an illustration based on a unique photograph. They opt to use Unreal Engine for the background to easily manipulate the sky and time of day. The character is given a grayish-blue shadow with an orange glow to reflect the sun's color. A rim light is added to make the character stand out. The narrator experiments with hue, saturation, and contrast to enhance the vibrancy of the colors, eventually falling in love with an accidental color scheme. They add colored glows, stars, and grains to the background and use chromatic aberration for the final touch. The paragraph showcases the narrator's ability to stylize the illustration based on a solid understanding of lighting principles.

15:03

🍃 Dappled Light and the Power of Contrast

The final paragraph focuses on 'Dappled Light,' a lighting technique that creates a dramatic contrast between light and shadow, often seen in anime illustrations where sunlight filters through leaves or clouds. The narrator demonstrates how to create this effect by using a shadow shape of leaves or clouds, which can be drawn or sourced from images. They add minimal shadows and pinkish glows around the light to evoke a calming and sentimental feel. The narrator emphasizes the importance of contrast between light and shadow and adjusts it using curves and brightness sliders. They add out-of-focus flowers and dust to guide the viewer's sight and finish with chromatic aberration. The paragraph concludes with the narrator's realization of the simplicity yet impact of lighting in enhancing illustrations.

Keywords

💡Anime-style illustrator

An 'anime-style illustrator' refers to an artist who creates illustrations in the style of Japanese animation, characterized by expressive and often exaggerated features. In the video, Rella is described as a master in this field, known for her unique approach to light and shadow, which is a key aspect of anime art. The video aims to explore and replicate the lighting techniques that give Rella's work its distinctive 'wow' factor.

💡Light and Shadow

Light and shadow are fundamental elements in visual arts, used to create depth, mood, and realism in illustrations. The video script discusses how Rella's mastery of these elements contributes to the emotional impact of her work. The narrator attempts to understand and apply similar lighting techniques to enhance their own illustrations, indicating the central role of light and shadow in the video's theme.

💡Multiplicative Blend Mode

Multiplicative blend mode is a layer blending mode in digital art programs that multiplies the colors of the base layer with the colors of the layer above it. In the script, the narrator uses this mode to create shadows, filling the layer and then erasing parts to reveal the light, demonstrating its utility in achieving a more dynamic lighting effect.

💡Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is an optical effect where light of different colors is focused at different points, causing a slight color fringe around objects. The video mentions adding chromatic aberration as a finishing touch to illustrations, which can give a more realistic or stylized look, depending on the context.

💡Glows, Dust, and Sparkles

These are visual effects used in digital art to simulate the appearance of light scattering or reflecting off particles in the air. The script describes adding these elements to enhance the magical and calming qualities of the illustrations, which are characteristic of Rella's style.

💡Rayleigh Scattering

Rayleigh scattering is a physical phenomenon where light is scattered in proportion to the inverse fourth power of the wavelength. It's responsible for the blue color of the sky. The video script uses this concept to explain the color changes in the sky, illustrating the importance of understanding light physics in creating realistic lighting effects.

💡Form Principle

The 'Form Principle' in art refers to the use of light and shadow to define the shape and form of objects in an illustration. The video script mentions understanding the difference between form shadows and cast shadows as crucial for making better shading decisions, which is a key takeaway from the book 'Color and Light' by James Gurney.

💡Lighting Scenarios

Lighting scenarios are different arrangements or configurations of light sources that create specific effects in an illustration. The video explores various scenarios such as spotlight lighting and stage lighting, analyzing how they influence the mood and tone of the artwork. The study of these scenarios is essential for the narrator's journey to mastering lighting techniques.

💡Dappled Light

Dappled light refers to the mottled pattern of light and shadow created when sunlight passes through leaves or other semi-transparent objects. The video script describes using this effect to create a dramatic contrast between light and shadow, which is a common technique in anime-style illustrations for adding depth and visual interest.

💡3D Elements in 2D Art

Integrating 3D elements into 2D illustrations can add a sense of depth and realism. The script mentions the narrator's attempt to blend 3D modeled elements with 2D artwork, inspired by the illustrator Redjuice. This approach is used to enhance the stage lighting effect, showcasing the creative possibilities of combining different art techniques.

Highlights

Rella is a master of light and shadow in anime-style illustration.

The video aims to breakdown Rella’s unique lighting scenarios to enhance one's own illustrations.

The narrator's realization of repetitive lighting in their work and the desire to add a 'wow' factor.

A detailed breakdown of Rella's lighting techniques, including the use of background, base color, and shadows.

The importance of understanding light direction and its impact on shadow formation.

The use of glows, dust, and sparkles to enhance the magical quality of illustrations.

The narrator's struggle with applying Rella's techniques to their own work and the realization of a lack of fundamental understanding.

The recommendation of 'Color and Light' by James Gurney for a deeper understanding of light and color theory.

Explanation of different light sources and their effects, including Rayleigh Scattering and its impact on the sky's color.

The concept of 'The Form Principle' in shading and its significance in creating realistic lighting.

The narrator's attempt to recreate a night scene with a hidden light source and the use of Add blend mode for light.

The use of chromatic aberration as a finishing touch to enhance the overall illustration.

The narrator's exploration of different lighting scenarios, such as spotlight lighting, and their impact on character mood.

The practical application of lighting theories from 'Light for Visual Artists' by Richard Yot in various scenarios.

The integration of 3D elements with 2D illustration to create a unique visual effect.

The use of Unreal Engine to create dynamic skies and adjust lighting conditions for a sunset scene.

The narrator's final realization of the importance of understanding light and shadow to add impact and 'wow' factor to illustrations.

Transcripts

Rella... is an anime-style illustrator!

But not just any anime-style illustrator,

She is a master of light and shadow!

When looking at her work, I'm always stunned by the beautiful and diverse lighting

So naturally, that made me wonder…

How can I do something similar? 

Are there patterns in her process that  will allow us to get similar results? 

So in this video, I will be attempting to  breakdown 6 of Rella’s unique lightings scenarios 

Showing you how I’ve applied these  techniques to my own illustration attempts 

In order to see if Rella's techniques  can help fix my boring lighting?

You see…. Recently, when looking  back at my illustrations,

I realized that I was using mostly the same  lighting, on the same kind of background

And while that’s not necessarily bad, it’s missing that 'wow' factor,

That emotional impact that can  be seen in Rella’s illustrations 

Take this illustration, for example:

The usage of light made it not only beautiful, but calming and just magical!

Ever since seeing this illustration, I’ve been dying to know how it was done

I was curious about what secret techniques I could learn from this…

So I decided to break it down, and try applying the techniques to my own illustrations

First off, I started with recreating the background

Then add the base color

When you start with the background it makes  picking colors for the shadows much easier

The shadow which was just 1  layer on multiply blend mode

I first fill in the whole layer,  then erase parts to show the light

Next I added the second darker shadow, to give the image more depth and form

I sometimes use lock transparent pixels to  do this, or create a second multiply layer

Lastly, Rella likes to add  glows, dust, and sparkles

Then finish off the illustration  by adding chromatic aberration!

And that was it…

That was so simple, that it kinda scares me..

I find that there’s only like 6 main steps to this

However, recreating the illustration was the easy part

The hard part is to see if I can apply  this to my own illustration attempt

To see if it’s as simple as it looks,  or if I’m missing some crucial steps?

I started with the background I did this quickly just to get

the feel of the lighting Then add the base color

And since the background is blue, the  shadow will reflect the same blue color

When we isolate Rella’s shadows, we can have a  clearer understanding of how she shapes the light

Here we can see big shapes informing  us of the direction of the light

And smaller shapes for details  like lights going through the hats

When I tried doing the same thing,

I find adding light to be more  straightforward and less intimidating

Thinking in shapes hierarchy, will also  make your composition more appealing

Now that we got the overall vibe of the  image down, it’s time to add details

And here’s where things  started to fall apart for me

You see, when I compared my progress to my Rella’s I started to get really worried,

Rella’s looked super polished Mine just looked flat and dirty

Despite that, I continued with adding  the darker shadow just like Rella

But when I did that, it somehow looked even worse? Maybe I should add a bounce light? That could fix

it right? Wait, how much should I add? Is that too much? Too little?

No matter how many times I  tried adjusting the illustration

It just doesn’t have the same  feeling as Rella’s illustration

Not that it’s a bad thing. I actually  think that this turned out alright

But I felt frustrated when it comes  to adding shadows and bounce light

I understood ‘how’ to do it… But I couldn’t  understand ‘why’ or ‘where’ to add it!

I had the technical skills but lacked fundamental  understanding to use them effectively..

And then it hit me,

Techniques alone, won’t solve my lighting issues

It’s the deeper understanding of theory

Which enables for flexibility and creative freedom down the line

So, I decided to properly study light and shadows

And as for how.. I found this book

Which perfectly complements Rella’s techniques,

Answering many questions I had during my study

Alright, let’s keep this short

'Color and Light' is a book by James Gurney

And for the next 50secs, I’ll  show you my main takeaways

First are the 8 different light sources With 5 often used by Rella

I had no idea that clouds  play such a big role in colors

Just look at how it changes the color of the sky

And talking about clouds.. Do you want to know why the sky’s blue?

Me neither.. But apparently it’s pretty important

This was due to a phenomenon  called Rayleigh Scattering

Sunlight which is made of many colored waves  scatters when it interacts with the atmosphere

Blue light scatters more due  to its shorter wavelength

Therefore less atmosphere results  in more blue lights

While thicker atmosphere reduce the blue color

Other than the sky, there’s different types of character lightings

Half shadow, Three quarter lighting, Frontal lighting,

Edge lighting, Contre Jour, and Spotlighting

Oh, and I finally understood  “The Form Principle”,

I hope..

The things that I thought were important  were the form shadow and the cast shadow

Knowing the difference between the 2 will  help you make better shading decisions

And now armed with basic  understanding of light and color,

I’m excited to dive back into the  study and apply what I’ve learned

After a sunny scene, it’s time to try a darker

I decided to start by breaking down this image due to its simplicity

Starting with 1. Background, 2. Base color, 3. Shadow, 4. Light

And then some 5. Details

So let’s dive into each, while  applying it into my own attempt

I began with the night sky  background which was just a gradient

Then stars using the default spray brush

And added base color and shadow

Which really helped put the  character into the scene

When picking colors for the shadows, I like to just eye drop the background color

Then adjust it from there

In Rella’s illustration, you can see a darker gradient for parts that light cannot reach

And after adding that with a soft brush, we’re pretty much halfway done!

Next it’s time to add the light

Rella likes using crisp white  light in her night illustrations

Here, the white light is coming from a  hidden light source behind the character

Although initially I thought that  this white light was the moonlight,

But after some research, I realized that that’s not possible

Unless the illustration is set in space, where there’ no atmosphere

So when it comes to the night scenes, you could decide between

A hidden light source or that the whole scene is set in space

Here, I use Add blend mode for light,

Since I find it to be the most versatile for Rella’s style

But it really doesn’t matter which one you use

Don’t forget to also add this colored light,  which I’m assuming to be the light falloff

The final steps were to add the  secondary shadows for details

Then Rella’s iconic dust and sparkles I made a custom brush for the sparkles,

Which you can download from below!

Don’t forget to also add some chromatic aberration

And that was it!

Wait, that was it?

This looks kinda bad-

So I decided to add some flowers and a lot of blur to make it look more interesting…

And here’s how it turned out

I think the downfall of this  image wasn’t the lighting,

But instead, the composition,  camera angle, and this awkward pose

Which resulted in a flat-looking character But technique wise, I think I did pretty well?

The fundamentals that I learned from  the book also helped me quite a lot

Especially with identifying  where this light was coming from

And I think the next step now, is to test  whether the techniques that we just learned

Can also be used in a scene with  completely opposite lightings

So let’s try and find that out  in Rella’s spotlight lighting

Now, the majority of the  character is engulfed in light

To do this, I started with the same  steps, background and base color

The background here, was supposed to be a wall,  so I added a cast shadow to show just that

Next added soft shadows to  show the form of the character

For lighting, I decided to go  with an intense circular spotlight

I did this by painting a circular light  on top of the character and the background

This lighting scenario is often used  to create a dramatic mood and tone

Which is perfect for the more  mysterious vibe that I’m going for

My light source is coming from around here,

So I’m adding shadows around  the top part of the character

Sharpness or softness of shadow depends on  the distance and angle of the light

Shadows closer to the light will have crisper  edges, while those further away will appear softer

At this point, I had the look and feel of the  image down, so it’s time to add the details

I noticed that in Rella's works, the areas  in strong light often have fewer details

This was because the intense lighting eliminate  the shadows, resulting in an overblown effect

So I made sure not add too much details  to areas closer to the light source

Once all that was done, I added  Rella’s iconic dust particles

Then I used gaussian blur and grains to  emulate the effect of camera in low lighting,

And finally, chromatic  aberration to wrap things up

I’ll be honest, I have no idea how it turned  out this well! I’m really happy with the outcome

But despite that, there’s still a lot  of flaws in the process and outcome

On the technical side, I feel like  the hair could have been better,

It’s still quite flat compared to Rella’s

And on the theory side, this lighting scenario was still a big mystery to me

I only managed to get to this point, all thanks to having Rella’s art as art direction

And real life photos as references for light, shadows, and colors

Without those things, I wouldn’t have been able to do this

While the color and light book helped me zoom out and understand the basic theories

Now, I need help with zooming in

And focusing more on light and  shadows in specific scenarios

And I think I got just the thing…

‘Light for visual artists’ is a book by Richard Yot

Which focuses on the different lighting scenarios

We got: Frontal, Side, Back, Above, Below

Explanation of every sky you could think of

Oh wow, look at this one... Maybe I’ll try this in a bit

And sections on shadows,  indoor lights, and materials!

But I actually got this book just to read  this sections on specific light scenarios

So after going through them all, I just went  straight to applying them in the next attempt:

The Stage Light

The stage light signature feature is definitely this rim light effect

And the secret to creating this effect lies in the background

Which is often black to allow the rim light to stand out dramatically

So you know the usual steps

I decided that the light will come from above,

So I added a slight gradient to give a sense of form

Then it’s time to add the light

For rim light, I tried keeping it super thin  and minimal, not adding more than necessary

The light was also so strong that it created this  glow effect where it’s in contact with the surface

Any dust particles passing through  the light will also pop out

From here, I tweaked the image as I saw fit,

Adjusting things like contrast, hue, and saturation

In case you’re wondering, here’s how my layers looked

And overall, quite straightforward!

At this point, my illustration was done!

well... not really

Because I have an idea that  I’ve been dying to try out

A while back, I saw this video  by the illustrator: Redjuice!

I was inspired by how beautiful the 3D  elements blended with his 2D illustration

And I wanted to try something similar So since the beginning of this attempt,

I planned to do just that, with the 3D  skills that I learned in my previous video

Which could either look really  cool.. Or end up in total disaster

Anyways, what I did was…. Modeled the 3D elements

Did some composition stuff Don’t know what to do next

Look up all the tutorials on youtube Do whatever the tutorial tells me to do

Then render it out, put it in photoshop

And... I hate this!

So I did this

then that

then this

and that

and this

and done!

And somehow it actually turned out really good!

My goal was take advantage of the beautiful refractions made by the 3D software

In order to enhance the beautiful stage lighting Which I think was a success!

Although this lighting was beautiful,

I think the next one is even prettier!

Colors of the sky during sunset are often vibrant and complementary

And depending on the clouds or lack thereof,

Can result in sunsets from the typical orange blue,

To golden hours to the beautiful alpenglow

The inspiration for this attempt came from this photograph

I loved the unique angle so much, I decided to build a whole scene based on this photo

And when it comes to the background,

I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to draw it…

So I chose to use Unreal Engine to make the sky

This also allows me to easily adjust  the time of day and cloud volume

Otherwise you could always take your own  photos or grab one from somewhere like Unsplash

I find that having references of what you’re  going for can make your life much easier

For the shadows, I added a grayish  blue onto the whole character

Then added orange glow to the bottom  to reflect the color of the sun

To help the character stand  out from the background

I added a rim light, similar  to what we did previously

At this point, the main lighting was in place,

So now it’s time to add  details and polish things up

The colors here felt a little bit dull,  so I wanted to make it more vibrant

I was experimenting with the  hue, saturation, and contrast

When I accidentally made this..

And I instantly fell in love with the colors and decided to stick with this

And although, this was no longer a 'real' sunset

The lighting is still based  on the principles of a sunset

As for finishing touches, I added colored  glows to the top and bottom of the character,

Mainly because I thought it looked cool

I also really like how Rella paints over  the line art with the color of sunset

It’s a really subtle effect, which was very  effective at showing the intensity of the light

Then added stars and grains to the background

And finally, the good ol’ chromatic aberration!

And this might be my favorite  outcome from this study,

I was happy with how I was able to transform  and stylize the illustration as I please

Thanks to having solid  understanding of the lighting

I wasn’t able to go over everything,  so if you want to have a closer look

You can download the files for yourself

As for the final lighting, I’m not quite sure what to categorize it as

But for now, let’s call this ‘Dappled Light’

Because I want to focus on this  simple yet impactful lighting

Often seen in anime illustrations,

Where the bright sun shines through leaves or clouds

Creating this unique and dramatic contrast between light and shadows

As for how to do this, I think you already know..

But this time, the shadow will take  on the shape of leaves, or clouds

You could draw this yourself or again,  grab an image from somewhere like Unsplash

And set it to multiply mode

For now, this is just a placeholder, but by doing this

You’re essentially getting yourself  to that 80% mark without having to do much

I then added the 2nd shadow,  which I kept very minimal

I like Rella’s use of pinkish  glows around the light

It’s a nice touch that makes the image  feel that much more calming and sentimental

So I did something similar by brushing  the area in light with a pinkish glow

I was going for a cuter style for this attempt,

So aside from some shadows and glows here  and there, I really didn’t have to do much

Once I was happy with the overall  look and feel of the image

I played around with the shadows,  to see which ones I liked the most

When I put this image side by side to Rella’s

I realized that there wasn’t enough contrast between the light and shadows

So I fixed that using curves and brightness sliders

Lastly, I added some out of focus flowers to guide the viewer’s sight

And added dust and chromatic  aberration to finish everything off

Yeah, and that was it!

By far the simplest, yet so impactful

I decided to keep things simple

To let the juxtaposition between light and shadow be the star of the image

And that’s the power of lighting!

So what exactly did I get  out of this two month study?

In the beginning, I began by mimicking  Rella’s workflow and art style

Trying to grasp what makes her artwork so beautiful

But I quickly realized that copying techniques alone, won’t get me far

I had to solidify my understandings through studying fundamentals

And by the end, I was able to use what I learned

To craft my own unique approach  to lighting in order to make it fit my vision

And the best part? I’ve finally learned how  to give my illustrations that missing impact,

That ‘wow’ factor that I’ve been searching for!

As always, thanks for watching!