Motionbuilder Tutorial - 20: Light Rig and Shadows

Summary

In this tutorial from Brew House Art Studio, the focus is on lighting and shadow techniques in 3D scenes. The instructor demonstrates how to set up a basic light rig with a main light, rim light, back light, and fill light, adjusting their positions and colors for a natural look. A shadow plane is introduced to capture and refine shadows, with tips on making them crisp using 'opaque planar shadow.' The video also covers organizing lights into groups, disabling selection for non-essential objects, and saving the light rig setup for reuse. The tutorial is aimed at MotionBuilder users, promising to bolster the community with practical animation tips.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The tutorial focuses on adding lights and shadows to a scene in MotionBuilder.
• 🔧 The presenter demonstrates a personal workflow for setting up lighting, which includes creating a plane and a shadow plane.
• 🖥️ Use of hotkeys like Ctrl+2 for splitting panes and Ctrl+W for schematic view is highlighted for efficiency.
• 📏 The importance of scaling the main plane to encompass the entire grid is emphasized for proper shadow casting.
• 💡 A four-point lighting rig is created, consisting of a main light, rim light, back light, and fill light.
• 🎨 Color adjustments are made to the lights to simulate natural lighting conditions, such as sunlight and different hues for rim and back lights.
• 📍 The tutorial explains how to position lights effectively to create a realistic lighting scenario in the scene.
• 🌑 The use of 'Live Shadow' shader on the shadow plane is introduced to cast crisp shadows from the main light source.
• 🔄 A tip on how to create a reusable lighting rig by saving the setup as an FBX file for future scenes is provided.
• 👨‍💻 The presenter encourages viewers to explore scripting for automating the lighting setup process, acknowledging different skill levels.
• 📁 Organizational tips like creating folders and groups for lights, and disabling selection for certain objects, are shared to streamline workflow.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the tutorial?

The main topic of the tutorial is how to add lights and shadows to a scene in a 3D environment, specifically using MotionBuilder.

Why does the presenter prefer to use the schematic view in MotionBuilder?

The presenter prefers to use the schematic view because it allows them to place objects at world zero without having to manually type in a bunch of numbers, making the process more efficient.

What is the purpose of creating a shadow plane in the scene?

The purpose of creating a shadow plane is to separate the shadows from the actual plane itself, allowing for better control and manipulation of shadows in the scene.

How does the presenter change the type of marker used in the scene?

The presenter changes the type of marker by going to the marker settings in the properties and switching from the default cube to a square.

What is the significance of the four lights created in the tutorial?

The four lights created represent the main light (sunlight), rim light, back light, and fill light, which are essential for setting up a basic lighting rig in the scene.

How does the presenter adjust the intensity and color of the lights?

The presenter adjusts the intensity and color of the lights by selecting each light in the Navigator, changing the intensity value, and tweaking the color to match the desired effect, such as sunlight or a specific hue for rim and back lights.

What is the 'live Shadow' shader and how is it used in the tutorial?

The 'live Shadow' shader is used to cast shadows from the lights onto the shadow plane. In the tutorial, it is applied to the shadow plane to make the shadows from the lights visible and crisp.

Why does the presenter switch from projective Shadow to opaque planar shadow?

The presenter switches from projective Shadow to opaque planar shadow to make the shadows appear crisp and clean, as opposed to the choppy appearance of projective shadows.

How does the presenter ensure that only the main light casts a shadow?

The presenter ensures that only the main light casts a shadow by selecting the 'light Main' in the Navigator and setting it as the only light source that casts a shadow in the 'live Shadow' shader properties.

What is the 'poor man's hack' mentioned by the presenter for reusing the lighting setup?

The 'poor man's hack' refers to saving the created lighting rig as an FBX file, which can be easily reused in different scenes without having to recreate the setup each time.

How can the lighting rig be accessed quickly in future scenes?

The lighting rig can be accessed quickly by adding a path to the saved FBX file in the asset browser, allowing for easy dragging and merging into new scenes.