LIGHTING
Resources for learning to light 3D scenes.
π‘ LIGHTING
Resources for learning to light 3D scenes.
Software Agnostic (Lighting Theory)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- π¨βπ STANDALONE COURSES
- πΊ YOUTUBE COURSES
- πΊ YOUTUBE
- π» BLOG POSTS
- π BOOKS
- π MISC
INTRODUCTION
π¨βπ STANDALONE COURSES
PAID (ALL WORKSHOPS FOR $57/MONTH, $499/YEAR)
Practical Light and Color
The Gnomon Workshop, Jeremy Vickery
Practical Light and Color | The Gnomon Workshop
Discover professional techniques for Practical Light and Color, Theory and Application with Jeremy Vickery at The Gnomon Workshop. Watch now
πΊ YOUTUBE COURSES
πΊ YOUTUBE
Ultimate Guide to Cinematic Lighting β Types of Light & Gear Explained [Shot List Ep. 12]
StudioBinder
Ultimate Guide to Cinematic Lighting Pt. 2 β How to Light Subjects and Locations
StudioBinder
Video Lighting Techniques β Nailing that Cinematic Look (with a Fill Light)
StudioBinder
Outdoor Lighting in 3D | Is there a magic formula?
Gleb Alexandrov
Understanding Lighting - 3D Fundamentals
FlippedNormals
10 Lighting Setups for Your Animated Shots
Sir Wade Neistadt
Lighting a 3D Scene Like Pixar | Lights Breakdown
Leo in Color
How To Make Disney Style Lighting in Maya - Part 1
Arvid Schneider
π» BLOG POSTS
Lighting 101: A Quick Guide for Lighting Film
Premium Beat
Lighting 101: A Quick Guide for Lighting Film
From three-point lighting to motivated setups, here is everything you need to know about lighting placement and schemes.
12 tips for realistic 3D lighting
CreativeBloq
12 tips for realistic 3D lighting
Take a professional approach to light up your images.
Lighting principles for 3D artists from film & art
GarageFarm.NET
Lighting Principles for 3D Artists from Film & Art | GarageFarm
Lighting is integral to creating a successful image with any degree of faithfulness to real life. Here we share what it really is & what it can do for us as 3d artists.
Chris Brejon
Chapter 4: Lighting Categories
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 4: Light Categories - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Light Categories is my personal epiphany. Every lighting artist during his career has one moment where everything feels connected.
Chapter 5: Master Lighting
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 5: Master Lighting - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Master Lighting explains the setting up of a sequence for your team. How to anticipate and communicate so things go smooth.
Chapter 6: Lighting Principles
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 6: Lighting Principles - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Lighting Principles describe the fundamentals of a good lighting design. Based on personal experience and movies examples.
Chapter 7: Lighting Techniques
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 7: Lighting Techniques - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Lighting Techniques focus specifically on lighting tricks for Computer-generated imagery. My very personal recipe on some hot topics.
Chapter 8: Shot Lighting
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 8: Shot Lighting - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Shot Lighting describes the process and improvements a shot artist has to take care of. Not the most valued task but essential.
Chapter 8.5: Character Lighting
CG Cinematography, Chris Brejon
Chapter 8.5: Character Lighting - Chris Brejon
CG Cinematography Shot Lighting describes the process and improvements a shot artist has to take care of. Not the most valued task but essential.
π BOOKS
Essential CG Lighting Techniques with 3ds Max (2008)
Darren Brooker
Lighting for Animation (2016)
Jasmine Katatikarn, Michael Tanzillo
Light β Science & Magic, 6th Edition (2021)
Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua, Robin Reid
Real-Time Rendering, Fourth Edition, 4th Edition (2018)
Tomas Akenine-MΓΆller, Eric Haines, Naty Hoffman
Light for Visual Artists: Understanding and Using Light in Art & Design - Second Edition (2019)
Richard Yot
π MISC
Cinematic Lighting Cheat Sheet
Studio Binder
Photography cheat sheet: Lighting setups for professional portraits
Digital Camera World
Photography cheat sheet: Lighting setups for professional portraits
From classic Rembrandt styles to more modern alternatives, our cheat sheet shows you 24 different lighting setups
Blender
π¨βπ STANDALONE COURSES
PAID ($65)
Eevee Realistic Lighting And Rendering
Creative Shrimp
Eevee Realistic Lighting And Rendering
Master realistic lighting in EEVEE - rendered in fractions of a second. Introducing: a complete course unlocking the true power of EEVEE in Blender 5.0 with Vulkan.
PAID ($10)
Lighting Otto's Office: How to think like a cinematographer when lighting in Blender
Justin Wentz
ArtStation - Lighting Otto's Office: How to think like a cinematographer when lighting in Blender | Tutorials
Tutorials - Lighting Otto's Office: How to think like a cinematographer when lighting in Blender, USD $10.00. --Includes .Blend file for the demo scene--In this video series, I walk you through six lighting setups for...
πΊ YOUTUBE
Lighting 3D Characters for Storytelling
CG Boost
Tutorial: Cinematic Lighting in Blender
Polyfjord
How to Light Almost Anything in Blender #b3d
CG Boost
8 Cinematic Fundamentals for 3D Short Films #b3d
CG Boost
Master Lighting in Blender
Scenefiller
π» BLOG POSTS
Cartoon Character Shading with Geometry Nodes
Blender Studio
Cartoon Character Shading with Geometry Nodes - Blender Studio
A close look at how the cartoony character shading was done for Wing It! using the power of Geometry Nodes.
π MISC
PAID ($49)
Blender Lighting Scenes
FlippedNormals
FlippedNormals Lighting Scenes
FlippedNormals Portfolio Kit The FlippedNormals Portfolio Kit for Blender was built with one goal in mind: to help you create stunning portfolio renders with minimal effort. Weβve crafted 20 bespoke setups for 3D characters and props, designed to cover all your needsβwhether you're going for realistic, stylized, or ver
ZBrush
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- π¨βπ STANDALONE COURSES
- πΊ YOUTUBE COURSES
- πΊ YOUTUBE
- π» BLOG POSTS
- π BOOKS
- π MISC
π¨βπ STANDALONE COURSES
PAID ($11)
How to render correctly in ZBRUSH [RUS\ENG]
Anikina Mariia (Rogue-One)
ArtStation - How to render correctly in ZBRUSH [RUS\ENG] | Tutorials
Tutorials - How to render correctly in ZBRUSH [RUS\ENG], USD $10.99. I decided to record a mini-tutorial about a very basic, but a very important thing - How you can make screenshots or render in ZbrushΒ in high...
π» BLOG POSTS
Maya
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Unreal Engine
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Marmoset Toolbag
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This thread will be constantly updating.
(Last updated: 17/09/2026)
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