In this series of lessons we will explore a variety of techniques for creating realistic lighting which can also convey a sense of mood and atmosphere within Maya.

Throughout these lessons we will learn how to use lights and shading network modifications to create the appearance of real light sources, as well as using lights to call attention to particular areas of our scene. This course will be placing emphasis on efficient rendering practices, and some guidelines that you can use in your day-to-day work to help your renders proceed as quickly as possible. We will also take some time to learn how volume primitives and 3D textures in Maya can be used to create complex volumetric effects within our scene.

1. Introduction and Project Overview

3. Using the Attribute Spread Sheet to control multiple lights

5. Creating a shading network to mimic light sources

7. Adding light sources underneath the cryogenic pods

9. Illuminating the central pod platform

11. Using light linking to control illumination results

13. Creating bump maps for the floor

15. Using volume primitives in Maya

17. Placing final light sources throughout our room

19. Adding ambient occlusion to Maya shaders

2. Placing initial light sources in the scene

4. Using tone mapping and gamma correction in Maya

6. Creating glow maps for the cooling tubes

8. Building glow maps for the pod platform

10. Creating light sources along the walls of our room

12. Creating glow maps for the floor

14. Placing secondary light sources within the room

16. Rendering volumetric steam and smoke in Maya

18. Boosting the rendered quality of our Maya scene

20. Making final adjustments to the scene