Light 11/11/11

Light

Without light there is no colour, no form and no distance there would be nothing to see.

Light works in three different ways: absorption, reflection and refraction, these are the ways which light interacts with everything around us.

Absorption is when light hits a surface and is absorbed by it; a good example of this would be a surface with the colour black. We see it as black because it absorbs all the colours of light while something red absorbs blue and green light and reflects the red, hence why we see it as red.

Reflection is when light bounces off of and object at the same angle it came in at. Depending on the colour light that is reflected depends on the colour we see.

Refraction is when the beam of light is bent of course into another direction.

Defused reflection is when light bounces of an uneven surface and is scattered in all directions.

Shadows are affected by the distance of the object from the light source, intensity of the light source.

Shadow of the Colossus is well known for its beautiful environments, I think this has a lot to do with the lighting in the game. This image is an in game render of a fight between Wander and a Colossus. The light source in this picture is the sun that is breaking through the clouds from behind the colossus; this makes the colossus cast a large looming shadow over Wander and his horse. This emphasizes the size of the colossus.

Another colossus picture, in this one the light source is directly above, or in the middle of the picture. It is meant to replicate when you look up at the sky with the sun in your eyes, that’s why the light is quite overwhelming. The flying colossus, again to signify its size, blocks out the sun so it is almost a silhouette.

This is an environment piece from shadow of the colossus, there is a very strong light source coming from the right hand side of the image, making harsh light to shadow contrasts. The places where the light hits the tree roots and plants are almost white while the shadows behind them are quite dark.