I just started working for a greeting card company. They’re starting to utilize CG in their marketing images. And this involves some tricky lighting setups.
For example, a card with gold foil accents/stamps. The aim is to highlight the gold but not at the expense of blowing out the litho finish.
Now, immediately I hear you say “passes” and “compositor”. Yes, I’ve tried to sell that method to my team.
Ideally we’re trying to set up a template (node network), where can just swap out the long list of images we need to get through.
Is there way to set up a lighting system to only effect certain aspects of a material?
Since these are static images, I’ve thought about just “faking” a reflection with an image map. Just wanted to see what other options there are, if any…
If you can’t sell passes and compositor, perhaps you can sell them on photoshop and masks, same thing, but more familiar.
Instead of a script that changes the one image in a single blend file, I’d probably try to make a script that generates a different blend file for each image. That way you can quickly make custom tweaks for the few that need it without interfering with the majority that don’t need tweaks.
Thank you! I’m aware of light linking, but my query was more along the lines of material specific light linking. From what I can tell, it’s not possible. What I’m looking to achieve is likely only possible via the compositor.
Can you post the blend file or maybe a screenshot of the object and basic scene setup? just a placeholder/simplified object without any graphic texture is fine, as long as i know how reflective the litho finish is and the thickness & reflectivity for the foil, maybe also the placement of the camera/framing. Maybe i could create some setup lighting setup that only accentuates the foil.
*ps: I’m originally a photographer so i know one or two tricks for photographing a small reflective product in a studio shoot, and i mainly use Blender to create a lighting plan for my studio shoot.
I appreciate the help! I’ll get back to you on that.
Furthermore, I may pick your brain with regards to “scrims” and reflective panels. I’m trying to simplify our workflow and do away with some of those real-world light manipulations, because it causes a boat-load of extra objects in the scene.
Ahh, so it’s not possible to use a flag or reflective panel for your project (you can turn off the visibility in the viewport, or change it to a wire frame if it bothers you)? However in my case, if the lighting setup won’t be realized in a real photoshoot, i prefer to use negative light and a “for reflection only” light.
Afaik, irl when dealing with reflective objects and you want to control the position of the reflection/highlight, most of the time you’ve to separate between light that is used for illumination and light that is used for reflection, even if there are light linking for material, without a “reflection” light, it’s nearly impossible to create a sharp and defined highlight in the reflective material/surface, with or without overexposing the whole object.
