Digital Lighting & Rendering

Jeremy Birn’s Digital Lighting and Rendering is a masterful treatise on digital lighting and, in my opinion, a must have on your bookshelf if you’re a 3d artist. While the text is clearly aimed at pre-rendered art, for example in animated movies or live-action effects, most of the concepts are fundamental enough to apply to lighting real-time scenes in games, or even more traditional art mediums. I found the pace to be good, and lots of important areas are covered. The chapter list includes lighting design, shadows and occlusion, environments and architecture, characters, cameras, composition, the science of color, rendering algorithms, textures, layers, production pipelines, and an appendix for getting a job in the industry. Though there are lots of books that cover specific topics or software packages (such as modeling in Maya), it’s more difficult to find higher-level books that focus on the fundamentals. Of course, it’s important to understand the tools you are using, but without a solid foundation you will likely end up making avoidable mistakes. My interest is definitely in real-time rendering, so many of the topics were not directly relevant. However, I do have some experience with pre-rendered content creation, mostly noticeably during my time in art school, and some of the topics here were even beyond what I learned getting a 4 year degree. I will say that the material would be most apt for people doing film, and the book is certainly catering to that audience. However, in my case, I find a lot of the real-time books to be too narrowly focused on the algorithms and maths and not enough time is spent telling you how to use those methods to produce quality art. So I like looking at other sources to get a different perspective. Even in games there is some crossover, for example in cut-scenes or making promotional images, so the knowledge can still be useful. All-in-all I enjoyed the book and I would highly recommend it to any current or aspiring 3d artist.

The 2nd edition was already an outstanding book. I'm just an amateur in 3D but Birn's work has been immensely helpful to clarify lot of things I had heard about but never seen in detail. The book gives a good look at the many aspects of the 3D rendering process without going too deep into technicalities : as such, it is a fitting read for beginners and intermediate users alike. I'm re-reading the 3rd edition right now, I really liked the part related to the linear workflow (gamma correction), which to be honest had always puzzled me a bit in the past, but here it is explained with good clarity. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you are just beginning your exploration into 3D. It will give you a first background of knowledge and put you on the right path.

I bought the 2nd edition of this, and even if it doesn't really feel that outdated when it comes to methodology this 3rd edition is improved in every regard. The fact that the 2nd edition still holds it's own today should say something about the knowledge and work the author puts into it. It's updated with more information about popular technologies like ptex, and it reflects increased popularity and speed of global illumination in feature films. He starts by explaining concepts of lighting, both technological and artistic. He continues going into specific methods and ways to use technology to achieve certain looks. Common errors are highlighted, good to know tricks are shown. It manages to be generic and non-software specific where it needs to be, but still points you in the right direction when it comes to specific technology which may or may not be supported by your preferred software and other methods you may want to try to get a specific look. The second edition has been recommended to me by VFX professionals, and it's with good reason. This is an improved version in every regard.

Haven't read all, but as most comments said here, quite easy to read and complete. Can't wait to learn all. Illustrations are great and colorful. First time trying Kindle to read, it's not as convenient as a book to easily jump from page to page. But I have access from all devices, I'll get used to it.

Reviewers all over the internet have raved about this book for years and I was not disappointed when I finally purchased it last month. It truly is a "bible" in the digital graphic & animation industry. The author makes the information general enough so that it is useful no matter what software you use. As an Architect, my interest in 3d digital rendering is to create realistic photos of my unbuilt designs. However, I found the author's information on composing, lighting, and rendering animated characters (which seems to be the author's main focus) incredibly helpful in fulfilling my goals. Birn's approach is thorough and no-nonsense.

If only all the documentation for 3D software were written like this clear and concise book. I don't know why but the books I've read on 3D tend to leave me more frustrated than any area of learning that I've undertaken. It's a complex subject but some authors seemed determined to make it harder than it is. Not Mr. Birn. He explains not just how to do something but why. The added bonus is that the information is platform agnostic. He seems to cover a lot of the different terms software companies use to describe the same processes and he candidly assesses their value in the finished work. There a plenty of clear color renderings that show the subtle differences that are the difference between good and great. Worth every penny.

I've read about half of the book and already can tell you that is a really great book! Worth the money I spent. Pretty clear in every aspect, only thing that could make it perfect is to have more images or visual examples of some light set-ups/results. Strongly recommend it!

This book is a must, if you want to learn the basics of digital lighting.

Se avete bisogno di approfondire concetti di lighting (a prescindere da quale software utilizziate), allora avete bisogno di questo volume. Chiaro, semplice e molto preciso nello spiegare cosa ci si aspetta da un lighter, come illuminare una scena in modo sensato e realistico e anche come "barare" in alcune occasioni per ottenere effetti stupefacenti. Ogni lighter che si rispetti ha letto questo libro, segue i suoi insegnamenti o lo tiene sempre a portata di mano sulla propria scrivania 10/10

This is a great book for beginners getting into lighting and rendering. A thorough read with a practical application of theory.

Liked how clear the explanation and the material about the various subjects of lighting in CG are. Very well written. Highly recommend.

Voila qui explique sérieusement la lumière et le rendu en digital. Utilisable pour tous les softs 3D ou 2D. Franchement, il est chouette. je recommande.

I've been learning 3D software for around a year but found there were a lot of aspects I didn't fully understand (and some I was clueless about!). I don't have much spare time to spend hours searching the internet for answers and someone recommended this book - definitely a good investment. Even though it is a little old, it provides a solid base and foundation to help me understand why things are done in a certain way and what's actually going on in the background (i.e. what the 3D software is doing). I set aside a couple of weekends to power through the book and it's been time well spent. Recommended for anyone learning 3D!