Maya – learning about textures and lighting
Been working with lighting and textures lately in Maya. Inevitable technical frustrations aside, some of this stuff is actually pretty cool. This particular scene is lit (with the exception of two small low intensity red spot lights against the wall) completely with planes textured with a surface shader. The surface shaders were turned up to white and then the value increased in the settings until the texture itself (and thus the plane) was actually projecting a nice white light. The planes themselves have their primary visibility turned off within their render stats. One is just in front of the glowing screen, and the other is behind the room to cast light as if it were coming from another room or area.
You’ll also notice the use of an ocean shader for the flooring. I mean, who wouldn’t want a home entertainment den that was also it’s own fountain or pool? This is just simple use of the ocean shader that comes with Maya. You can pick your colors. I grabbed reflective colors from around the room (particularly the movie playing, which by the way is the last frame of The Wizard of Oz – in case you were curious.)
Sometimes it’s fun doing things that aren’t anatomical at all.