Lights and Shadows
in DAZ

I own the intellectual copyright for the written tutorial.  What you make is yours, but please do not take my tutorial.  Share only my link.

This tutorial was created for some friends of mine who wanted to begin learning more about DAZ Studio.  It is intended for beginners to learn how to add lights and shadows using only DAZ Studio.  If you have any questions, please feel free to Email  me.

To do this tutorial you will also need DAZ Studio.

One of the tips that many beginners overlook is that the picture needs some shadow.  Look around.  Everywhere there is some light and shadow combination that makes what we see have meaning and atmosphere.  In a picture, light and shadow adds dimension, depth, a reality to the frozen image.  It will make the image look more alive, more 3-dimensional. 

Look at the top picture which has shadow, and compare it to this picture, which is not using any lights or shadow:

Notice how the picture with shadows feels more real, and captivates your attention.

This tutorial will teach you how to turn on the lights and shadow and how to move them around into position.  You will have to be willing to experiment with positioning to create the mood that you want for your image.  Remember, don't rush a great work of art!

Let's begin.

1.  Open up your DAZ and create a scene.  For this tutorial, create something simple (not complicated like my picture).  Your scene will need to have a background in it, so that you can see the shadows better.  (But please note:  you can make shadows without even having backgrounds.  The shadows would just fall on the figures you are using.)  Also, try to have more than one object in your picture.

So a background, and more than one object that you use to make a scene.

If you have never put a background in the picture before, go to Edit > Background.  Click on Browse and find a JPG image to use.  You are welcome to use this one that I have created (Just click on the image, and when the image pops up, right-click and choose Save Picture)

So here is the creation in DAZ that I will work with:

2.  Create > New Distant Light (You may want to make your Layout of the DAZ desktop look like mine.  Use this tutorial.)

3.  This parameters box pops up.  Click Appy Default Settings, then Accept.

4.  You may not see anything in your picture added (depends how busy your picture is).

5.  Choose the Pose tab.  Click on the Scene Tab.  Click on Distant Light 1, and this will select the light you just created.

6.  On the Right side of the screen, near the bottom will be the Parameters menu.  Double-check that it says Selected Item:  DistantLight 1  at the top before changing anything.  Changing the numbers for the XTranslate, YTranslate, and ZTranslate will move the light around.  See, in the picture, I moved the light to the bottom, center of the image. 

These are the settings that I changed to move the light there.  Your settings may not match mine, because of how your figures are arranged in DAZ and how close you are viewing the figures.  To change the settings either use the slider, or click on the number and type in a number then press Enter.  Experiment with this until you find the placement that you want your light to be.  (Note:  This is an experiment stage, so it could take several tries to get it to where you want it to be.  Watch how the lighting changes in the picture as you move the light around)

7.  I decided to rotate the light a bit, too.  So scroll down the Parameters window to the Rotation section and rotate if you need to. 

Notice how the light changes the look of the picture.  I can see the floor now.

8.  In the Parameters window, scroll down to the very bottom.  Click on the color bar between the numbers (see pink arrow)  to change the color of the lighting.  The above picture is set to white light.

Here is a picture with pale yellow chosen.

Here is a picture with blue light chosen.

Here is a picture with pink light chosen

Pick the color that you want to use.  (Remember, this is a preliminary setting.  You may opt to change the color after changing other parameters.)  Here's my color choice for this picture.

Take some time to experiment with different light colors.  The lighting will affect the mood of the image.  For example, the blue light gives you the feeling of coldness.  The yellow light gives you a feeling of warmth.  Also think about the image that you have made.  Is it an outdoor or indoor image.  What kind of objects would be emitting light?  What kind of lighting would you see there?  A fire emits a yellow-orange glow, while a sunset might emit a pink-purplish glow. 

9.  Now let's look at the intensity bar.  It is set in the middle right now.  Slide it towards the left.

This is what the picture looks like with low intensity.  Low intensity = less lighting

Slide the intensity to the right end.  This is what the picture looks like with high intensity.  High intensity = More lighting.

Set the intensity to the level that you want to use.  (Remember, this is a preliminary setting.  You may opt to change the intensity after changing other parameters.)

10.  In the Parameters window, scroll up some to the Shadow section.  Right now the Shadow Type, says NONE . 

11.  Click on the None bar and you get some shadow choices.  Choose Raytraced.  (I profess I don't know the difference, so please use the manual -- but I like the way the Raytraced behaves on my pc).

12.  Now the Shadow is turned on, but you will not see shadows until you render!  So let's render and take a look.  At the top,  Render > Render.  Wait for the render.  This is what I got.

13.  Click anywhere on the render to return to your workspace.

14.  Notice the shadows on the floor.  I didn't like the direction of them, so I re-adjusted the translations of my light.

15.  Render again.  Render > Render

Ok, I like the angle of the shadows now.  The light looks like it's coming off from the right.  Since my lamps and chairs are located in that direction, that seemed more reasonable.

Click on the render to return to the workspace.

16.  I also adjusted the intensity of the light again.  You may want to change this .  Check again by rendering.

17.  Create > New Point Light

Choose Apply Default Settings & Accept.

18.  In the Scene tab, click on PointLight 1 to select it.

19.  PointLights have the same parameter options as DistantLights.  In the Parameter window, scroll down and turn on the shadow type, set the color, and set the intensity.  When I move the PointLights around, I usually first set the intensity to 100%.  Since PointLighs are smaller, it's easier to see them at 100%.  Now at the end of your moving around, you might want to reduce the intensity after that.  But save your eyes, and for right now, set it to 100%

See the arrow in the pink circle?  It's pointing to the point light.  See how hard it is to see at times? 

Another tip:  Go into the Scene tab and click on the eye for the DistantLight to HIDE the light while you move the PointLight around.  This will make most of the picture go black, so use it as a last resort.

20.  In the Parameters window, use the Translation settings to get the PointLight into position.  In the above picture, I am trying to move the PointLight to that lamp in the back so that it looks like the lamp is on.

21.  After placing the PointLight, set the Point At label to what you want the light to point at.  Choose something that you can see from the light position.  Click on the NONE bar in the Parameter Window > Point At.  Then Select an item from the scene & click Accept.

22.  Now check by making a render.  (Note:  If you turned the DistantLight off in the Scene Tab, first turn it on!)  Render > Render.  I can barely see the point light -- it's on the right edge of the picture, over the chair.

23.  I didn't want the chair to glow, so the Point AT was set on the wrong object.  I changed the Point At to Candle Holder 1.  Used the translation sliders to move it over the candle into place.  Then Render.  Render > Render.  Now look in the circle.  You can see how the candle looks like it is glowing.

24.  To see the candle glow better, I need to reduce the Distant Light Intensity.  So in the Scene Tab, click on DistantLight1 to select it.

In the Parameters window, reduce the intensity.  Then do another render.  Render > Render. 

Now you can see the glow of the candle better.

25.  Ok, I can't see the fireplace very well.  If I make the Distant Light brighter, I won't be able to see the candle glow.  So I'm going to add another Distant Light that I can put near the fireplace.

Now, unless there is a different light source, I want this light to have the same light color, intensity, and settings as the first distant light. 

To do this be sure that the last thing you've selected is the DistantLight1.  Go into the Scene Tab and click on Distant Light 1

26.  Create > New Distant Light.

27.  Choose Copy Selected Item: <DistantLight 1> & Accept

(If it doesn't list the selected item, you need to cancel and go select the item first!)

28.  In the Scene Tab, click on DistantLight 2 to select it.

29.  You can look at the Parameters window.  this DistantLight 2 has the same parameters as DistantLight 1, including the same location.

First change the Point At to what you want the light to point to.  I changed mine to the fireplace.

20.  Then use the Translation parameters to move this light closer to the fireplace.  Here are the settings I used.

21.  Check it with a render.  Render > Render.  Here is what mine looks like, at my settings:

22.  So keep playing around until you get the lights in the places you want, at the color you want, and at the Intensity that you want.

Note:  We did not use a Spotlight, but it works the same as the other lights, too.  Give it a try!

23.  When you're happy with your render (I know!  We're never completely happy with it), do a final render (Render > Render).  And save the render as a jpg.  File > Save last Render.

Some Lighting Tips:

1.  Use Lighting and Shadow to bring out the depth and atmosphere of your picture.

2.  Check for washed out colors, like white that looks too bright.  Reduce the intensity of your light to get rid of this whitewash look.

3.  Use more than one light. Lower light, but more lights may bring out the objects more and soften the shadows.  It is recommended to use a minimum of 3 lights.

4.  Make sure your light intensities together total 100% or less. (refer to #2 again)

5.  Even if the source of light is not shown in the picture, you should have an idea of where the light is emitted from, and the colors and intensity of the light should reflect this.

6.  Try a minimum of 3 light sources, and each light source has a variation of color and intensity.

 Please do not remove this tutorial from my site.  Share my url.