TIPS ON LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER AS A LIGHTING ARTIST
UTS Animal Logic Academy
The UTS ALA offers accelerated, industry-focused education for careers in CGI, Animation, FX and Visualisation.
We are currently looking for dedicated Lighting Artists to join next year’s Master of Animation and Visualisation. If you love working with light to compose scenes and tell stories, have a strong understanding of picture composition and colour theory, and enjoy bringing shots to life using light and shade - becoming a Lighting Artist may be the perfect fit for you.?
Lighting Artists often come from a strong background in art, photography and/or cinematography. They understand how light and shadows shape the look and mood of a shot and enhance the action, characters and emotion of a narrative. The role of a Lighting Artist is best suited to someone who is both creative and technical, as it involves working with tools and software to translate a creative vision into the final shots of 3D animation and video effects productions.?
Specialising in Lighting at the UTS Animal Logic Academy is a great way to upskill and forge a career in the animation and visual effects industry. Lighting Artists are in high demand, with graduates from the Academy having worked on exciting projects such as ‘The Magician’s Elephant’, Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ and ‘Transformers One’.
Hear about what it’s like from Eliza Atkins , Digital Artist (Lighting and Surfacing) at Fin Design + Effects, who graduated from the Master of Animation and Visualisation.
1. ? ? What does a Lighting Artist do?
Lighting in CG or VFX is similar to on-set lighting in the real world. To put it simply, we place lights in a scene to achieve a particular look.
In lighting for VFX, this involves making the computer-generated elements look natural against the real filmed “plate” image that they sit on. In CG lighting, we aim to match color keys and other artistic direction to make the shot look good. Both types of lighting require us to use light to shape the appearance of objects, set the mood and direct attention.
Moving lights around in a 3D scene is sometimes only a small fraction of our day. We also have to debug technical issues with our scenes as they arise, and balance noise or other quality requirements while keeping our render times within acceptable limits.
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2. ? ? What skills do you need to become a good Lighting Artist?
Lighting requires a really fun blend of artistic and technical skills.
On the art side, you need a “good eye”, and a familiarity with composition and cinematography. Many of the lighters I know are also amazing 2D artists.
On the technical side, you need to be good at logical thinking and problem solving. Lighting scenes are similar to node-based programming languages. When things go wrong, you need to be quite methodical to get to the root of the issue. This can include getting quite deep into render settings like sampling algorithms, or the optical properties of different materials.
Like with all jobs, lighters also benefit from soft skills too. In particular, we need to be good at understanding and responding to feedback. Our routine involves “dailies” where shots are reviewed and notes are provided. A good lighter is able to look at their shot objectively, ensure they have understood the notes they have received (even the ones they don’t agree with!), and then implement those notes to get their shot approved.
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3. ? ? What experience, qualifications and skills did you have coming into the MAV?
I had no formal art or 3D training before starting the MAV. I encourage anyone else in this position to not be put off from applying!
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I became interested in animation around 2020, after doing a degree in engineering and working for a few years. I picked up a 3D software called Blender as my lockdown hobby. I enjoyed modelling and surfacing little characters, and had a go at rigging and shot composition. I really wanted to do this new thing I enjoyed as a career, but had no idea how to get there. I also didn't want to do another undergraduate degree.
The MAV suited me perfectly because it has an industry focus, and is an accelerated postgraduate course. To apply, I put together a generalist showreel using what I had taught myself in Blender.
I’ve been surprised by how many bits of my engineering degree have come in handy in my work as a lighter like vector maths; colour spaces and optics. I imagine this would also be the case for people with maths or computer science backgrounds - there’s a lot of stuff in the lighting, FX, and TD departments that you could have a headstart in without realising it.
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4. ? ? What was the most fun part of your role?
The most fun for me lighting at the MAV was watching a shot come together. Lighting is often the first time that all aspects of the shot are in one place. Before this, we haven't actually seen the models with their textures on them through the camera. It's an amazing feeling to go from the goofy-looking previs mockups of the shot, to seeing it look “real” for the first time.
We can also go through a lot of lighting iterations before the look of a shot is approved.
It can be fun looking back at the first lighting pass to see how far a shot has come. Some shots can take dozens of lighting revisions before they finally get approved. It is so satisfying to overcome your “problem shot” and make it look great!
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5. ? ? What advice would you offer someone wanting to specialise in Lighting?
If you’re just getting started in lighting, this online book by Chris Brejon is an incredible resource: https://chrisbrejon.com/cg-cinematography/.
You can get started with CG lighting for free using software like Blender. There are lots of websites where you can download assets or scenes and have a play with lighting them. Karma/Solaris in Houdini is an industry-standard software that also has free licenses available, but it's a little harder to learn.
If you want to take your learning to the next level, I really recommend doing a course that mimics the industry pipeline. Because lighting relies on all 'upstream' departments, you really can't beat a simulated studio environment like at the MAV. You'll learn a lot from the experience of picking up scenes and assets, receiving and addressing shot notes, and then passing your renders over to comp. These experiences in collaboration and problem-solving will put you in great stead for your next steps in the industry.
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Our alumni have worked on a range of successful productions at major studios. You can check out their profiles below:
The images featured are from the UTS Animal Logic Academy's Master of Animation and Visualisation project, Corrupted (2022).
If you’re interested in studying the Master of Animation and Visualisation in 2025, final round offers are open. Learn more and apply today: https://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-engineering-and-information-technology/animal-logic-academy/how-apply/applying-your-course?