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#Post#: 2--------------------------------------------------
Geometry of light and shadow
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 19, 2021, 12:41 pm
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One of the challenges of being a background artist in an
interactive medium is that often a designer requires us to leave
a large surface free of detail or clutter, so that characters
can move around on it uninhibited. This means that backgrounds
can sometimes look sparse and empty, which is fine in some
cases, but often the urge to decorate, to break up those large
areas is strong, and there's a number of ways that we can do
that. Decorative floors are a good option, especially when using
higher camera angles, as are things like rugs, changes in floor
coverings, and the like. One option, which can be a bit less
obvious, is to use lights and shadows to create shapes and
silhouettes on those surfaces, thus breaking them up without
actually relying on a change in material to do so.
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A good, simple example is Barnett College from Indiana Jones and
the Fate of Atlantis. Here you can clearly see the large, glass
windows let the light in, which is broken up by the window
frames, creating a bold set of quadrangles on an otherwise
fairly plain floor. The variety this brings to the scene also
helps guide our eyes - it's fairly natural to look first to the
lighter parts of an image, and having such a strong highlight in
the very centre of the composition helps to reinforce the
darkness of the framing elements such as the foreground desk.
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Another way lights can break up a composition is by use of rays,
such as in this scene from The Koshan Conspiracy. Here the bold,
curving arches of the ceiling are broken up by spokes of light,
'filling' the empty space these arches span with forms that,
while not tangible, are certainly visible. Because they're
translucent, the scene also manages to maintain the appearance
of great size, where filling these same positions with solid
supports would make the scene feel much more cluttered.
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Strong shadows can add bold shapes in any situation. Notice the
back wall in this shot from Black Sect, and how the flat plane
is broken up by a nice diagonal cast by the shadow. This also
helps to frame the shadowy figure in the foreground, by
surrounding him with a lighter colour that's framed in by this
silhouette on the wall, which follows his form quite closely.
Another nice trick is how the arch of the furnace stands out
nicely, and feels much hotter and brighter, because it's been
surrounded by this much darker colour. As always, contrast and
juxtaposition reinforces an element and makes it seem more
powerful.
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Another great use of silhouettes in light to break up a large
area, and focus a composition, is in this scene from The Dig.
Here the large, distant mountains are dissected by the looming
shadows cast by neighbouring mountains. This adds some diversity
to these large, fairly plain surfaces, but it also helps to
separate the composition into three very distinct areas of value
- the light shades in the top third, the middle shades in the
centre third, and the darker shades in the bottom third. This
clear division of values in the landscape also means that the
bold silhouette of the wrecked craft stands out nicely by being
an anomaly withing these value ranges.
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This backdrop from Rise of the Dragon is another lovely example
of adding variety to plain surfaces. Notice how the flat, square
panels of the wall have nice curves given to them by the pool of
light from an unseen light source. Without relying on any actual
solid, material addition, the artist has given this composition
a series of bold, rounded shapes that break it up nicely.
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An even more clear example is this scene from Dune. The floor
beneath the stillsuits on either side of the scene would, if not
for the pools of light, be textureless, almost formless planes
with no variety. The pools of light provide a strong indication
of the angle of the floor and they also add ovals into a scene
that's otherwise formed entirely of hard angles.
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This scene from the Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of
the Serrated Scalpel uses both light and shadow to add shapes to
the wooden docks - the angled silhouettes cast by the ship's
masts, and the edge of the building, break the sunlight up into
areas of shadow, and then the largest area of shadow is broken
up once again by the pool of light cast by the lantern. This
ends up being a slightly odd effect, mostly because the lantern
casts a light that's the same hue and value as the sun, but
still showcases two examples of the idea in a single scene.
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This scene from Simon the Sorcerer 2 relies on a large shadow to
break up the large, plain section of roof to the right of the
scene, as well as using large shadows to add depth and clarity
to the roofs in the bottom left, despite the fact that these
shadows don't seem to quite fit the lighting conditions of
materials such as the tiles, which suggest a much more central,
overhead light. Nevertheless, it's an effective, functional idea
that frames the scene well, adds much needed diversity to the
value range, and proves that a design consideration often trumps
the pursuit of realistic representation when creating a
backdrop.
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A fairly subtle use of light and shadow shapes is this scene
from Gabriel Knight, which shows dappled sunlight patches on the
ground around the tree and on the path and hedges. This is a
nice way to add diversity without being overwhelming, and the
fact that the focal area of the scene is a white painted
building, amongst a very green scene, means the light isn't
necessary to guide the viewer's eye too much.
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A very similar composition from Quest for Glory 3 shows a much
bolder use - here we see a scene exit in a similar spot, but
here it creates a large, bold area of highlight on the ground,
which adds a number of things. Firstly, it helps centralise the
composition's focal point, so that our eyes are drawn clearly to
the middle. Secondly, it breaks up the plane of the ground
nicely, adding variety into the large area once again, without
the need to add physical obstructions. Third, it helps to lead
the eye into the scene exit, helping to show us where we can
walk - always essential in the genre.
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This scene from Kyrandia 2 does a particularly nice thing with
its silhouettes - the surface of the quicksand catches the
shadows of the tree and the hand beautifully, making wonderful
shapes in the negative space around them, and even covering a
good two thirds of the sign, breaking up a fairly small surface
nicely, adding to the rich detail already present. What's
particularly nice is that above the shadows cast by the hand we
see another shadow in the quicksand, without any need to show
what's casting this shadow - a hidden shadow source, as it were.
This helps to isolate the lit areas to a specific zone, and also
to help the hand and the key it's clutching to stand out, as
well as creating distinct regions in the surface of the
quicksand.
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An especially wonderful use of light and shadow to create and
accentuate geometry is this scene from Full Throttle, in which a
hidden light source from the left, shaped by a hidden shadow
source, shines onto the large, flat section of ground,
centralising the composition and breaking up the plain surface
once again, while a hidden light source from below lights the
faces in the distance, and uses the shadows from this to
accentuate the structure of these. This shows light both
creating its own geometry on a flat surface along with the
traditional technique of light showing physical geometry in the
distance - a wonderful, powerful use of light and shadow that
evokes an excellent atmosphere.
Light, then, can bring geometric forms into a composition where
there would otherwise be just a flat surface. Doing so can add
diversity, focus, and balance, and this makes it an
exceptionally useful technique, particularly in a genre where
we're often required to use these large, plain surfaces in order
to accommodate the needs of a designer. Any artist faced with a
large wall, floor, or other large, empty space and is having
difficulty filling it with detail would do well to keep these
ideas in mind, and will find them very effective tools to have
at one's disposal.
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