Lighting in Unity from Udemy

Welcome to Lighting in Unity where we are going to cover lighting theory for games created in the built in renderer, Universal render pipeline and the high definition render pipeline

We will start with lighting basics, covering color theory, lighting characters and objects, color harmonies for creating great game aesthetics, baking real time global illumination and baking static light maps and using lighting probes for dynamically moving objects

In the built in renderer we will be lighting an interior bar room scene, using available light sources such as windows and wall lights. We will be matching color temperatures to real world values to make the scene look authentic

In the Universal render pipeline we will be lighting a cartoony style horror environment using saturated colour mixes. This could be useful for mobile style games as well as games that feature hand painted stylized graphics

In the High definition render pipeline we will be lighting a realistic scene using different times of day and looking at using fog volumes for volumetric lighting to create impressive visuals for games. We will look in detail at post processing to create AAA visuals for games. HDRP is used for top game titles and so mastering lighting in this render pipeline can be very useful for making your games compete with other top titles

So why not enrol today and I look forward to seeing you in my course

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What's inside

Syllabus

Lighting Basics

Introduction

Install Unity

Setting up the scene

Directional light

Sky settings

Skybox challenge

Ambient lighting

Point light

Spot light

Halo

Lens flares

Projectors

Baked lighting

Bake modes

Bake map settings

Baked area light

Reflection probes

Baking emission

Light probes

HDRI skies and realtime global illumination

HDRI baking

Post Processing

Color Theory

Setting up color theory scene

Monochromatic colors

Complementary colors

Split complementary colors

Triadic colors

Tetradic colors

Analogous colors

Color harmony task

Lighting Techniques

Lighting techniques setup

Single light source

Background lighting

Multiple lights

The Room - Built in Renderer

Install room project

Color temperature

Lightmap scale

Setting up first light

Pool table light

Wall lights

Table lamp

Reflection probe

Final bake test

Post processing

Fixing small issues

Bake final lightmap

Final bake results

Mansion - URP

Create new URP project

Taking a look at the scene

URP quality settings

Checking lightmap resolution

Setting up the sky background

Lighting the rocks

Test bake for rocks

Lighting for the bridge

Lighting the darker areas

Bright spots of light

Lighting the fence

Lighting the gravestones

Lighting the house

Fixing the moonlight

Final bake

Bake results

Box volume post processing

Scene results

Forest - HDRP

Setting up the HDRP project

HDRP settings

Physically based sky

Sun and fog

Clouds

Camera exposure

Sky challenge

Creating a sunset

Mid day sky

Camera settings

HDRI sky

Local fog

Final scene lighting setup

Final post processing

HDRP summary

Course completion

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Lighting in Unity with these activities:

Review Color Theory Fundamentals

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Reinforce your understanding of color theory to better grasp the concepts of color harmonies and temperature adjustments used in lighting.

Browse courses on Color Theory

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Review the definitions of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
Study different color schemes and their psychological effects.
Practice identifying color harmonies in existing games and artwork.

Read 'Light and Color' by James Gurney

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Deepen your understanding of light and color principles to enhance your ability to create visually appealing and realistic lighting in Unity.

View Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions) on Amazon

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Read the chapters on color temperature and atmospheric perspective.
Take notes on key concepts and examples provided in the book.
Apply the principles learned to your own lighting setups in Unity.

Follow Unity Lighting Tutorials

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Enhance your practical skills in Unity lighting by following step-by-step tutorials on specific lighting techniques and features.

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Search for tutorials on baking lightmaps in Unity.
Follow a tutorial on using light probes for dynamic objects.
Experiment with different post-processing effects in Unity.

Four other activities

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Read 'Rendering in Real Time' by Tomas Akenine-Möller

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Gain a deeper understanding of the technical aspects of real-time rendering to optimize your lighting setups in Unity.

View Real-Time Rendering, Fourth Edition on Amazon

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Focus on the chapters related to lighting and shading models.
Take notes on the mathematical concepts and algorithms discussed.
Relate the concepts to the lighting features available in Unity.

Create a Lighting Study Scene

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Solidify your understanding of lighting principles by creating a scene that showcases different lighting techniques and effects.

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Choose a scene to recreate or design from scratch.
Experiment with different light sources and settings.
Iterate on your lighting setup based on feedback and observation.

Document Your Lighting Process

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Improve your understanding and retention by documenting your lighting workflow and sharing your insights with others.

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Create a blog post or video tutorial on a specific lighting technique.
Share your work and insights on online forums and communities.
Solicit feedback from other artists and developers.

Contribute to a Unity Lighting Project

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Apply your knowledge and skills by contributing to an open-source project related to lighting in Unity.

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Find an open-source project that focuses on lighting or rendering.
Identify a bug or feature that you can contribute to.
Submit a pull request with your changes.

Career center

Learners who complete Lighting in Unity will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Lighting Artist

A Lighting Artist crafts the visual mood and atmosphere of a game through the strategic placement and manipulation of light sources. This role involves using specialized software to create realistic or stylized lighting effects that enhance the player's experience. This course on Lighting in Unity provides key knowledge for aspiring Lighting Artists, especially with its focus on different rendering pipelines. The course's exploration of lighting basics, bake modes, and light probes helps build a foundational understanding of lighting principles. The sections on URP and HDRP lighting are invaluable to anyone looking to use Unity in their professional career. The course's emphasis on color theory and post-processing techniques directly contributes to a Lighting Artist's ability to create compelling and visually stunning game environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Lighting Artist

Level Designer

A Level Designer crafts the layouts and flow of game levels, ensuring they are both engaging and visually appealing. Lighting plays a crucial role in guiding players, creating atmosphere, and highlighting points of interest within a level. This course on Lighting in Unity provides Level Designers with the knowledge to effectively utilize lighting as a design tool. The course's exploration of lighting techniques, bake modes, and light probes offers insights into how to optimize lighting for gameplay and visual impact. The sections on different rendering pipelines are also valuable for understanding the technical constraints and capabilities of different platforms. A Level Designer will use their skills learned through this course to create levels that are intuitive, visually stunning, and enhance the overall player experience.

See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer

Look Development Artist

A Look Development Artist is deeply involved in defining the visual style and appearance of assets within a project, including how they react to light. This role focuses on creating shaders, materials, and textures that achieve a specific aesthetic. This Lighting in Unity course provides Look Development Artists with a strong foundation in lighting principles and techniques within a real-time environment. The course's exploration of different rendering pipelines, such as URP and HDRP, is particularly valuable for understanding the capabilities and limitations of each. The section on post processing allows the look development artist to take their work to the next level. Understanding baking and reflection also informs the look development process so that things work correctly and efficiently.

See salaries and explore the career path for Look Development Artist

Environment Artist

An Environment Artist is responsible for creating the immersive and detailed environments that players explore in games. Lighting plays a vital role in shaping the look and feel of these environments. This Lighting in Unity course provides a solid foundation for Environment Artists by covering fundamental lighting concepts and practical techniques. The course's focus on lighting different types of scenes, such as interior bar rooms, horror environments, and realistic landscapes, offers valuable insights into creating diverse and visually appealing worlds. The sections using URP, HDRP, and different rendering pipelines are particularly relevant. Furthermore, the course's exploration of color theory and post-processing enhances the Environment Artist's ability to craft stunning and believable game environments.

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Realtime 3D Artist

A Realtime 3D Artist creates assets and environments for interactive experiences, such as games, simulations, and virtual reality. A strong understanding of lighting is crucial for optimizing visual quality and performance. This Lighting in Unity course helps Realtime 3D Artists understand how lighting works within a real-time environment. The course's exploration of different rendering pipelines, such as URP and HDRP, provides insights into optimizing assets for different platforms. The sections on baking, light probes, and reflection probes are particularly valuable for creating efficient and visually appealing scenes. A Realtime 3D artist can use all of these skills to create models that look their best and run well on a range of hardware.

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Game Designer

A Game Designer conceptualizes and designs the gameplay, mechanics, and overall experience of a game. While not directly creating art assets, a deep understanding of lighting principles and their impact on mood and player guidance is crucial. This Lighting in Unity course helps Game Designers appreciate the technical and artistic considerations involved in lighting. The course's exploration of color theory, lighting techniques, and different rendering pipelines provides a holistic view of how lighting can be used to enhance gameplay. The designer can use those same principles in the design of game systems and levels. Understanding real time and baked global illumination helps designers communicate their vision to the art team effectively. A game designer can use this foundation to create a more immersive and engaging experience for players.

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VFX Artist

A Visual Effects Artist creates stunning visual effects for games, film, and other media. Often, these effects involve dynamic lighting and particle systems that interact with the environment. This Lighting in Unity course helps VFX Artists understand the foundational principles of lighting within a game engine environment. The course's sections on lighting techniques, bake modes, and post-processing are particularly relevant for creating realistic and stylized visual effects. Understanding different rendering pipelines, such as URP and HDRP, allows a VFX artist to integrate their effects seamlessly into a game. Furthermore, knowledge of reflection and light probes assists in creating effects that respond dynamically to the surrounding lighting conditions. This ability is crucial for creating immersive and believable visual effects.

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Indie Game Developer

An Indie Game Developer often wears many hats, including art, design, and programming. A strong understanding of lighting is essential for creating visually appealing and engaging games, especially with limited resources. This Lighting in Unity course may be useful because it provides key tools for developers. The course's holistic approach, covering lighting basics, techniques, and different rendering pipelines, is ideal for those needing a broad understanding. The practical examples, such as lighting interior and exterior scenes, offer valuable hands-on experience. Those with a limited budget can use all the skills from the course to make a visually stunning, marketable game.

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Architectural Visualization Artist

An Architectural Visualization Artist creates realistic renderings and interactive experiences of architectural designs. Lighting is paramount in showcasing the design's aesthetics and functionality. This Lighting in Unity course may be useful for Architectural artists because it teaches how to use lighting to create realistic scenes. The course's focus on lighting techniques, color temperature, and real-time global illumination can be directly applied to architectural visualization. The sections on HDRP and post-processing are valuable for achieving photorealistic results. The Architectural Visualization Artist can take their designs to new heights with the content from this course.

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Technical Artist

A Technical Artist bridges the gap between art and programming, optimizing art assets and developing tools to improve the art creation workflow. They often work with lighting systems to ensure optimal performance and visual quality in games. This course covering Lighting in Unity may be useful, particularly the sections on setting up scenes and optimizing lighting for different render pipelines. The course's coverage of various lighting techniques, including baking and light probes, could help a Technical Artist understand how to efficiently implement lighting solutions. The HDRP section can be particularly useful for those aiming to optimize high-end visuals. A technical artist might use all of these skills to provide artists with the ability to bake high-quality, realistic lighting, while still maintaining good performance within a game.

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Virtual Production Specialist

A Virtual Production Specialist works on film and television sets using real-time game engine technology. Lighting is a critical component of creating realistic virtual environments that blend seamlessly with live-action footage. This Lighting in Unity course may be useful to Virtual Production Specialists because it covers the theory and application of lighting in Unity. The course's focus on creating realistic lighting scenarios, using color temperature, and leveraging post-processing effects provides practical skills for virtual production. The sections on HDRP and real-time global illumination are particularly relevant for achieving photorealistic results on set. A virtual production specialist can use these skills to create a compelling virtual set.

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Animator

An Animator brings characters and objects to life through movement and performance. Lighting plays a crucial role in showcasing their work and creating the desired mood and atmosphere. While not directly creating lighting, understanding how lighting interacts with animations is essential. This Lighting in Unity course helps Animators appreciate how lighting can enhance their animations. The course's exploration of lighting techniques, color theory, and post-processing provides insights into how to optimize animations for different lighting conditions. Furthermore, understanding different rendering pipelines ensures that animations look their best across various platforms. They can use this to create visually stunning and emotionally resonant animations.

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Simulation Developer

Simulation Developers create interactive simulations for training, education, and research purposes. These simulations often require realistic lighting to create immersive and believable environments. This Lighting in Unity course may be helpful for Simulation Developers. The course covers techniques for creating realistic lighting scenarios, using color temperature, and leveraging post-processing effects. The sections on HDRP and real-time global illumination are particularly relevant for achieving high-fidelity results. The insights into bake modes can help simulation developers create high quality simulations on limited hardware.

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Game Programmer

A Game Programmer implements the game's logic, systems, and features. While they don't typically create art assets directly, understanding how lighting works is crucial for optimizing performance and creating visually stunning experiences. This Lighting in Unity course may be useful to Game Programmers. The course focuses on creating lighting effects, and understanding different rendering pipelines. The sections on baking, light probes, and reflection probes may provide insights into efficient lighting techniques. A game programmer might use this content to create a more visually rich game while keeping system performance in mind.

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Cinematographer

A Cinematographer, traditionally working in film, can apply their skills to the virtual world of game development. In this context, they focus on camera placement, composition, and lighting to create visually compelling scenes and cutscenes. This Lighting in Unity course may be useful to cinematographers due to its coverage of lighting principles and techniques within a game engine. The course's exploration of color theory, lighting techniques, and post-processing can inform cinematographic decisions. Furthermore, sections on URP and HDRP can allow a cinematographer to use these pipelines in their work. The cinematographer will use the knowledge within this course to craft stunning visuals for a variety of projects.

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Lighting in Unity

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