Original Post

So this is one of my attempts at lighting.
It looks awful.

The skyscrapers here are lighted form inside with a point light, since they are hollow.
I am using a sun light too to make the general scene brighter, its too dim without one.

finally, one spot light that is linked to the humanoid (i.e it only applies to the humanoid) to give the humanoid more highlight.

oh forgot to mention there is a slight fog to dim the background, using a cube with volume scatter

So after following some of your tips and suggestions, I have achieved the following result:

The same photo, but there is depth of field, better highlights for the humanoid and some changes for the light strength

What I did:

  • Use an HDRI as a base
  • Change sun position to make shadows visible
  • lower sun strength
  • change the light color of the skyscraper behind the humanoid
  • change the highlights position and color to match the skyscrapers around
  • modified the fog, increased its visibility and changed its color and density

Although it doesnt look perfect nor great, I am very happy with how it turned out , and that is thanks to everyone here.

I am planning to make more changes, based on the other comments, like that comment that suggested bloom, so expect another update inshallah 😄

Anyway, really like the new render, thank you lemmings 🤍

  • OneCardboardBox
    10·
    2 days ago

    I think the window glow looks pretty good.

    My suggestion is on the compositional side: The lighting on the humanoid lacks a physical source, so the highlight looks out of place as if the figure was composited into the scene separately. If you can think of an object that is casting light onto the humanoid and place it into the scene (a neon sign, light spilling from a rooftop access door, etc) everything would fit together just a bit better.

    Another thing you could try is looking into 3-point lighting used in photography and film. Different 3-point configurations on the humanoid could help make them stand out from the background while keeping the highlights more subtle.

    • JerryMerweather@piefed.socialOPEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      Thanks for the advice, I assume searching up “3-point lighting” is what I need to do to understand what it is about.

      think of an object that is casting light onto the humanoid and place it into the scene (a neon sign, light spilling from a rooftop access door, etc) everything would fit together just a bit better.

      Sure thing

      Thank you, again!