Best way to light a interior with no natural light

[mitviz]

what is the best way to go about this?

[FrostKiwi]

what is the best way to go about this?

Plasma lights are pretty natural in lighting, but if you have no money go for tungsten. Gives off a warm orange vibe, I really like.

[mitviz]

well was more going for type of corona lights to use, mostly people here render day shots with some light peeking through the windows but hardly there are interiors where less natural lights exist. would like to know what approaches are taken in this instance

[Juraj]

Depends heavily on a space. Some are naturally photogenic and retain attractive features even when lit like a pig. Others...not so much.

The biggest issue is flatness (no direction to create depth and contours of features), and temperature homogenity (sun/sky naturally provide opposite tones blending, sky can be an opponent to warm artificial lights, but artificial lights alone are issue).

Few things to overcome the issue a bit:

-Addition of flashlights or softboxes. Like photographer, if you don't have soft or direct light on scene, create one. Hide to a side of camera, or somewhere, to create contrast, grounding, or depth.
-Counter the homogenity of light intensity, quick example: Make ceiling spotlights weaker, and floor/wall lamps accents stronger.
-Counter the homogenity of light temperature. In reality, most light bulbs would be like 2800K or so, the average "slightly warm" most people use. You can change this and not all to same.

[mitviz]

very interesting Juraj, i would love to see some scenes lit with this technique, especially the first one with the softboxes, i do notice most interiors  do come out flat when rendered using lighting setups as in real life and is why to me it is a big concern knowing i have some scenes coming up that will need this kind of setup, so far i have not successfuly accomplished this using either corona or vray as would be interesting to see how everyone attacks this issue.

[Juraj]

It's not rendering issue, has very little to do with Corona or Vray.

You simply need certain idea/vision how your space would look good (easier to image if you have expansive visual library, in your head, or at least on your harddrive) and then experiment a lot to achieve that look. Interactive helps here.

[mitviz]

that is true but stil its been a long time since i have seen a scene looking really great that has a setup like this done with either renderers

[Noah45]

Warm/cool lights add a simple complexity. In a past life, and rendering w/ MR, I could change the shadow temp/ light temp. Not physically correct, but sure added dimension.

[mitviz]

would love to see those example renders

[Noah45]

NDA for pretty much everything I work on. It's Retail Design. Art training helped me appreciate the lighting concepts of FA, and illustration. There is incredibly good examples of creatve lighting from Artists/Illustrators like: Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parrish, Hildebrandt Brothers, Frank Frazetta

[mitviz]

where can i find some of your work Noah?

[Jpjapers]

^^ I also work in retail design and i agree the colour temp does add that little something. I think its more about realism rather than 'looking good' when it comes to lighting with non natural light sources. Just make sure you set the lights to be the size they are in reality and set their intensity and temp correctly. Your materials will do the rest. I think they will play an important part in making a scene with no natural light really pop.

[Noah45]

where can i find some of your work Noah?

(30 years of retail design). Proudest of work done in Japan (MegaMart)and Thailand (Big C). Currently, we are working on 10 various shops in Hard Rock, Venetian, and Palazzo/ Vegas.

I'm so old...that back then computer graphic GI was simulated; a projected volume light. ha ha (that's pre-Max, Crystal by Kinetics?, ATT&T Targa 32 board) the basic setup cost $25K

[mitviz]

o i was thinking more along the lines of visualizations like a website or your blog or something similar, its ok, looks like you have been around! don't die on us now:)

[Noah45]

See that's the problem, everything is contracted through one design firm, and w/ contract obligations, I can't show this work for marketing, or other purposes.
No die, just when I'm reaping the benefit's of those 30 years?

edit: don't feel sorry for this ole' man, my hr/labor rate prolly top 1%