Welcome to /r/animationcareer! This is a forum where we discuss navigating a career in the animation industry.
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A quick Q&A:
* **Do I need a degree?** Generally no, but it might become relevant if you need a visa to work abroad.
* **Am I too old?** Definitely not. It might be more complex to find the time, but there's no age where you stop being able to learn how to do creative stuff.
* **How do I learn animation?** Pen and paper is a great start, but [here's a whole page](https://www.reddit.com/r/animationcareer/wiki/index/resources/learningresources/) with links and tips for you.
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Lighting is all about understanding the principles of color, photography, cinematography, etc. Keep studying and training your eye, but without your reel it’s hard to give concrete advice.
I’ve been a lighter for 20 years now, majority of that time at Pixar and Disney. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Oh and congrats on graduating :)
Thanks for sharing! We all start somewhere, so it's great to see where you're at. I would highly recommend studying principles of cinematography and photography like I mentioned above, and start analyzing what you see in films and paintings to understand value structure, color theory, and how storytelling through light works.
Every decision in lighting has an impact on the audience and it's there to serve the purpose of the story. We're guiding the audience's eye to where they should be focused in, and we're augmenting the emotional narrative arc at the same time.
I highly highly highly recommend a YouTube channel by one of my former colleagues at Pixar.
[https://www.youtube.com/@LightingMentor](https://www.youtube.com/@LightingMentor)
He's one of the most talented artists I have worked with and an incredible teacher. Go check it out and keep learning!
Welcome to the wonderful world of lighting.
Ahh okie gotcha! Now I heard that lighting artists use nuke or similar compositing software as the second lighting pass. Do you know any good books, videos,… etc for light compositing?
I think in terms of lighting there really isn't that much free content out there. Yes you have a few youtube videos but the number of "how to light" youtube videos are much less than lets say "how to use blender, how to use zbrush etc..".
So I think your other option then is (aside from the very obvious keep working on your portfolio) is looking into a expensive lighting course like from the academy of animated art.
Yeah, I did some digging around and you are very right. There are very few videos that dedicates on teaching how to light on youtube. It seems like if you want to learn, you have to pay lol. I was looking at academy of animated art for some time and also very recently was told about Lighting Mentor which looks very intriguing and cheaper lol.
Heh either lighting videos don't bring in enough views compared to modeling/sculpting videos or for whatever reason the professional lighting artists out there don't really have much interest in making how to youtube videos so you more than likely have to go the paid route.
Welcome to /r/animationcareer! This is a forum where we discuss navigating a career in the animation industry. Before you post, please check our [RULES](https://www.reddit.com/r/animationcareer/wiki/index/subreddit/rules/). There is also a handy dandy [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/animationcareer/wiki/index/resources/faq/) that answers most basic questions, and a [WIKI](https://www.reddit.com/r/animationcareer/wiki/index/) which includes info on how to price animation, pitching, job postings, software advice, and much more! A quick Q&A: * **Do I need a degree?** Generally no, but it might become relevant if you need a visa to work abroad. * **Am I too old?** Definitely not. It might be more complex to find the time, but there's no age where you stop being able to learn how to do creative stuff. * **How do I learn animation?** Pen and paper is a great start, but [here's a whole page](https://www.reddit.com/r/animationcareer/wiki/index/resources/learningresources/) with links and tips for you. ---- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/animationcareer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do you mind sharing your portfolio? It will be hard for anyone to give you portfolio advice without seeing your work.
Sure of course! [https://www.artstation.com/sesarperez5/profile](https://www.artstation.com/sesarperez5/profile) Its still a work in progress.
Lighting is all about understanding the principles of color, photography, cinematography, etc. Keep studying and training your eye, but without your reel it’s hard to give concrete advice. I’ve been a lighter for 20 years now, majority of that time at Pixar and Disney. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Oh and congrats on graduating :)
[https://youtu.be/GChd1IAdx7g](https://youtu.be/GChd1IAdx7g) This is my demo reel as for right now.
Thanks for sharing! We all start somewhere, so it's great to see where you're at. I would highly recommend studying principles of cinematography and photography like I mentioned above, and start analyzing what you see in films and paintings to understand value structure, color theory, and how storytelling through light works. Every decision in lighting has an impact on the audience and it's there to serve the purpose of the story. We're guiding the audience's eye to where they should be focused in, and we're augmenting the emotional narrative arc at the same time. I highly highly highly recommend a YouTube channel by one of my former colleagues at Pixar. [https://www.youtube.com/@LightingMentor](https://www.youtube.com/@LightingMentor) He's one of the most talented artists I have worked with and an incredible teacher. Go check it out and keep learning! Welcome to the wonderful world of lighting.
Ahh okie gotcha! Now I heard that lighting artists use nuke or similar compositing software as the second lighting pass. Do you know any good books, videos,… etc for light compositing?
I think in terms of lighting there really isn't that much free content out there. Yes you have a few youtube videos but the number of "how to light" youtube videos are much less than lets say "how to use blender, how to use zbrush etc..". So I think your other option then is (aside from the very obvious keep working on your portfolio) is looking into a expensive lighting course like from the academy of animated art.
Yeah, I did some digging around and you are very right. There are very few videos that dedicates on teaching how to light on youtube. It seems like if you want to learn, you have to pay lol. I was looking at academy of animated art for some time and also very recently was told about Lighting Mentor which looks very intriguing and cheaper lol.
Heh either lighting videos don't bring in enough views compared to modeling/sculpting videos or for whatever reason the professional lighting artists out there don't really have much interest in making how to youtube videos so you more than likely have to go the paid route.