In Search of Knowledge

I’m not sure when I came up with the idea for this one as I had sketched it down in my “notebook of ideas” some time ago and just now stumbled upon my sketch prompt for it. (I have over 30 pages filled with nearly a hundred ideas in my notebook of ideas just waiting to be created as soon as I find the time and inspiration to do so.) Coming up with the lighting for this one was tricky as I really wanted to have colored light coming from the stained-glass windows without making the rest of the scene too dark. I finally came up with a solution which was using prop-based light emitters for all the lighting in the scene with the exception of the spotlight behind the stained-glass windows to project their colors. I enhanced the glows of all seen lights in postwork since I figure this is a dusty room and therefore, thick atmosphere. 

As mentioned, the only traditional lighting in this scene is a very bright spotlight behind the stained-glass window to throw light through them and project it into the scene. The rest of the light in the scene comes from those lanterns and a single long rectangular primitive prop at near the ceiling of the library with a light blasting emitter shader on it. I was able to get softer light with more ambient occlusion this way. The gown is dynamic cloth, and it took a few tries to get it to drape on the floor and around the book “just right”. (The gown’s textures are one of my creations too!) In postwork, I enhanced the glows of all lights and tried to make the atmosphere of the scene look dusty with some faint dust brushes. I also edited the colors and contrast quite a bit with actions and adjustment layers. 

Most of these items are available from the Renderosity Marketplace (unless otherwise noted):

• D9S Rosita by Dream9Studios
• Dreamy Medieval Gowns for La Femme by Dream9Studios
• Anabel Hair for La Femme by Afrodite-Ohki
•  Fantasy Library & Old Books by ShaaraMuse3D