Lighter/Lighting Artist

The job of lighters or lighting artists is to light the characters and sets in animated films. They are similar to a director of photography in the film industry. Lighters play a pivotal role in creating ambiance, depth and realism in a scene.

Main goals

To design and produce lighting for a 3D animated film, lighter/lighting artists are tasked with:

Translating what the artistic director wants by selecting the right lighting
Recreating lighting in a 3D scene: positioning the light sources, determining their brightness, direction, where the shadows are cast, etc.
Controlling how certain assets react to light, such as reflective materials or shiny objects

Required qualifications

In order to make everyone else’s work look its best, lighters/lighting artists must have the following skills:

Strong aesthetic sense and an eye for graphics
Listening ability
Precision and meticulousness
Attention to detail
Mastery of drawing and graphic design techniques (perspective, colours, shadows, textures, etc.)
A background in images and knowledge of photography and light
Mastery of 2D/3D animation software like Photoshop, Maya and 3DS Max