Understanding Shaders in Cycles Render Engine: A Comprehensive Course

In the vast and complex world of computer graphics, the art of shading stands as a cornerstone. Shading, or the creation and application of materials (often referred to as shaders), serves as the skin of any CG artwork. It can dictate how real, how tactile, or how dreamy a scene can appear.

This course is tailored to delve deep into the nuances of constructing materials for the Cycles render engine in Blender, a leading open-source 3D software.

Polish. This is a term where I feel takes images that may seem plain and not moving and making them eye catching. Sometimes photographers will create an image and they love it, but they feel that the image is missing a little something. That is what polish is about. It will give you tools that you didn’t even think of that can take an ordinary image and make it stand out.

Software: Adobe Camera RAW / Photoshop

Learning light can bring any vision to life. Learning how to alter, and create light within post can open up a world of opportunities when one doesn’t have time, equipment, or desire to alter what light is naturally presented to us.

I created this edit to bring to life a world of different looks without the equipment. Learning what light can do can open up the possibilities for new looks within your body of work.

If off camera flash ( OCF ) intimidates you, this tutorial REALLY makes it very simple.

This is one of those techniques that I use with clients that is always a favorite because the client simply can’t envision what I am capturing by just looking at the scene. Because of that, it is definitely something that will set you apart from your competition!

Also included are my editing techniques for fine tuning the image for my signature look. Because the integrity of the image is captured in camera, the editing is minimal.

Software used: Adobe Camera RAW | Photoshop CC