SOFTWARE: BLENDER
HOW CAN I ADD VOLUMETRIC LIGHTING TO MY SCENE IN BLENDER?
Ryan Brazier, Edinburgh
This classroom scene is perfect for volumetric lighting, with light streaming in through the windows
Paul Hatton replies
Volumetric lighting, or god rays, are a fantastic way to instantly add cinematic beauty to your renders and videos. This effect of light beams shining in an environment has become popularised as a notable phenomena in film. I’m sure you’ve noticed it too; if you sit in a particularly dusty room with the only light source being the light shining in through a window, then you’ll likely see a beam of light starting at the window and proceeding into the room at the same angle as the sun hits the window. My parents have a black and white photo taken at a railway station with volumetric light pouring onto the platform. It adds a beautiful sense of atmosphere into an otherwise plain and mundane scene.