Taronites

Lighting
I wanted to keep the 3D version as close to the illustration as possible, so there is no dynamic light used. Everything is painted into the texture by hand. I think this is my weakest point at the moment. Figuring out a believable 3D light scenario for an illustration can be challenging both technically and artisticly, and can look pretty horrible very easily. I always experiment with “adding” extra light sources behind the model where the illustration doesn’t describe exactly how the backside should look because I think it’s more interesting to have multiple sources. Even though this is something I have not yet figured out a working formula for, the ideas and “that worked once, let’s try again” mood are already enough for a start. I can only recommend experimenting and sticking to the references, – in the process, you can decide whether that lighting works or not.