Portal to Land
of Misfit Toys

The Best Place to be is Happy

Three toys go on the journey of a lifetime to discover the mythical Portal to Land of Misfit Toys, where no one is an outcast. Along the way, they discover everyone has their own feelings of being an outsider and that if they are happy within themselves, no matter where they are, they belong.

Art of Reference

Being my second lighting project, I ended up with a reference that was a bit challenging. Turns out, the movie poster scene was not an actual scene in the film but had some artistic liberties added to it.This was truly a test of my understanding of color and how one light color can, and will, affect other things. Whether due to bounce light or color relativity.

Seeing the Light

In order to key in on the light and shadows and direction of light, doing an exercise with broad strokes before work even starts helps train the eye.

Shading Just Right

Having a general understanding of shading/materials and the relationship with lighting is important when lighting a scene. To have the final result work with lighting, a few iterations of base colors for the wall and floor were tested.The first try was based on the final reference - green wallpaper with yellow oak floor. When that proved to be not quite right, further research into the film noted that the room's walls and floor were more on the teal side. Final adjustments were made in Maya with the color correct node.

Set Lighting

Character Lighting

Testing Work

Throughout the process, it is important that work is checked against the reference to be sure on track. One such test is the 'threshhold test.'

Keen Eye for Color

Matching a color key is imperative for continuity. There are many things to keep in mind when understanding color, such as:-color temperature
-color relativity
-valueThe color temperature is clearly seen on the wall, going from hotter yellow to cooler blue. Understanding the Kelvin scale is important to know when working with light.

Final

Looking Back

As stated previously, one of the challenges for this scene was getting the shaders to work with the lighting. This scene was a great lesson in the importance of spending time on the look dev. The more get right at the early stages, the easier the following stages go.