Shadowless lighting

In order to gain a greater understanding of lighting, I researched lighting methods online. One lighting method that caught my attention was shadowless lighting. The first thing that came to mind when finding examples of shadowless lighting as inspiration was Crash Bandicoot (1996). Running through Dr. Neo Cortex's science labs avoiding barrels, electrocution and in this case toxic waste, I thought I would try to reinterpret these memories from one of my childhood favourites.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120821183258/crashban/images/f/fa/CortexPower.png

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120118164229/crashban/images/7/72/Toxic_waste.PNG

The design process:

 To start, I downloaded a simple metallic barrel prop from creativecrash.com and placed them accordingly to create the impression of a spillage, callously abandoned and forgotten

Next, I placed a very thing rectangular mesh underneath the barrels to get a sense of scale for the size of the spillage and also to position it so that the spill itself looked as realistic as possible. 

 After that, I moulded the mesh into the circular-like shape of a spillage and bevelled the outline of the mesh to remove any flat or sharp edges.

Finally, I used a large number of volume lights in the form of sphere's at different settings of intensity in order to depict the glowing effect of the toxic waste spillage, paying careful attention to realism where the light would reflect and where it would be absent. In order to create the bright and glowing neon effect of the toxic waste, it was a simple matter of increasing the mesh's incandescence to an appropriate level, ensuring that it blended and did not conflict with the lighting.

•  Why is this relevant to horror and the development of my 3D environment?

I feel that shadowless lighting makes an atmosphere more alluring, mysterious and somewhat eerie because it stands out and has no shadows. In terms of project development, the relevance of this is to broaden my technical skills and understanding of lighting techniques such as this which in turn, will help me analyse examples of lighting in horror more critically, aiding in the development of my final piece.

Barrel prop & textures downloaded from: https://www.box.com/s/opepo3bhaeh18b6ljdxt

Barrel prop & textures downloaded from: https://www.box.com/s/opepo3bhaeh18b6ljdxt

Barrel prop & textures downloaded from: https://www.box.com/s/opepo3bhaeh18b6ljdxt