LEVEL UP Your Lighting in 9 Minutes (Blender Light Path Node Tutorial)

[@JosiahBout]

Blog version of this video: 3djobs.xyz/blog/mastering-blenders-light-path-node/

[@leksalepuskat700]

This is literally the best tutorial on the internet!

[@chryssdale5747]

Definitely gonna watch this again until i understand this

[@DerekElliott]

Great explanations!

[@stillremain.artwork]

Amazing, tutorial, thanks!!

[@rileyb3d]

This is a really great breakdown, with fantastic use-case examples.

[@JosiahBout]

High praise from THE Riley Brown. I appreciate it 👏

[@LudaneRua]

hero, saved the world

[@mathancreates]

Such an underrated breakdown and efforts for this video, Thank you sm !

[@emmanm5633]

VERY USEFUL THANK YOU!

[@allcaps3584]

Among all the other videos on Light Path node, probably the best ! 👍 The easy classification of Reflection and Transmission rays into Diffuse, Glossy, Singular is something I found nowhere else. Initially I got confused. Then understood that when we are selecting an object, we are basically talking about its reflections / shadows on other objects, and not the reflections / shadows on that object. Also for the Shadow Rays, following explanation helped - "A shadow ray is the last segment on the light path traveling from camera to light source. If the rays hit a light, the point is illuminated based on the light's settings. If they hit an object, the point is shaded." Just wanted to ask - how would be the node setup for the last Ray Depth part if I am using Blender 3.1. The "Mix node" is missing there. I tried using a close enough alternative - MixRGB (with Mix Blending mode). For Strength part, I fed Values to the Color slots (not sure if correct). Not getting the exact results. What am I doing wrong here?

[@JosiahBout]

I'm glad you found this tutorial helpful! Addressing your question: That should have worked. The MixRGB node's name changed to just the mix node with a float option, but its really the same under the hood. You'll see that I do use the RGB values at 8:39

[@WillhemTier]

Thank you so much! Such a well-put-together explanation. I'll definitely subscribe!

[@Lou-li5mv]

great tutorial! I've always wondered what these fancy light paths that I sometimes used to cheat an effect actually did. Also love the examples for the other ray options.

[@ziqman4552]

very useful tutorial!!! been searching for a long time finally :D

[@JosiahBout]

thank you found it useful!

[@valdwang780]

extremely useful tut,appreciated.

[@ramyissa20]

Great Video

[@MaxSonicUA]

Brilliant tutorial! Thank you❤

[@DanielOakfield]

Very informative, thanks!

[@Kaleubs]

Amazing video, great job

[@mashinakohannia9532]

Man, thank you. It was bellissimo

[@homspau]

That's such a great resource!

[@JosiahBout]

Thanks Pau! I was inspired by your videos for sure

[@WwEe-vb6ht]

Like your video ❤ appreciate you

[@brandserie9824]

Is it possible to connect ray length node with hdri to make rays go deeper inside the room without adding additional light

[@CamSpaghett]

I’m so confused. Not because you explained badly, I don’t think you did a bad job, just because Switching between eevee workflow and cycles is hard. There’s so many options with lighting/ shadows/ transmission and rendering. Hopefully I can wrap my head around it soon. Regardless imma save this one because I’ll definitely have to keep coming back to it. Thank you for the video

[@JosiahBout]

Haha yeah it can get pretty weird hopping back and forth. Let me know if you have questions!

[@redrayvisuals]

I'm always confused with the clarification of a light ray as camera, shadow etc. You show it in your tutorial and I just want to clarify: in reality the light goes from a lighthouse, bounces on a surface and reaches the camera but I think (!) for this node to be used correctly the journey of a light ray must be followed the other way around?! As if the light ray goes from the camera into the world? Is this correct?

[@JosiahBout]

That's right! Actually, that isn't just how this node works, its how most physically based renderers work. I won't pretend I'm a genius in the matter, but as far as I understand it, having light rays start from your camera just helps your computer save a ton of processing. Because you're only calculating things that your camera can see.

[@santhoshsivan-xd6ki]

Can I use this node in eevee

[@JosiahBout]

Yes! Not all of the outputs are present, but outputs like "is camera ray" and a few others are usable in eevee. You can checkout my blog to see which outputs still work (link in description)