Digital Lighting & Rendering, Second Edition is the new book by Jeremy Birn that can help any 3D artist make better 3D renderings. This book teaches you the essential CG lighting techniques to craft realistic and evocative images, provides useful plain-English explainations of the latest rendering techniques, and gives professional advice to help you in a career in 3D lighting and rendering. Find it on Amazon.com.

Worth The Upgrade
The first edition came out 6 years earlier, and is now considered a classic. However, the new 2nd edition is longer (now 432 pages instead of 287 pages), more specific and up-to-date on modern rendering technologies, and has new inside information about production pipelines and working in the industry. Look through the Book Contents for page views and descriptions of each chapter.

All Software Supported
Digital Lighting & Rendering is "non-software-specific," but that doesn't mean it's just a bunch of useless theories! The book is written from the point of view of an experienced professional, and shares production-proven techniques that are useful in almost any 3D rendering package. The book describes professional ways to light and render a scene, and includes many notes about specific software when appropriate.

About The Author
Jeremy Birn is a Lighting Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios, where he has worked on Cars and The Incredibles. Prior to joining Pixar in 2002, Jeremy did lighting and rendering at such companies as Palomar Pictures, Wild Brain, CBS Television, and Tippett Studio, where he worked on effects for the feature film Evolution. Jeremy has taught courses at the California Institute of the Arts in Southern California and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Lighting Challenges
You can get feedback on your lighting work directly from the author and other professionals if you download Lighting Challenge scenes and post your renderings on the lighting challenge forum.