In a game that has a serious factor of gorgeousness, it would be easy to overlook some of the hard work that went into making it so.
One such avenue of visual amazement comes courtesy of the lighting art team from Insomniac Studios, and the radical outcome that their mastery had on the visuals within Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Thankfully for us, they have provided a ripper before-and-after clip via social media to *ahem* …shine a light on precisely what they achieved:
Watching people's eyes glaze over in confusion when I explain what lighting art is lol @miki_eliza_ had the brilliant idea of making these before/afters for our lighting shots in #SpiderMan2PS5! We play support for the art team, our job is to make everyone else's work ✨😊 pic.twitter.com/1hPfqhO4P3
— Jackie✌️ (@jackiepenguinz) November 18, 2023
I can't be the only lighter that gets a thousand-yard stare when you try to explain your job to people... right??😂
— Miki 🌸 (@miki_eliza_) November 16, 2023
Well anyway, I made a before & after video and maybe now my family will understand... grandma this is for you😘 https://t.co/fcNahAda8v#SpiderMan2PS5 #marvel pic.twitter.com/4TGifpYEVd
No pun, but it is a stark contrast between what was initially on display and the outcome after the light pass was completed. Scenes became a great deal more atmospheric, elements received highlights to add drama to a scene – not to mention the 3D actors within a scene suddenly leap out and grab our attention.
It’s one of many moving parts that go into creating the visuals that we may take for granted nowadays, and while it may not have the poster-boy status of 3D modelling or animation; I still find myself in awe of how much of an impact these staff have on what we see.
A massive thank you to Jackie Bornstein and her colleague Miki Eliza Hansen for sharing their incredible work and letting us see the wizardry of their craft.
Oh, and they both have Artstation accounts (artstation.com/jackieborn and artstation.com/mikieliza) if you want to dig into more visual awesomeness. Make sure to check them out.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
