How to Render: Communicating Form and Rendering a Wide Range of Materials

This book is about the fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity; the focus is firmly on helping to improve visual understanding of the world around and on techniques for representing that world. Rendering is the next step after drawing to communicate ideas more clearly. Building on what Scott Robertson and Thomas Bertling wrote about in How To Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination, this book shares everything the two experts know about how to render light, shadow and reflective surfaces. This book is divided into two major sections: the first explains the physics of light and shadow. One will learn how to construct proper shadows in perspective and how to apply the correct values to those surfaces. The second section focuses on the physics of reflectivity and how to render a wide range of materials utilizing this knowledge. Throughout the book, two icons appear that indicate either “observation” or “action.” This means the page or section is about observing reality or taking action by applying the knowledge and following the steps in creating your own work. Similar to our previous book, How To Draw, this book contains links to free online rendering tutorials that can be accessed via the URL list or through the H2Re app.

Scott Robertson has almost two decades of experience teaching how to design, draw, and render at the highest college level. He has authored or co-authored 11 books on design and concept art. In addition to books, he has co-produced over 40 educational DVDs with The Gnomon Workshop, of which nine feature his own lectures. For several years, Scott chaired the Entertainment Design department at Art Center College of Design. He frequently lectures around the world for various corporations, colleges, and through his own workshop brand, SRW. In addition to teaching, Scott has worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from vehicle and alien designs for the Hot Wheels animated series Battle Force Five, to theme park attractions such as the Men in Black ride in Orlando, Florida for Universal Studios. Some of his clients include the BMW subsidiary Design-works/USA, Bell Sports, Giro, Mattel Toys, Spin Master Toys, Patagonia, the feature film Minority Report, Nike, Rockstar Games, Sony Online Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Buena Vista Games, THQ, and Fiat to name just a few.

Thomas Bertling has an extensive background as a successful industrial designer and engineer, with a varied array of clients such as Disney, Samsung, and Whole Foods, and a diverse portfolio of completed products on the market, from state-of-the-art medical innovations to combat-ready military vehicles. This hands-on expertise gives him a distinct approach and remarkable edge in addition to being an acclaimed design educator. With substantial experience teaching all levels of perspective sketching and construction to both university students and corporate clients, he has created comprehensive and proven curricula rooted in practicality and real-world application. He currently serves as Director of Entertainment Design at Art Center College of Design as well as teaching several courses and training faculty members.