It’s a funny thing being in animation or image composition. When most of us start out in this adventure we usually have a rather tame, sometimes cartoony look that lacks lighting and other little items that make for a more realistic render. We then spend years going after the best renders as close to realistic as we can get.

Then the cartoon bug hits. Since we are working in 3D, we have to backtrack a bit.  Throw out most of what we know when it comes to complex lighting because cartoons do not require such lighting. This is not to say it won’t work, it is just not always necessary. Particularly when you are first learning how to create a rich cartoon look and not just a cheap-looking render.

Reallusion's iClone has long had a toon shader and while that is included in this article as a single example it is just a small part of getting a cartoon look. In fact, most of these examples do not have the Toon shader turned on at all. This relies on simple colors and simple lighting to cast as few shadows as possible but still give a certain amount of depth.

There are several types of cartoon styles like Pixar (stylized), Anime, cyberpunk, traditional and many others so I’m going to concentrate on the stylized and traditional styles in this article.  Compared to photorealistic rendering, cartooning is back to the basics. All those little tricks and tools that you picked up along your realism quest can fight against a clean cartoon look.

Let’s take a look at some of the culprits.

• Three-Point Lighting – This is one of the first things many of us learned about lighting in general. The key light, fill light, and a backlight is used to give a sense of depth. To put space between objects from background to foreground and in between. If you are going for the stylized look then 3-point lighting will still work. However, if you are looking for a flatter, two-dimensional cartoon style like traditional cartoons or even early anime works you need to drop the three-point concept in favor of a single light and no shadows can be the enemy of a cartoon look, especially 2D cell shading. Turn off some shadows or all shadows. Experiment. For a stylized look, shadows can be important but traditional styles can require little to no shadows.

• Use simple colors. Keep props, walls, floors, and ceilings in single colors that will match the environment. For example, stick to primary colors and single tones for these assets like blues, greens, reds, and so forth. Once you get the basics of cartoon colors you can then experiment with more complex lighting and color schemes.

• Bump and Normal Maps can provide too much detail in 3D space for a 2D cartoon look. This really holds true for the characters. A lot of stylized looks require a clean-looking skin tone with little to no detail. Remove your bump or normal maps to see how it affects your character’s skin tone.

• Volumetric Lighting – Be careful of volumetric lights in cartoons. They can wreak havoc while trying to achieve a 2D cartoon style but when used properly they can make stylized cartoons pop. This is more of a personal choice.

Props have to be cartoonish in style too. You don’t want a realistic sofa set in a cartoon living room. In some cases, furniture will be simple, single-color items unless they are wood and fabric all in cartoon tones. For art or photos placed on the walls, fireplace mantle or tables use cartoon images instead of photos.

While there are many complex lighting solutions in cartooning it is generally a good idea to start off with as simple a lighting solution as you can devise. If you are going to have pink walls, then use pink lights or a combination of the colors in the scene. Don’t overthink it, don’t overlight it. Keep it simple until you get the basic tool look you want then evolve your technique from there.