Light Taxonomy

Any artist who deals with physical reality uses light to enhance the effect of the art. Lighting is a specialty in moviemaking, photography and any visual art. Architectural illustrators are no different. The choice of lighting, both natural and artificial, is central to directing the viewer’s attention. It is also the most powerful tool illustrators have for eliciting emotional response. 

During my career in architectural illustration, I was often directed by the client to give them a “happy” rendering: a bright light, a clear sky and a warm atmosphere. When the client was willing to take a different approach, I would often suggest something more unusual to catch the eye and sell the project. 

I developed the following categories of types of light through my own work. It is not a complete list and is not scientific in any way, but will perhaps be useful to other illustrators in their own work.

BEAUX ART LIGHTING

Munich Theatre Project by L Lange 1864

This is the go-to approach used for more than 200 years. Traditionally, it uses a midday sun coming over the observer’s left shoulder and casting a 45-degree shadow on any orthographic projection (plan, section or elevation) or one-point perspective. Of course, light coming over the right shoulder works just as well.

Rockcreek Building, Wash. DC, Ehrenkranz Eckstut Arch.

Fallingwater by FL Wright 1935

In a two-point perspective view, the light may strike one side of the building more directly than the other side, but the shapes of the building form are always strongly presented without ambiguity.

FRONTAL LIGHTING

This is a first cousin of Beaux Art lighting, albeit visually less clear and readable. It is essentially a sun directly above and behind the viewer, like a flash bulb held above the camera. It shows off the horizontal forms of a building, but often obscures the vertical elements.

US Post Office, Helena, MO 1898

Florida State Univ. Life Science Bldg. EMI Arch

Applied to a two-point perspective, the source of the light must be adjusted to help differentiate the major sides of a building. The building in Helena above has the sunlight slightly off to downplay the right façade.

DUSK LIGHTING

The Mysterious Stranger by NC Wyeth 1916

L Sullivan Building Detail, Pastel

The “golden hour” near sunset is a favorite time for many people because of its dramatic atmosphere. The warm horizontal rays of the sun create an emotional magic that is hard to beat. In my opinion it is a combination of Beaux Art and Saarinen lighting.

The Parthenon by F Church 1871

What dusk gains in drama, it loses in clarity and detail. While a freestanding building will tend to catch the sideways light over its entire façade, dusk in the city can provide an opportunity to emphasize one or another part of the building. The mystery inherent in this type of light is partly a matter of being vague in delineation; and details are often lost in the emotional flood.

SAARINEN LIGHTING

Woman with a Parasol by C Monet 1875

Helsinki Station Sketch by E Saarinen 1910

Named after the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, this approach is problematic but wonderfully dramatic. The viewer is practically looking into the sun. The building itself is mainly in silhouette, its details (doors, windows and ornament) delineated in a limited range of values, and color very subdued. 

Rockefeller Center by J Wenrich 1931

Algae Harvester Plant, Illus. Studio AMD 2010

Although an unusual approach, this has been used regularly since Saarinen made it acceptable. With this light it is best to start with a building that has an interesting silhouette, but as the Wenrich rendering above shows, the compositional possibilities can be quite interesting.

AMBIENT LIGHTING

Panama-Pacific Exposition by McKim Mead & White 1915

An overcast day gave the perfect light for the early photography of Beaux Arts buildings. The diffuse, scattered light rays softly modeled the building’s forms without extreme glare or dark shadows. 

Casa Italia Proposal by BBW Arch

Marino Pedestrian Bridge

Today ambient light is used less because of photographic limitations, and more to emphasize the building’s design. A colorful building may present well in diffuse light, or the atmosphere of mistiness may sell the idea in context. Indeed, the most radical ambient light idea might be a foggy-day view finished in pastel. 

FERRISS LIGHTING

Chicago Tribune Bldg. by H Ferriss 1925

Chapel in the Woods by E Fay Jones Arch. 1980

Hugh Ferriss was best known for his drawings of tall buildings lit by the new electric streetlights. The use of artificial lighting has the obvious advantage of flexibility. You can light up the area of the façade you want from any angle you want. During my career I used this lighting whenever I could get away with it.

Union Square South, NYC, oil pastel

Glass Cage Night View, computer tablet

There are several disadvantages and pitfalls in working with this type of light. Ferriss worked in charcoal, avoiding the problem of exaggerated color. He was a master craftsman, but sometimes fell into overdramatization. I myself occasionally allowed the illustration to slip into Halloween mode: ending up with a jack-o’-lantern. 

SPOT LIGHTING

Sherry Netherland Hotel, NYC

The Star by E Degas 1878

A variation on both Ferriss and Saarinen lighting is the spot light. An afternoon shower can often produce an opening in the clouds that lets a beam of sunlight fall onto the ground. A beam of light striking a tall building at the end of a stormy day is even more common. The artificial spot light needs no explanation.

laCledes Landing, St. Louis by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut Arch

A spot light suggests a rather small lit area, such as a building or part of a building. However, it can be used quite reasonably to light up a neighborhood or a large section of a city. 

CONFETTI LIGHTING

Yellow Umbrella Cafe, computer tablet

Finally, I have to note a type of lighting that crops up in a more limited context but is nevertheless a powerful image that is found in both urban and rural areas. Confetti (name stolen from James Gurney’s blog) lighting is a scattering of small light sources such as Times Square at night or the ground under a canopy of tree leaves. 

Mending the Sail by J Sorolla 1896

Confetti light can be found all around us. After all, the world is astonishingly diverse. In spite of this, confetti is of very limited use to architectural illustrators, and I include it out of personal fascination.

 

I could point out many more types of light, but this list covers the most common and the ones that I have used. Hopefully it will spark discussion and exploration in young illustrators.

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Addendum:

The idea for a taxonomy of light came from 2 pages in a book I've had for some time: The Photographer's Handbook, by John Hedgecoe. The two pages are shown below.