I have been working on a simple render all afternoon. It's vickie, standing in front of a rock wall... The problem is that if I get the light right on the wall then vickie looks really bad, and visa versa. Not to mention the ground texture, which you either can't see at all or changes colors completely with different light sets. Does anyone else have problems with lights? I generally just try to find one that looks half way descent and go with it. I don't seem to have much luck trying to do them myself either.

I spend almost as much time tweaking the lights as I do setting up the scene and keyframing the figures, so you aren't alone. You might try some of the additional lighting presets available in Free Stuff (you can find some in the Marketplace, also).

You want to use four lights. Set them as spots and position them as follows: Aim two, one on each side, so that they hit the wall behind Vicky. Use white, but set the beam strength for maybe half. Aim the other two on Vickie, but position them so they have a longer throw. Again, one on each side, hitting her at a 45 degree angle from the top. Play with the beam strength, but this should do it.

thanks butch

You think that's fun, try lighting INSIDE of an object like a tunnel. Ow. Been pulling my hair out with that one today.