I've been posting a new series of tutorials on creating theatrical lighting using Vue and Poser to my blog.  The first five parts are now available:

• Vue Lighting Rig #1: Single Spot Overhead
• Vue Lighting Rig #2: Single Spot Slightly to One Side
• Vue Lighting Rig #3: Single Spot Slightly Behind
• Vue Lighting Rig #4: Single Spot In Front
• Vue Lighting Rig #5: Halloween Special

Ooo thanks !!! (good job it's a slow day at work heh)
You can never learn enough about lighting IMHO.

[edit] They are very good - are you going to branch out into photographic lighting like butterfly and rimlight ?

Hi FrankT,

I've got about 14 more basic theatrical light rigs set up at the moment and I'm going to work through writing those up first.  Theatrical lighting was the first kind of lighting I dabbled with at school and later at University.  I've got lots more material on both theatrical lighting in note form and I've got lots on room/building/street lighting too.  I've little practical experience of photographic studio lighting and film/TV lighting but I do have a few rigs set up for both  based on books I've read so I may branch out that way too in the future.

Photo lighting is a bit of a black art - I've dabbled with it on and off for years but I'd never say I was an expert at it.  Mostly it's iterations of fiddling with the light and seeing how the shadows fall in the viewfinder.

I'm looking forward to seeing some more

I've now posted rigs 6 to 10 which work through two light rigs and then into this weeks post, a three light rig:

• Vue Lighting Rig #6: Two Spots Slightly to the Side
• Vue Lighting Rig #7: Two Spots 45 Degrees From the Side
• Vue Lighting Rig #8: Spotlights at 45 degrees from the Front and Back
• Vue Lighting Rig #9: Two Spotlights from the Front
• Vue Lighting Rig #10: Three Spot Lights

Photographic lighting is not so difficult.

No darkest dark or whitest white is ever to lack detail.  
Use the rule of opposites when lighting.  Generally, if the closest color is the warmest then the farthest color is the coolest. 
Try to use different tonal values when mixing color as two different colors of the same value have a tendency to merge.  This can be used with multiple lighting to bring depth to dull color or tone down bright color.

Of course there is a lot more to it than that, but with the right lighting a 3D image can sing.

Nice job on the tutorials, Mark. Your latest rig: 3 spot lights, seems the best.