Admissions
  • LEARN WITH US

Are you passionate about cinematography, photography, and animation?

Join a community of passionate lighting professionals and learn from industry veterans with experience in studios like Sony Pictures Imageworks, Mikros Animation, Axis Studios, Lightbox Animation Studios…

Have you ever wondered how the final look of Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks films is achieved? This process is called lighting; this is the transformation after it passes through our hands

Do you have any doubts? Write us here!
Before After

What is The Lighting Lab?

  • We teach you how to do it

If you also want to know how to do this, you’re in the right place. At The Lighting Lab, you will learn how to tell a story through lighting and how to convey emotions through light and color.

The animation film industry is highly competitive, and it can be frustrating not to land that dream job. I’ve been there too, which is why I decided to create The Lighting Lab, to help people like me in the past, who also dream of working as a Lighting Artist in animation.

  • Meet Yih

Academy's character

Introducing Yih (Self-Portrait created by Yih Yao), one of the characters we will light during our courses and mentorships.

Fully modeled, with hair (xgen), fully rigged and textured, ready for animation and lighting.

  • Courses

COURSES

With our specialized 3D courses, you will gain essential knowledge in various areas, from the most artistic aspects to the most technical ones. In just 6 weeks, you’ll learn the key fundamentals that will help you master disciplines such as lighting, modeling, texturing, and more.

Our courses are designed to cater both to beginners with basic 3D knowledge and to those with experience who want to enhance their skills and reach a professional level.

You will automatically join a community of students and alumni who share your ambitions and passions, as well as a live chat, both group and one-on-one with me, where mentors will provide daily feedback and answer your questions.

What do our courses include?

  • Access to the community.
  • Over 8+ recorded lessons.
  • Group chat with the mentor.
  • Daily feedback and Corrections on chat
  • Paintovers
  • Simple scenes to light
  • Characters and scene to work on
  • Final animated shot with textures
More info
  • Courses

3D Lighting Course

With the 3D lighting course you will be able to learn the basic concepts that make up lighting in just 6 weeks, from the most artistic to the most technical concepts.

The course is aimed at people with no knowledge of lighting (but with 3D) as well as those with some experience who want to take their skills to the next level.

During the course we will light with Maya and Arnold, we will light from simple scenes to a fully animated shot, including our character Yih.

You will automatically enter a community of students and alumni who share your same ambitions and passions, and a live chat both in a group and with me, where I will give daily feedback and answer questions.

What does the enlightenment course contain?

  • Access to the community.
  • Over 8 hours of recorded lessons.
  • Group and individual chat with the mentor.
  • Daily chat feedback and corrections.
  • Occasional paintovers.
  • Simple scenes ready for lighting.
  • Yih character to light up.
  • Final animation shot.
More info.
  • For more advanced people

Mentorships

The mentorships are aimed at individuals with some experience in lighting and/or composition.

Focused on learning advanced concepts, you will have access to the lighting course, where we will light an animation shot in 6 weeks and try to match a reference from a scene in a movie we like.

More info

What does the mentorship include?

  • Access to the 3D lighting course
  • Access to the community.
  • Group chat with the mentor.
  • Daily feedback and Corrections on chat
  • Paintovers.
  • Simple scenes to light
  • "Yih" character ready to light
  • Weekly call to solve complex questions and receive feedback
  • More advanced lessons and extra content
  • Reduced groups for a more individual attention
  • Original animation shot (one different shot per student, based on availability).

Animated shots to light

The Lighting Lab has collaborations with various online animation schools, such as Lupin House among others, which will provide us with animated material for our students to light. This way, you will have production-quality animation shots for your demo reel.

Testimonial

What do our students say?

“Ivan is an excellent mentor; he is very attentive and passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience. He truly listens, motivates, and challenges his students to continue developing as professionals and have fun in the process. I hope many people have the fortune to collaborate with him.”

Adolfo Salas

Before/After, Adolfo Salas, academy student.

“Enroling in The Lighting Lab has been a great learning experience.

The course is very comprehensive, and I highly recommend the mentorship sessions. Thanks to them, I’ve developed both technical and artistic skills, such as learning important programs like Nuke or how to light a shot correctly from scratch.

I feel quite confident about my future career thanks to this course and the shots I’ve developed during this period.”

Sara Llull

Sara Llull's shot, mentorships student.

“The Lighting Lab Course stands out to me as an ideal platform to deepen my understanding of lighting principles. The course gives you to explore deeper concepts in lighting but also has the flexibility to learn the essentials, it perfectly suits my learning objectives. Ivan really takes the time to teach you well-explained and in a clear manner.

I have found immense joy in the process of creating my own lighting setups for animated shots. This experience has not only enriched my skill set but has also allowed me to integrate theorical knowledge into practical application.”

Fabián Martínez (Character animator at ICON Creative Studios)

Shot by Fabián Martínez, 3D Lighting course student

“Working with Ivan was great! Despite being in different time zones, Ivan was consistently available, knowledgeable, and provided valuable feedback. I loved that we pushed the scene’s mood, emphasizing the importance of lighting for animation! 

It’s worth noting that the Mentorship and Courses are offered in both English and Spanish, making it accessible to a broader audience, which I think is fantastic! Also, as an added benefit, the Mentorship program provided access to complete 3D lighting courses, covering valuable lighting concepts in detail and a quality animation scene, which I can use in my reel!!  It’s a great option for those looking to improve their lighting skills!!”

Rubi Rivas

Shot by Rubi Rivas, mentorship student

“I am a 3D animator with several years of experience in the industry and I had always wanted to light my own animated shots. In a very short time, I have learned everything I expected and much more than I could imagine thanks to The Lighting Lab’s mentorships.

 

These have helped me reach a level of production quality that I was not able to achieve after many years studying on my own. The lighting and compositing courses are very extensive and very well explained. Iván is very attentive to all the details; He answered my questions everytime and he is very generous in sharing everything he has learned in his career. I am very grateful for this experience at The Lighting Lab.”

Frank Molina (Senior character animator at Jellyfish Pictures)

Shot by Frank Molina, mentorship student

“I found everything I was looking for in this mentorship: a great professional who challenged me, shared ideas, and helped me develop new skills.

As someone dedicated to audiovisual work with basic animation knowledge, I feel that Iván has provided me with all the necessary tools to light up a professional project.

I’m very excited about the results I’ve achieved in these past months and everything that awaits me in the future!”

María Zambrana

Plano de María Zambrana, alumna de las mentorías

“I’ve been studying 3D for two years and have always wanted to specialize in Lighting and giving that final touch to a scene, and I believe The Lighting Lab has helped me take that extra step to improve my skills.

The Lighting course is quite comprehensive because it not only focuses on technical aspects but also offers a very important and necessary theoretical introduction. In my personal experience, it has greatly helped me to learn the correct workflow between Lighting in Maya and compositing in Nuke, as well as the tips provided by the mentor both in the course and in the mentoring sessions.

Iván is a great mentor and has always been willing to help me complete my shot, while also respecting my artistic preferences for the scene.
I’m sure that this experience has enriched me as an artist and will help me professionally in the future.”

Judit Carrera

Judit's shot, mentorships student.

Incredible Mentorship Experience with Ivan!

I want to express my deep gratitude to Ivan for his exceptional mentorship in lighting. Although I was already familiar with the world of lighting, Ivan has taught me a variety of new and exciting techniques that have greatly enriched my skills and understanding in this field. Each session was a source of inspiration; thank you for expanding my creative horizons!

Alex Pinto

Alex Pinto's shot, lighting mentorship student

“After a year of self-learning and relying on a dear friend for tutelage, I knew what I wanted to further my education. I needed a mentor that ‘got me’ and could handle my curiosity and inquisitive mind. I had been watching Ivan’s youTube channel for awhile so when I saw The Lighting Lab’s mentorship program, I contacted him. After talking with Ivan, I knew he was the one – so much so that I also recruited my friend, Rubi, to sign up as well and boy! was it totally worth it!

Ivan is very attentive and checks in often. Not only was there paintovers and discussions regarding my work, but individualized video how-to tutorials when I needed further explanation on a technique! Response times are fast and reliable. He always went above and beyond expectations.

This was a true collaboration of ideas melding his with mine seamlessly which resulted in the most spectacular first animated shot I could have hoped for! We not only provided color and mood to the shot but gave life to light!

Additionally, the mentorship includes all his videos on lighting which have not only theory but practical lessons and exercises to further advance one’s lighting abilities.

I recommend The Lighting Lab to all lighters that desire a mentor that truly cares and will assist you in taking your lighting to infinity and beyond! I cannot praise The Lighting Lab enough.”

Karen Kuzmiak

Shot from Karen Kuzmiak, Mentee October 2023

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