The Subway – Emotional Storytelling Through Light

Context:

My work in Architectural Visualization has consistently involved creating renders that aim to capture the realistic feel of everything from cozy interiors to functional workspaces. Yet, despite focusing on bringing spaces to life, I realized I hadn't truly delved into how the color of light alone can shape a room's emotional landscape and tell a subtle story.

This Project:

This visualization, titled “The Subway,” explores the tension between minimalism and narrative within public spaces. Each lighting variation in this series evokes a distinct emotional tone—created through control of color, contrast, and composition. The scene was modeled in SketchUp, rendered in Thea Render, and post-processed in Photoshop. It serves as both a technical and artistic study in how light alone can shift a space’s meaning and mood.

SketchUp (Modeling the Environment)

Thea Render (Rendering)

Photoshop (Post-Processing)

To begin the project, I modeled a basic subway entrance using SketchUp. The goal was to create a clean, minimal environment that would later allow lighting and color to become the main focus.

The scene included:

1. A simple room with vertically stacked tiles to create a sense of height and rhythm
2. A large, rectangular overhead light fixture to serve as the primary light source
3. An escalator, which adds structure and a feeling of movement
4. A naturally posed human, riding the escalator while on the phone, to introduce everyday realism and subtle narrative

With the scene now modeled, I moved on to setting up the camera angle that would define the look and mood of each render. I created two main compositions for each lighting style:

1. A close-up that focuses more on the human figure and highlights how light interacts with the tiles, escalator, and subject
2. A wide shot that shows the entire escalator area and gives context to the environment

To keep the focus balanced and centralized, I rendered each image using a nearly square aspect ratio, specifically 2000x2200. This was then, in post-processing, cropped to 2000x2000.

Camera Settings:

Before experimenting with color, I wanted to create a clean, neutral version of the scene that would act as a visual baseline. This meant setting up both the camera and lighting to be realistic and ordinary.

Lighting Setup:

The only light source in the scene was the large rectangular overhead fixture modeled earlier. I set it to a neutral white (around 5500K) to create a balanced tone, with no dramatic warmth or coolness. I avoided adding any secondary lights or environment lighting—keeping things as simple as possible.

With the neutral lighting setup complete, I rendered both camera angles to see how the space looked. Even without dramatic light colors, the neutral render already communicates a strong mood—Isolation, Melancholy, and Quiet.

There are several elements that create these feelings:

1. Light Position - The overhead light shines directly onto the person and nearby wall, while the rest of the space fades into shadow. This creates a sharp contrast and draws attention to the isolation of the subject.
2. Light Color - The near-black-and-white look strips away warmth and energy, giving the scene a serious, isolating tone.
3. Environment - The minimal, geometric architecture—tiles, escalator, walls—feels cold and impersonal.
4. Composition - For the wide angle specifically, the wide wall and scale of the escalator add to the feeling of being small in a big, indifferent place.

Stepping away from the starkness of the neutral render, the blue lighting immediately introduces a sense of coolness and somber calm.

In Thea Render, this was achieved by changing the "Emittance" of the scene to a blue color with a RGB code of (132, 183, 216). The power of the light source remained at 1500 Watts.

In contrast to the somber mood of the blue lighting, the red lighting immediately creates a sense of tension and unsettling urgency into the scene.

For this render the light's color was set to RGB (199, 82, 79) while maintaining the 1500 Watts.

Unlike the colors that spread light more broadly, this specific red hue provides limited ambient illumination, which dramatically deepens the shadows across the environment. As a result, the scene provides little context; the space falls away into darkness, making the silhouette of the subject more pronounced against the illuminated wall.

Stepping down from the intense peak of the red lighting, the yellow render evokes a sense of deep fatigue and mundane routine. It feels tired, aged, and lacking in spirit.

This effect was achieved by setting the overhead light to a yellow/sepia color while maintaining 1500 Watts. This visual quality lends the entire scene a feeling of being dated, worn down, and lacking vibrancy.

For the final lighting study, this scene utilizes a combination of warm yellow and cool blue light. This visual contrast immediately creates a feeling of distinct zones and layered atmosphere that highlights the figure's presence within the larger space.

This effect was achieved by using a warm yellow overhead light for the primary illumination, while the cool blue tone in the surrounding environment was created by introducing two additional blue light sources positioned vertically along both the east and west walls.

Although these additional lights were intended to make the blue fill feel more natural and soften the shadows, the primary impact remains the strong division between the warm and cool areas.

Reflecting on the different renders, it's amazing how much impact the color of light had on the scene's mood. Each color variation created a distinct feeling: from the cool, somber tones of blue, through the intense tension of red, to the weary feel of yellow.

During my review of the renders, I noticed a recurring technical issue: a random circle artifact appearing in the same location across every render. Despite troubleshooting in Thea Render, the cause remains unclear, making it an unexpected yet interesting observation.

This experiment really highlighted how light alone can completely change the emotional story of a space and the person within it.