Introduction to Lighting Theory and Practice

Have a look at a course which might be a great introduction to lighting. The course is said to be focused on lighting theory and basic principles for beginning lighting artists, so no focus on any particular renderer or tool.

It covers the core principles of lighting in general, them moves onto lighting in computer graphics and teaches how to implement the previously learned principles in a digital content creation package.

“To demonstrate lighting principles in CG, we’ll be using Maya and mental ray. Maya and mental ray have been used for years in the film and visualization industries, and will serve as great tools for learning lighting for CG. By the end of the course, students will have been taught basic lighting theory, principles, and skills that are valuable to all aspiring CG lighting artists,” states the description.

The master here is Leo Gonzalez — A Senior Artist, focusing on environment art and visual effects. He worked on game franchises like Halo, Lost Planet, and Call of Duty, currently being focused on providing Unreal 4 education.