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Lighting of Memories 
Ramen for Two

Cinematic Lighting & Compositing for Narrative Animation

Ramen for Two unfolds across two parallel worlds: a grounded present and a dreamlike memory space.
As Lighting & Compositing Artist, my role was to shape how these worlds feel, how characters breathe within them, and how light guides the audience through emotional shifts in time.

Through carefully designed lighting setups, AOV-based workflows and stylized compositing, we built a visual language that connects both timelines and carries the emotional weight of the story.

Goal

The goal was to design a cohesive lighting system capable of expressing emotional contrast while maintaining visual unity across the film.

Light needed to function as a narrative device: subtle and responsive to the characters’ internal states. This required a strong master lighting foundation that could support every shot, while still allowing flexibility for emotional nuance and storytelling control.

Process

1. Master Lightings — Establishing the Visual Identity

I developed two core master setups in Maya using Arnold.

  • Kitchen (Present): Cooler tones, controlled contrast, and a cinematic mood that reinforced emotional tension.
  • Memories: Softer gradients, warm scattering, and a delicate, almost watercolor ambience inspired by the art direction.

After iterative feedback with the supervisor, and thanks to the amazing work of the lighting department, these setups became the technical and visual base for all shots.
Early compositing passes in NukeX introduced subtle atmospheric elements like floating dust, light motes and depth cues, adding life to otherwise static environments.

2. Shot Lighting — Adapting Light to Emotion

The master setups were translated into individual shots, adjusting:

  • Light direction and intensity
  • Exposure and saturation
  • Bounce and fill lights

For example:

  • Date scene: Warm, intimate lighting inspired by live-action romantic cinematography
  • Memory shots: Increased saturation and exposure to reinforce the stylized, painterly look

Each shot moved to NukeX for final compositing, including color grading, outline integration and localized refinements.
A standardized compositing template (developed by Clara Soler) ensured visual coherence across the entire film.

3. Render & Compositing Pipeline

Rendering — Arnold

  • Clean AOV separation (Diffuse, Specular, Shadow, Z-Depth, Emission, etc.)

  • Render layers for characters, background and foreground to preserve flexibility

Compositing — NukeX

  • Color and exposure balancing
  • Seamless integration of lighting passes
  • Custom atmospheric FX and particles
  • Application of watercolor-style comp templates
  • Shot-to-shot consistency adjustments

This workflow maintained artistic control without sacrificing technical clarity.

Challenges & Fixes

  • Dual Visual Worlds Without Losing Coherence
    Balancing realistic kitchen lighting with ethereal memory sequences.
    Fix: Unified both spaces through a shared chromatic palette and controlled exposure ranges, allowing contrast without visual disconnection.

  • Consistency Across Shots Built at Different Times
    Multiple artists, evolving deadlines and varying shot complexity.
    Fix: Implemented strict lighting guidelines and a shared compositing template system, ensuring consistency throughout the pipeline.

Pipeline Impact

  • Master lighting setups established the visual and technical blueprint for the entire film.

  • Reduced iteration time across departments.

  • Ensured consistent color language, light direction and mood.

  • Allowed compositing to focus on polish rather than fixing inconsistencies.

Software

  • Maya — Lighting setup, scene preparation
  • Arnold Renderer — AOVs, render layers
  • NukeX — Compositing, color grading, atmospheric FX

Credits

  • Lighting & Compositing artists: Laura Blázquez, Sergi Barrasa, Clara Soler, Marta Castañé, Ainhoa Jiménez, Maria Sabater, Sara Trubat, Carla Villoria, Mariam Zahri, Laura Valls.
  • Lead Lighting: Judith Tarrés, Alba Tinoco
  • Lead Compositing: Clara Soler
  • Supervisor & Feedback: Sancho Albano
  • Project Supervision: Josep Maria Sáez
  • Production: HotDogs Studio & Brooderlab

Looking for broader 3D production experience?

My background in lighting and compositing helps me understand how assets, materials and visual decisions carry through to the final shot.

Contact me

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