I published a collection of my light match .blend files, as was discussed during the class. You're welcome to reference those if you'd like. Also here's links to the reels 
shiennar put together:
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #4 (Oct 31, 2018): Class is officially over! Please check the closing post and don't forget to fill out the questionnaire 🙇🏻♂️
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #3 (Oct 9, 2018): Grades for week 1 homework are recorded. Feel free to keep an eye on this spreadsheet (BC4-1810 tab at the bottom) throughout the month. Please let me know if I miss anything!
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #2 (Oct 3, 2018): 4 mighty Citizens have heeded the call to become Volunteer Assistants (VA's). They are: 
silentheart00, 
thecabbagedetective, 
csehz, and 
galledark. This means that between the 5 of us, there should always be a helpful presence both in this homepage thread and your individual homework threads throughout the month. Thank you VA's!
CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT #1 (Oct 1, 2018): Class is officially in session! Check the syllabus below for Week 1's focus and assignments. Begin watching the pre-recorded courses if you haven't already and I'll see you tomorrow at the first Live Event! 💡
Welcome to the CGCookie Class: Shading & Lighting with Blender! The art of shading and lighting your Blender scenes and models can make or break your renders. It's a very important - even enlightening - skill to develop as a 3D artist.
This "Class" format invites all Citizen members to focus together on a particular topic/skill for a month. Participation looks like this:
WHEN? The class will take place from October 1st - Oct 30th.
Abstract: There are some core concepts to lighting and shading (S&L) that need to be understood first. Things like global illumination, render engines, shaders, materials, and node networks some of the things we will be over-viewing this first week. I
Goal of the Week: Familiarize (or re-familiarize) ourselves with core S&L concepts.
Pre-recorded course to watch:
Week 1 Live Event (Remember to RSVP)
Homework:
Abstract: The Eevee render engine is the latest and greatest rendering tech in Blender and we're going to stretch its legs for week 2. The subject is going to be a sports car, but any vehicle will do. After all many of us spent this past June modeling vehicles and we're eager to get them lit and pretty!
Some topics we'll cover along the way include materials like car paint, rubber, metal, and leather along with HDRI environment lighting.
Pre-recorded courses to watch:
Week 2 Live Event (Don't forget to RSVP)
Homework:
Abstract: Character lighting is a very intentional art and how to do it well is often a mystery. This week we'll look at how to develop striking character renders, build simple materials that accentuate your model, and even the concept "painting" you character with light for surreal effects.
Pre-recorded courses to watch:
Week 3 Live Event (Don't forget to RSVP)
Homework:
Abstract: Arch viz rendering is often a coveted skillset among lighten enthusiasts. This week we're looking at lighting interior architecture for realism, featuring natural outdoor light from windows and artificial light from light fixtures. We'll also explore creating the necessary materials for our interior.
Pre-recorded course to watch:
Week 4 Live Event (Don't forget to RSVP)
Homework:
This thread is reserved for CG Cookie Citizens that are participating in the "Shading & Lighting with Blender" class. Its purpose is to serve as central communication for all participating Citizens (excluding Hobby plan Citizens) to ask Kent and fellow participants questions and to post homework. As the instructor of the class, Kent will be monitoring this thread on a daily basis (especially Mon-Thurs) throughout the month of October to review homework and answer questions.
Free members are welcome to observe the thread but please respect that communication and participation is reserved for Citizens.
ssmurfmier1985 That summary of your experiences is awesome Miranda, thanks a lot.
Could you please have a short look on this pic, just trying the lights there and Eevee is rendering some strange circle in the middle in the mirror, what can be that?
pprocyonlotor hey thanks a lot for the answer. So if I want to keep a texture I should also just add a color ramp then? Or will this method not work with the color ramp? Gonna try it out tomorrow.
csehz Hi Zsolt, You're quite welcome 😊
I experienced such artifacts when a light source is too close to, or shining directly into, a very reflective surface. Had this mostly with area lights (those area lights do not yet understand how awesome Eevee is, so they're teasing us a bit 😛).
You could try to move away / rotate some of the lights, or change it to another type of lamp to see if that helps. Sometimes it also helps to change a material that a light goes through, or bounces against near a reflective surface, to a more rough surface (so less reflective).
I don't know from which light source it's coming in your scene, but if it's the lights next to the mirror, and above suggestions don't work, then you might have to move the lights to another position, turn them off or even delete one or both...
If it's coming from the outside light source it's probably from a round area light or spot light? If so I recommend changing it to a sun lamp. Had the least problems with sun lamps those seem to be well integrated.
Also a question to be sure, are you using a reflection plane for the mirror? That also helps to get rid of weird reflections.
Hope this helps!
What should i do when i want to credit an artist but he isnt showing his full name, shall i use the nick on their profile?
those area lights do not yet understand how awesome Eevee is, so they're teasing us a bit 😛
ssmurfmier1985 Exactly that is the approach! :-)
Thanks just again yes probably light source is too close to the mirror, anyway no I am not using reflection plane yet, but per your question will try to Google how to use it.
aarev Yes just so long as you're pointing to the artist the best you can. I'll credit the username if they don't show their full name. But I always hyperlink to the artist's portfolio (artstation for example), linkedin, facebook, twitter, or personal website. The link is more important than the name imo.
csehz Here's the .blend for that light setup if you want to take a look. The background cylinder is grey but the world is a teal color and the cylinder soaks up a lot of it. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the white sparkling shine from the bottom 😅
..the gradiants are so nice delicate..
Yeah gradients!
@theluthier Thanks a lot that is very generous Kent providing the .blend file, I totally missed the color of the world out from the calculation, I understand the logic of the pattern now
sirchced I would say Chris that looks awesome, very interesting atmosphere there
Kent said something about filling a questioner, where is it so I can fulfill its purpose in the universe.
dostovel I'll post it today along with the closing post. Within a couple hours is my goal
Here's to the biggest class yet! More participants, more homework submissions, more grades, more XP all suggesting that more was learned this month than any other class month before. That's pretty cool. Being the final class of 2018, I'd say that's a good way to go out.
THIS COMMUNITY: It never ceases to amaze me how truly exceptional you all are together. You help each other, you encourage each other, you critique each other, you cheer for each another, you challenge each other, you laugh with each other, you create cool art with each other. In an internet of trolls, you stand apart. I am incredibly proud of how well you conduct yourselves during these classes.
Consistency: I know it's a lot of work and time to stay committed for 4 straight weeks. Out of 53 total Citizens that submitted homework, 21 submitted all 4 weeks. These people deserve some commendation for tolerating me:
nekronavt )thecabbagedetective )
swikni )shiennar )csehz )silentheart00
n647
gradyp )dostovel )
jack07 
blenderrender1993 )
Volunteer Instructor's Assistants: 3 galant members heeded the official call while 3 others earned honorary VA status, proving themselves very valuable resources to me, the class, or both. I can't thank you enough but here's an all-caps THANK YOU!
csehz )thecabbagedetective )silentheart00nekronavt ) for also being particularly present and helpful in all class threadsshiennar ) for cutting a homework reel every week
Highest Grade: Pavel Mazanik takes home the most cookies this month with 176 XP! Remember to check Zolt's Report Card to see how you did. Reminder that I calculated the total value for everyone based on this scale: F/- = 0, D = 10, C = 20, B = 30, A = 40, + = 5. I will manually be applying individual XP totals to your account in the next 24 hours.
NOTE: If you see that I missed a grade, please let me know - I want you to get all the XP you've earned.
Your Feedback is important. In an effort to improve the class experience and give you a chance to cast your votes for classes in 2019, please take a few minutes to fill out this questionnaire. I would greatly appreciate it 🙇🏻♂️
thecabbagedetective Lol, we got the same amount of points again just like last class 😛 Pavel beat us by 3 points 😆
nekronavt Well earned best of class!! Your Eevee experiments and Metal Pumpkin inspired me this month, awesome job! 🤘🏻🎉
@theluthier Thanks for another awesome workshop class! These are such a learning boost and your teachings inspire me to do better. Looking forward to the next workshop in 2019 😀😄
@ all my classmates, thanks for another awesome class! Your feedback, encouragement, explanations and the cool stuff you made is a great inspiration and very motivating. Keep up the good stuff and hope to see you all for the next one! 😎👍🏻
All righty, going to fill in that questionnaire now 🚀
@theluthier its been great to follow this from side. only regret is that i wished to participate, however, having dayjob and a 3d gig at evenings meant that i had to put hold everything else. and what really sting is that i needed the shading and lighting stuff, but eventually i will have time to go these through, its going to be relatively soon since the 3d gig is coming to an end. But guess its what it is when you are trying to change career, time and patience. and knowing the limits. Burnout is no joke.
Keep blending everyone. Never give up on your dreams. Stay in health!
ssmurfmier1985 3... points...
In all seriousness thought this class was awesome, shoutout to nekronavt for kicking ass both in having the most points and just being an all around Eevee guru. It's a bit embarrassing when I can't help as a VA 'cause I haven't much of a clue about Eevee but your prescience was very much appreciated.
Welp, that's a wrap guys. It was fun. It was stressful. Mostly fun though. For me this is a class I had wanted for a long time and I genuinely feel my lighting has changed almost night and day thanks to it, so thanks to @theluthier for conducting an amazing class and thanks to all of you for making the experience even more enjoyable. If you'll excuse me I have a date with Red Dead Redemption 2 but I look forward to seeing a lot of you again come January. This isn't "goodbye," merely "see you soon." Yeah that sounded a lot better in my head.
@theluthier thecabbagedetective ssmurfmier1985
Thank you all, I'm glad I was helpful to anyone :)
And thank you all for company and feedback during this class. I'm both glad that I can rest a bit now, and sad that it ends. Those live streams was really a mood maker for the week.
If you'll excuse me I have a date with Red Dead Redemption 2
Damn, last months make me want to buy PS4...
thank u @theluthier this class was very special for me even if i was not fully in .. again i v learnd a lot , specially wathching the others good work and reading all the notes u wrote ..
i came to the conclusion that i still have a lot to learn … i have been using blender for about 3 years ,i'm getting better in a technic , but i still scratching the surface as artist..
so what next .? keep working ,kepp Learning ..keep searching ..and take time to study other artists work and try to match it befor blooming my own style .
.so thank u kent thank u my fellow classmates .. u r still teaching me humility !see u next class !!
@theluthier thank you so much for the class. It was an amazing experience. You really are an amazing teacher and have great explanations. Again I learned a lot and I hope to keep improving even more. Also thanx for everyone else who helped me during class.
