Gooch shading

Okay kiddo, have you ever played with Play-Doh or clay and made little sculptures? Well, gooch shading is kind of like that, but for 3D objects in movies and video games.

When someone makes a 3D object, like a character or a building, it can look very flat without any shadows or highlights. But just like in real life, when light shines on an object, it creates shadows and highlights that give it depth and shape.

Gooch shading is a special way of adding those shadows and highlights to 3D objects that makes them look more realistic. But instead of just using the regular shadows and highlights you might see in a photo or in nature, gooch shading has a special style.

It was created by a guy named Amy Gooch (hence the name!) and it uses flat colors with a very soft gradient between them. This means that if you look closely at a gooch-shaded object, you won't see any harsh lines dividing the colors. They blend together smoothly like a sunset.

The result is a beautiful, almost cartoon-like effect that makes the 3D object look like it's from an animated movie. It's a really cool way to make digital worlds more immersive and fun!