Lighting is definitely not my favourite thing in the world lol Anyway, three spotlights, aimed between the different factions, tinted Red, Green, and Blue respectively. I did try adding a very focused spotlight on the centrepoint of the board, but without something for it to be focusing on, decided not to keep it.
Render:
And a screenshot of the setup:
Looking good. Though I have a terrible time telling the pawns apart. All have green capes and caps. The bishops on the other hand are easy to tell apart.
Never a great fan of coloured lighting. But in this case what happens when an orange piece in in the green lit area? does it look like a brown team member?
I’m expecting the colours of various pieces to change a little when we get to texturing: for now the materials are a way for me to more easily select groups of faces rather than 100% final colour layouts. In the case of the pawns, I want the tunics (red/white/black) to have a heraldic device texture, and the cape section will then be the faction colour as well - I’d quite like to keep the caps green, but I agree, I might need to compromise there if they’re still too similar.
A red piece in the ‘green’ area has a greenish tint, but the light/colour isn’t strong/dark enough to cause such a dramatic change - at least not with the current material settings (you can see the red>brown<green on the black squares of the board):
Definitely not the lighting I’ll be going with for ‘final’ renders, but coloured spots are fun to play with 
Be aware of how light in the real world works!
A lamp close by can be bright, but losses intensity quickly after a show distance. Resulting in uneven lighting. Increase distance and power.
Verry nice done!
I REALLY dig this chess concept. I especially enjoy the archer pawns. That’s a bit of genius right there! Nicely done!
