Alright, so as it turns out, lighting is a lot easier this time around. I have a lot of outdoor shots, and with HDRI lighting and my current render setups, the process is going a lot smoother than it usually does. Unlike Episode 9, there are no indoor scenes to figure out, and it seems that it's far easier to simulate outdoor lighting in Blender compared to SFM.
Scene B lighting is complete. Scene G lighting is complete. Scene D lighting is complete.
I'm about halfway through lighting Scene C and it's gone pretty smoothly so far. The only thing that isn't quite nailed throughout these are the water effects. The simulations look good, but the textures themselves need more work, and I've recently been working with someone that can handle them while I continue work on the lighting.
I'm still sussing through some set details of Scene A with a freelancer, but it's still complete enough for me to work on lighting, which I'll do after Scene C. Then I'll move to lighting Scene F. Ideally, I'd like to finish A and C in the next week or so, so that I can use August to focus solely on F, as it is the most complex. I am very close to that point.
Additionally, I've had to do small fixes here and there for each of the scenes to make sure they link up correctly. There always seems to be extra work that I forget about or fixes that I have to make along the way. While I'm surprised that I was able to light entire scenes so quickly, I'm weary of rushing through anything in case I gloss over mistakes.
The only really big thing standing in the way of me finishing the episode at this point is my snow simulation guy. I have not heard from him recently, and I am going to need him to finish his work in order for me to finish Scene F. If I don't hear from him soon, I might be in trouble.