Rendering With SketchUp Using IRender NX - Albert Hart PDF

R e nde ring with Sk e tchUp using IR e nde r nXt
Rendering with SketchUp using IRender nXt

Copyright 2013 - Render Plus Systems
Title Page - 2 -
Title Page
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Getting Started
1.1 - Ge tting Starte d with IR e nde r nx t
1.2 - Download and Installation
1.3 - C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom
1.4 - R e nde ring O ve rvie w
1.5 - Basic Lighting and R e fle ction
Chapter 2 - Tutorials and Videos
2.1 - First Ex te rior R e nde ring
2.2 - Sim ple R e nde ring of an O bje ct
2.3 - IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s
2.4 - Advance d IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s
2.5 - Inte rior Lighting Basics
2.6 - Lighting C hanne ls
2.7 - R e nde ring with Edge Line s
2.8 - R e fle ction Se ttings
2.9 - Glass Transpare ncy
2.10 - Multipass R e nde ring
2.11 - How to choose a re nde re r
Chapter 3 - The Basics
3.1 - R e nde ring
3.2 - Lighting Pre se ts
3.3 - C re ate Mate rial
3.4 - R e nde ring C om ple te
3.5 - Brightne ss Slide r
3.6 - Tone O pe rator
3.7 - About IR e nde r nXt
3.8 - Start R e nde ring
3.9 - Im age Effe cts
3.10 - R e nde r Se tup Dialog
3.11 - Lights, Mirrors and C om pone nts
3.12 - C re ate Mirror
3.13 - Mate rial W izard
3.14 - Back ground W izard
3.15 - Sam ple Mode ls
3.16 - Anim ation
Chapter 4 - Rendering Toolbar
4.1 - Im age Filte rs
4.2 - Tone O pe rator
4.3 - Save and C opy R e nde re d Im age
4.4 - C hange Vie w
4.6 - R e nde r Farm
Chapter 5 - Options Wizard
5.1 - Se tup O ptions
5.2 - R e nde ring Se tup
5.3 - Lighting Se tup
5.4 - HDR I Sk y Se tup
5.5 - Back ground Se tup
5.6 - Spe cial Se tup
5.7 - Im age Se tup
5.8 - More Se tup
5.9 - nXT Se tup
Chapter 6 - Materials
6.1 - Edit Mate rial
6.2 - Se le ct Mate rial
6.3 - Place Mate rial
6.4 - Mate rial W izard
6.5 - Advance d Mate rial Editor
6.6 - Mate rial Place m e nt
6.7 - Glow
6.8 - C onve rt Mate rial
Chapter 7 - Textures
7.1 - Solid Mate rials
7.2 - Arroway Te x ture s
- 3 - Title Page
7.3 - W ate r Mate rials
7.4 - Te x ture Mapping
7.5 - Te x ture R e solution
Chapter 8 - Bump Maps
8.1 - Autom atic Bum p Maps
8.2 - Auto Bum p
8.3 - Standard Bum p Maps
8.4 - Proce dural Bum p Maps
8.5 - Bum p Maps - Additional Inform ation
Chapter 9 - Transparency
9.1 - Transpare ncy
9.2 - Transluce ncy
9.3 - Transpare nt Se ttings
9.4 - R e fraction
9.5 - Staine d Glass
9.6 - Daylight Portal
9.7 - Thin - Thick Glass
Chapter 10 - Reflection
10.1 - Mate rial Se ttings - R e fle ction
10.2 - R e fle ction
10.3 - R e fle ction R e fe re nce
10.4 - R e fle ction Guide line s
10.5 - Fre sne l R e fle ction
10.6 - Glossy R e fle ction
10.7 - Me tallic R e fle ction
10.8 - Spe cular R e fle ction
10.9 - W indow R e fle ctions
Chapter 11 - Lighting
11.1 - Lighting De faults
11.3 - Am bie nt Light
11.4 - Highlighting
11.5 - Inte nsity O ve rride
11.6 - C am e ra Light
11.7 - C ove Lighting
11.8 - Light Se tup
Chapter 12 - Sun and sky
12.1 - Sun
12.2 - Sun Se ttings
12.3 - Shadows
12.4 - Soft Shadows
12.5 - Daylight Portal
12.6 - HDR I Sk ie s
12.7 - Additional HDR I Sk ie s
12.8 - High Dynam ic Lighting
Chapter 13 - Artificial Lights
13.1 - Aim Lam p
13.2 - Be am and Fie ld Angle s
13.3 - C re ate Lam p
13.4 - C re ate Light Fix ture
13.5 - Edit Lam p
13.6 - Glow
13.7 - Indire ct Lighting
13.8 - Lum e ns vs W atts
13.9 - Se lf Glow
13.10 - Visible Light Paths
Chapter 14 - Entourage
14.1 - IR e nde r nXt Plants
14.2 - C re ate Plant
14.3 - Tre e Mak e r
14.4 - IR e nde r nXt Plants
14.5 - IR e nde r R e ady C onte nt
14.6 - Ground C ove r
14.7 - R PC O bje cts
14.8 - Installing R PC - ArchVision C onte nt Manage r
Title Page - 4 -
Title Page
14.9 - ArchVision
14.10 - Additional Functions
Chapter 15 - Advanced Techniques
15.1 - Alpha Im age s
15.2 - Antialiasing
15.3 - Edge Highlighting
15.4 - Auto Im age
15.5 - Back ground Im age
15.6 - Batch R e nde ring
15.7 - Batch Tutorial
15.8 - C austics
15.9 - C lay R e nde ring
15.10 - De pth of Fie ld
15.12 - Fog
15.13 - Fore ground Im age s
15.15 - Ground Plane
15.16 - Haze
15.17 - Im age Editor
15.18 - Im age Functions
15.19 - Invisible
15.20 - O bje ct Prope rtie s
15.21 - No Light Source R e fle ctions
15.22 - R e nde r Se le ction
15.23 - Saving De faults
15.24 - Se ction Plane s
15.25 - W hite W alls
Chapter 16 - Animation and Views
16.1 - Anim ation
16.2 - Panoram ic Vie ws
16.3 - Anim ation - Tutorial
Chapter 17 - Appendix
17.1 - Sk e tchUp Ve rsions
17.2 - Error Me ssage s
17.3 - Support Dialog
Index
- 5 - Title Page
- Getting Started
IR e nde r nXt is an e asy to le arn plugin for cre ating photore alistic re nde rings right inside Sk e tchUp. W atch our ge tting starte d
with IR e nde r nXt vide o.
Ge t starte d with an ove rvie w of R e nde ring, Installation, Lice nsing and som e vide o tutorials.
Sala 020612 by Jorge Javie r Lara Dom inque z
IR e nde r nXt is an e asy to le arn, ye t powe rful plugin for cre ating photore alistic re nde rings from right inside Sk e tchUp. If you
can draw it in Sk e tchUp, you can re nde r it with IR e nde r nXt.
Downloading & installing.

Se e : How to Download and Install
If you have any proble m s downloading or installing your IR e nde r trial software , we ’re he re to he lp. C ontact us at
support@re nde rplus.com
Trial Version
The IR e nde r nXt trial is a fully functional ve rsion with no wate rm ark s or lim itations. You m ay use it fre e for 30 days.
C hapte r 1 - Ge tting Starte d - 6 -

Chapter 1 - Getting Started
Se e : Purchase a full lice nse at any tim e .
[[Im age :Le ts ge t starte d.gif]
Videos and Tutorials

The Vide os and Tutorials Page has vide os for you to use to ge t starte d and on-line docum e ntation to accom pany m any of the
vide os.
First Ex te rior R e nde ring

Sim ple R e nde ring of an O bje ct
IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s
Advance d IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s
Inte rior Lighting Basics
Lighting C hanne ls
R e nde ring with Edge Line s
R e fle ction Se ttings
Glass Transpare ncy
Multipass R e nde ring
How to choose a re nde re r
Purchase
Purchase at any time.
No ne e d to wait until your trial is ove r, you can purchase an IR e nde r nXt full use r lice nse at anytim e . Multi-se at and ne twork
lice nse s are also available . C ontact sale s@re nde rplus.com with que stions.
Problems - Contact Us - Don't Give Up
If you are trying IR e nde r nXt for the first tim e , and have proble m s, Don't Give Up.
Be twe e n the com binations of Sk e tchUp ve rsions, W indows ve rsions, and m achine type s, som e tim e s som e things goe s
wrong. It anything is not work ing, don't give up. Le t us k now.
If you have proble m s with downloads or installation, contact us right away at support@re nde rplus.com .
If you have othe r proble m s, or que stions on how to use IR e nde r nXt, place the m on our Forum.
Download Problems - If the download doe sn't start, try again. Som e tim e s our download se rvice ge ts m e sse d up, If is
still doe sn't start e m ail us and we will se nd you a dire ct link to try.
Installation - During installation, you ne e d to se le ct the prope r ve rsion of Sk e tchUp. If you have proble m s contact us
right away.
SketchUp Toolbar - If the application doe s not appe ar on the Sk e tchUp tool bar - look unde r plugins. If the re is an
e ntry calle d IRender Load', click it.
Other Problems - - C ontact Us - Don't Give Up.
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Other Tutorials
IR e nde r nXt Ge tting Starte d Tutorial
[[IR e nde r Tutorial - Ge tting Starte d
Drawing a sim ple room ]]
- 7 - C hapte r 1 - Ge tting Starte d

How to Download and Install

Step 1: Download
Download from Site
Go to www.re nde rplus.com . The n click on the

‘Downloads’ tab.
O r click on this UR L: Downloads Page
click on e ithe r the ‘Try it’, ‘Buy it’ or on the ‘Downloads’ tab.
Fill out Form
Fill out the form and se le ct the download de sire d.
click on the ‘R e que st Download Link ’.

Select desired product
Download and Installation - 1.2 - 8 -

Download and Installation - 1.2
Just click on ‘Download’ unde r the nam e of the

software you want.
Download the file to som e place on your com pute r

you k now and is e asy you ge t to, lik e your
de sk top.
Se le ct tje product to download.
Step 2: Locate the Downloaded File

W he n you download a product your browse r prom pts you to choose a location to save the software . If you cannot re m e m be r
whe re you save d the file s, try the following solutions.
Check the browser's download location
C he ck the location whe re your browse r autom atically save s downloade d file s:
Inte rne t Ex plore r (W indows): C :\...[use r nam e ]\My Docum e nts\Downloads

Fire fox : C hoose Fire fox > Pre fe re nce s (Mac O S) or Tools > O ptions (W indows). In the Ge ne ral tab, look in the
Downloads are a. C he ck the se tting Save File s To to se e the download location.
Safari (Mac O S): C hoose Safari > Pre fe re nce s. In the Ge ne ral tab, che ck the se tting Save Downloade d File s To.
Google C hrom e : C hoose C ustom ize and C ontrol Google C hrom e >O ptions. In the Unde r The Hood tab, look unde r the
Downloads he ading. C he ck the Download location se tting.
Check the Downloads window (Firefox, Safari, Chrome)
Fire fox and Safari track the progre ss of file s the y download. If Fire fox or Safari m anage d the download (not Ak am i or Adobe
Download Assistant), che ck the Downloads window for the location of your downloade d file s.
Fire fox : C hoose Tools > Downloads or pre ss C trl+J (W indows) or C om m and+J (Mac O S). R ight-click (W indows) or
C ontrol-click (Mac O S) the downloade d file and choose O pe n C ontaining Folde r (W indows) or Show In Finde r (Mac O S).
Safari (Mac O S): C hoose W indow > Downloads or pre ss O ption+C om m and+L. C ontrol-click the downloade d file and
choose Show In Finde r.
Google C hrom e : C hoose C ustom ize and C ontrol Google C hrom e >Downloads or pre ss C trl+J. C lick the Show in folde r
link unde r the downloade d file .
Step 3: Install
Open Downloaded File
- 9 - Download and Installation - 1.2

5. The n double click on the file to ope n it. The n

click on the only file the re calle d ‘C lick he re to
install"
click on ‘C lick he re to install".
Follow Steps to Install
6.Ne x t, just follow the ste ps to install the software

on your com pute r.
Install software .
Step 4: Load Plugin in SketchUp
Start Product from Plugins Tab
O pe n Sk e tchUp.
Download and Installation - 1.2 - 10 -

Download and Installation - 1.2
Afte r you download and install the software , you are re ady to use it.
Most products will autom atically load into Sk e tchUp. If the product doe s
not appe ar, che ck to se e if it is available on the Plugins Tab.
If it doe s not appe ar, che ck the Sk e tchUp Pre fe re nce s/Ex te nsions
W Izard. Se e : Enabling Sk e tchUp Ex te nsions
Also, che ck that the Toolbar is e nable d unde f Vie w/Toolbars.
If you don’t still don't se e the product, re install it.
click on ‘plugins’ to ope n software .
SketchUp Extensions and Toolbar Visibility
Sk e tchUp Ex te nsions W izard. Sk e tchUp Toolbars.
Problems
If the application doe s not show up in Sk e tchUp, or in the Sk e tchUp Plugins m e nu, try the se ste ps:
- 11 - Download and Installation - 1.2

- Create and Render a Basic Room

This IRender Tutorial will tak e you through the basic ste ps of R e nde r nXt 's IR e nde r re nde ring e ngine .
Downloads and Installation

The re is a 30 day Trial Ve rsion for R PS products. This is a fully functional ve rsion, with wate rm ark s or othe r te x t adde d to
indicate that it is a trial ve rsion.
Follow the link s on the Downloads Page to download the late st ve rsion.
Start SketchUp
W he n Sk e tchUp starts,
C lick "IR e nde r_nXt load" from the Plugins m e nu.
The IR e nde r_nXt should appe ar:
If it doe s not appe ar, go to the m e nu "W indow/Pre fe re nce /Ex te nsions" and m ak e sure the IR e nde r_nXt is che ck e d.
Do a test rendering
W ith a ve ry sm all drawing, or just "Bryce " in the e m pty drawing, click the "R e nde r" icon.
Render - starts a ne w ray trace of your curre nt m ode l and se ttings.
This will load the R e nde ring Se ttings dialog.
C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3 - 12 -

Create and Render a Basic Room - 1.3
For now, ignore the se ttings and click Start Rendering
This should cre ate a re nde ring of your drawing.
(It will not be ve ry e x citing be cause the re are no lights or re fle ctions.
Step 1 - Get Basic Room
- 13 - C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3

Eithe r cre ate a sim ple room , or
C lick Open Sample Models ( ) to bring up the 'Load Sam ple Drawing' dialog and Pick 'Sam ple R oom for Tutorial'
This m ode l is also store d in the 3D W are house : Sam ple R oom for Tutorial http://sk e tchup.google .com /3dware house /de tails?
m id=ffd2c17f6a24c1c6620e 7ae a3bf2af5e
C lick Render ( ) to re nde r the room .
Step 2: Make the floor reflective

1. R ight click on the floor and se le ct Edit Material .

2. In the 'R e fle ction and Highlight' box , slide the 'Inte nsity' slide r to 0.75.
3. C lick O K
4. R e nde r again. ( )
Step 3 - Adding a mirror

Create Mirror will cre ate a m irror com pone nt for you to place in the drawing.
1. Se le ct the C re ate Mirror C om pone nt icon: ( )

2. Se t the 'R e fle ction' slide r to 95%.
3. C lick Create and Place to place the m irror in your drawing.
4. R e nde r the m ode l.

Add m irrors to the drawing
R ay Trace im age with m irrors
For m ore inform ation on re fle ctive m ate rials, se e the R e fle ction Tutorial .
Adding lights

IR e nde r work s with
Standard Sk e tchUp lights.

C ustom light fix ture s cre ate d with the Light Fix ture W izard
In addition, you can m ak e your own lights by placing lam ps in the se or othe r com pone nts.
Step 4 - Create table & floor lamps
First, add a table lam p:
1. C lick the Create Light Fixture icon ( ). The 'Light Fix ture s' dialog will appe ar.
2. Se le ct the 'Table ' tab to cre ate a table lam p.
3. O n this tab, you can se t the type and color of the shade and base , the physical dim e nsions of your lam p and its parts,
and the inte nsity and color of the light e m itte d.

4. In the 'C om pone nt Place m e nt Mode ' box , se le ct 'Single '.
5. C lick Create Lamp to cre ate the lam p com pone nt and place it in your m ode l.
Now to add a floor lam p:
1. O pe n the 'Light Fix ture s' dialog again and se le ct the 'Floor' tab.
2. He re you can custom ize the lam p, as with the table lam p.
3. Se le ct single place m e nt m ode , click Create Lamp, and place a floor lam p.
R e nde ring with Lights
Step 5 - Create Spot and Point lights

To m ak e it e asie r to se e the spotlight and point light we are about to place , de le te the lam ps from ste p 4. First, we will cre ate
a spotlight:
1. O pe n the 'Light Fix ture s' dialog again and se le ct the 'Spot' tab.
2. Se t 'Lam p Le ngth' to 60 de gre e s. This will m ak e it e asie r to se e whe re the spotlight is pointe d.
3. C lick Color and change the color to ye llow. This will distinguish light cast by the spotlight from the point light.
4. C lick Create Lamp and place the spotlight on the side wall.
Ne x t, m ak e a point light:
1. O pe n the 'Light Fix ture s' dialog again and se le ct the 'Point' tab.
2. C lick Color and change the color to white .
3. C lick Create Lamp and place the point light on the side wall, away from the spotlight.

Spotlight and point light
Spotlight and point light e ffe ct

Step 6 - Aim the spotlight
Aim ing the lam p.
1. To aim a lam p, right click on a lam p, and se le ct IRender:: A im Lamp

2. The lam p will autom atically point at the cursor position.
3. Snap the cursor to a face , e dge , e tc. at which you want to point the lam p.
4. C lick the le ft m ouse button to point the lam p, or click e scape to stop the ope ration.
5. R e nde r to se e the e ffe ct of the aim e d lam p.
Step 7. - Create a ceiling light

1. Add a ce iling and a le ft hand wall.
2. O pe n the 'Light Fix ture s' dialog again and se le ct the 'C e iling' tab.
3. C lick Create Lamp and place the re ctangular light on the ce iling.

Adding a ce iling light

R aytrace of ce iling light
Summary
This tutorial showe d you how to add re fle ction and lights to a Sk e tchUp m ode l.
You can im prove the final re sult by adding additional lights, placing a m ate rial on the walls, e tc.
Se e the othe r tutorials for m ore inform ation on re fle ction and lights.
R oom for Tutorial on 3D W are house

C om ple te d room on 3D W are house

Rendering Overview
IR e nde r nXt cre ate s stunning life -lik e im age s from Sk e tchUp m ode ls. IR e nde r nXt use s R ay Tracing and photom e tric
re nde ring te chnologie s from inside Sk e tchUp to cre ate high-quality photo-re alistic im age s from 3D Mode ls.
R e nde ring by Surya Murali using nXt Engine
W ith IR e nde r nXt, cre ating pre se ntation quality im age s from Sk e tchUp m ode ls is e asy. Sim ply add m ate rials, lights, sun, sk y
and the n re nde r the m ode l.
General Features
Easy to use , work s se am le ssly inside Sk e tchUp, and provide s a host of fe ature s that spe e d and sim plify im age re nde ring.
Use s both raytracing and Indire ct Lighting to cre ate sophisticate d single -fram e im age s and anim ations.
Autom atically calculate s indire ct light, hard and soft shadows, color ble e ding, re fle ctions, transluce ncy, transpare ncy,
re fraction, highlight, de pth of fie ld, and de pth atte nuation.
Supports m ultiproce ssors and back ground proce ssing.
Include s m athe m atically ge ne rate d 3-D plants with se asonal variation, giving re alistic plants, shadows, and re fle ctions.
W ork s inside Sk e tchUp. R e nde r change s to the m ode l im m e diate ly. You ne ve r ne e d to e x port or start ove r.
Progre ssive -re fine m e nt re nde ring algorithm s with on-scre e n pre vie w.
Save and re store plant, e x posure , sun and sk y, and e nvironm e nt se ttings.
Graphical library browse rs for m ate rials and plants.
R PC 3D O bje ct support.
Post-proce ssing for quick adjustm e nt of brightne ss, Lighting C hanne ls, fog, glare , and de pth of fie ld.
R e nde ring O ve rvie w - 1.4 - 24 -

Basic Lighting and Reflection - 1.5
Basic Lighting and Reflection

A use r ask e d for som e ide as on how to im prove re nde rings.
He re a som e tips which will be he lpful whe n you are just starting out.
Overview
W e would all lik e a solution whe re we just tak e our Sk e tchUp m ode l, click R e nde r and ge t a gre at re sult.
IR e nde r nXt doe s a surprisingly good hob of this for basic e x te riors, using the High Dynam ic, or Ex te rior lighting pre se ts.
Howe ve r, e spe cially for inte riors, you ne e d to add lights and se t spe cial m ate rial param e te rs - such as re fle ction in orde r to
ge t a good re nde ring. This article will he lp you le arn how to do this.
Basic Model
For the se sam ple s, we downloade d a Vanity and a Showe r from the 3D W are house
Double Sink Vanity
Showe r Stall
I place d the vanity in a room in Sk e tchUp and R e nde re d it.
SketchUp Model
- 25 - Basic Lighting and R e fle ction - 1.5

Rendered Model
Basic Lighting and R e fle ction - 1.5 - 26 -

Adding Lights
The re nde re d im age s isn't m uch be tte r than the Sk e tchUp im age .
That is be cause , e spe cially for inte rior sce ne s, you ne e d to add lights and re fle ctions in orde r to ge t a re alistic im age .
First I adde d som e ce iling lights using the IR e nde r nXt Lighting W izard.
Placing Ceiling Lights

Just the se lights im prove d the re nde ring significantly.
Vanity with overhead lighting

Adding Reflections
O f course we ne e d to m ak e the m irror re fle ctive . But m ak ing the walls re fle ctive will add re alistic de tail as we ll.
To m ak e a surface re fle ctive , right click on the m ate rial and load the Mate rial Editor:
Making the floor reflective

Rendering with floor, walls and mirror reflective

I use d de fault re fle ction for the right hand wall the first tim e . But it was too re fle ctive , so I cut the inte nsity down from 60% to
40% to m ak e it m ore subtle .
Highlights
R e fle ction and Highlights are sim ilar. Highlights are re fle ctions dire ctly from lights, rathe r than re fle ction of othe r obje cts. The y
add to the re alism of a sce ne .
He re I adde d re fle ction to e ve rything which m ight re fle ct or cre ate highlights.
(Se e the highlight in the fauce t, e ve n though the re is not m uch re fle ction.)
Reflection and Highlights on Counter

Something to Reflect
Anothe r im portant conside ration is having som e thing to re fle ct.
In the sce ne s above with have a re fle ctive m irror, but nothing inte re sting to re fle ct.
I adde d the showe r from the 3D ware house to the part of the room be hind the cam e ra, to m ak e the sce ne m ore inte re sting.
Mirror with reflection of shower

Additional Texture Features

The im age s above all use d standard Sk e tchUp m ate rials.
Arroway Textures
You can ge t m ore re alistic re sults by using be tte r m ate rials. For e x am ple , Arroway provide s a library of te x ture s, (not for
fre e ), which have spe cial shading fe ature s for m ore re alistic highlights and re fle ctions.
A Wood Floor rendered from an A rroway Texture

The se te x ture s can be im porte d into Sk e tchUp and use d with IR e nde r nXt.
Shiny, Blurry and Glossy Reflections

In addition to the am ount of re fle ction on surface , you can also adjust its shinine ss.
In this e x am ple , I m ade the fauce ts white ao you could se e m ore de taile d re fle ction.
Faucet with shiny reflection

For ce rtain surface s, lik e brushe d m e tal, tile floors or wood, the re fle ction is ofte n blurry rathe r than shiny. He re I lowe re d the
shinine ss to 25% (from 100%) to ge t a blurry re fle ction.
Blurry re fle ctions re quire m ore re nde ring passe s be cause the blurrine ss is achie ve d by using diffe re nt, random , angle s for
re fle ction on e ach pass.
Faucet with Blurry reflection

Glossy re fle ction allows the highlights, but no spe cific re fle ction of othe r obje cts. It is done quick ly and doe s not re quire
additional passe s.
Faucet with Glossy Reflection

Lighting channels
Anothe r fe ature which can save tim e , and m ak e it e asy to balance various lights in Lighting C hanne ls.
He re I have adde d som e sconce s above the Vanity, and re -re nde re d the sce ne
Default Balanced Lighting

He re I have slid the inte nsity of the C e iling Lights down to 10%, which m ak e s the sconce s m uch brighte r.
Ceiling Lights turned down to 10%

He re I have re store d the ce iling lights, but lowe re d the inte nsity of the sconce s to 10%
Sconces at 10%

You can't appre ciate from just vie wing this on line how fast and e asy it is to balance lighting with slide r bars as the light
inte nsitie s change im m e diate ly on your scre e n.
Summary
You can ge t ge t good re sults e asily, just by adding som e ce iling ligtts and basic re fle ction to m ate rials. But for e ve n be tte r
re sults, you ne e d to re nde r the m ode l, tak e a look , and adjust the m ate rial param e te rs and lights to ge t the e ffe ct you want.
C he ck out our Vide os and Tutorials for m ore inform ation in how to do this.

Tutorials and Videos

First Exterior Rendering Video
First Exterior Rendering
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=IEBoFKvZ-ng

This Vide o Tutorial e x plains how to use IR e nde r nXt to cre ate a high-quality, photo-re alistic re nde ring
from your Sk e tchUp m ode l, with out m ak ing any change s to the m ode l, or adjusting any re nde ring
se ttings.
Simple Rendering of an Object Video
Simple Rendering of an Object
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=e e STovEKgg8

Mak e gre at re nde rings with out m ak ing any change s to the m ode l, or adjusting any re nde ring se ttings.
Basic Room
C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom
Features Video
IRender nXt Features Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=ytjDO 8Y06_s

This vide o Tutorial, IRender nXt Features, e x plains som e Basic Fe ature s of IR e nde r nXt.
- 41 - C hapte r 2 - Tutorials and Vide os

Advanced Features Video
A dvanced IRender nXt Features Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=n7wj6y90x e 8

This vide o Tutorial e x plains som e Advance d Fe ature s of IR e nde r nXt.
Interior Lighting Basics
Interior Lighting Basics Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=wW HO p9FXDK8

Fine -tune d lighting is the k e y to cre ating gre at-look ing inte rior and nighttim e sce ne s. In this vide o tutorial
we show you how to quick ly add lights to a room and adjust the ir re nde r se ttings for a be autiful final
im age
LIghting Channels Video
Lighting Channels Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=x O DKAYo88_o

Lighting C hanne ls are use d to adjust the brightne ss of light source s - such as the sun and sk y and
inte rior lights.
This vide o shows you how to quick ly adjust the lights while re nde ring your Sk e tchUp m ode l with IR e nde r
C hapte r 2 - Tutorials and Vide os - 42 -

nXt.
Rendering with Edge Lines Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=U9qHR TGih4w

This vide o Tutorial e x plains how to re nde r a sce ne with e dge line s visible . Som e tim e s, de tails can be
washe d out in som e re nde rings. R e nde ring with e dge line s turne d on in IR e nde r nXt can bring back m any
of those lost de tails.
Reflection Settings Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=ofMW gVO hdNc

Highlights and surface re fle ctions are the be st way to add re alism to your re nde rings and the y're e asy to
cre ate in IR e nde r nXt.
In this vide o tutorial we show you how to add re fle ction to obje cts and m ate rials and fine -tune the ir
se ttings for a be autiful, and re alistic, re sult.
Glass Transparency Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=GaaHhUq7gcQ

R e alistic transpare ncie s are e asy to cre ate in IR e nde r nXt and can be fine d tune d for gre at re sults. In this
vide o tutorial we e x plain how transpare ncy, re fraction and inte nsity se ttings e ffe ct the transpare nt obje cts
in your m ode l.
- 43 - C hapte r 2 - Tutorials and Vide os

How to choose a renderer Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=91-oT0UhW C Q

This vide o highlights Sk e tchUp fe ature s which som e re nde re rs m ay not be able to handle .
Multipass rendering Video
Mutli Pass Rendering Technology Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=3o1oJv5l9Do

This vide o, tak e n from a W e binar for the nXtR e nde r/IR e nde r/AccuR e nde r nXt Engine e x plains som e of
the advantage s of m ulti-pass re nde ring.
C hapte r 2 - Tutorials and Vide os - 44 -

First Exterior Rendering - 2.1

This First Ex te rior R e nde ring Vide o e x plains how to use IR e nde r nXt to cre ate a high-quality, photo-re alistic re nde ring from
your Sk e tchUp m ode l.
First Exterior Rendering Video

W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=IEBoFKvZ-ng
This Vide o Tutorial e x plains how to use IR e nde r nXt to cre ate a high-quality, photo-re alistic re nde ring from your Sk e tchUp
m ode l, with out m ak ing any change s to the m ode l, or adjusting any re nde ring se ttings.
*Se le ct m ode l from 3D ware house
Se le ct de sire d vie w
O ne C lick to R e nde re r button
Ex plains re nde ring passe s
C om pare s final im age to original Sk e tchUp re nde ring.
No change s m ade to m ode l or se ttings
Late r tutorials will e x plain how to im prove the output by m ak ing alte rations to the m ode l and changing re nde ring se ttings.
Howe ve r, this vide o shows how you can ge t gre at re sults with m inim al e ffort.
If you want to try a re nde ring with this sam e m ode l, se arch for "Porch for our Hom e " on the 3D W are house , or use this link
dire ctly: Porch for our Hom e by Ed & Je anne .
Tutorial
Step 1 - Download and Install IRender nXt
1. Download IR e nde r nXt from our Downloads Page
2. Install it
Step 2 - Download model from the 3D Warehouse

Download R anch House
You can download it dire ctly from the 3D W are house , be fore starting Sk e tchUp, or download it dire ctly into Sk e tchUp from the
File/3D Warehouse m e nu.
- 45 - First Ex te rior R e nde ring - 2.1

Ranch House in 3D Warehouse
This is just a m ode l from the W are house which we found. It has no spe cial se ttings in for re nde ring.
W e chose it be cause it has a porch which will show som e of the subtle shadow e ffe cts of IR e nde r nXt.
Step 3 - Start SketchUp and load the model

R otate and Zoom to a vie w sim ilar to this, so we can se e the shading in the porch.
First Ex te rior R e nde ring - 2.1 - 46 -

Porch View
C lick the Gre e n R e nde ring Button to start the re nde ring.
For your first re nde ring, a dialog will com e up with som e re nde ring param e te rs.

Rendering Parameters
Se le ct Studio - High Dynamic Lighting.

This produce s a subtle shadow e ffe ct of sunlight filte ring through a fore st which is good for a lot of e x te rior sce ne s.
Se le ct a re nde ring size - sm all or m e dium is good whe n first work ing with a m ode l.
And, click the Start Rendering button.
Step 4 - Examine your first rendering

It will tak e a short tim e to e x tract your ge om e try from the Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Rendering Passes
Your first m ode l will re nde r for the de fault num be r of 20 passe s. The m ore passe s you use , the be tte r the re nde ring will ge t.

During those passe s, random light is brought in from the Sun and Sk y.
Afte r just 5 passe s, the re nde ring is rough - be cause you can se e individual shadows from random points in the sk y.
Rendering after 5 passes
Afte r 20 passe s you ge t a pre tty good im age as the lighting conve rge s.

Afte r 100 or 200 passe s the lighting will sm ooth out and you will ge t an e ve n be tte r re nde ring.

This 200 pass took only about 6 m inute s, with a fairly sim ple m ode l.
You should just use about 5 passe s for e x te rior m ode ls until you are happy with your m ode l and your re nde ring se ttings.
The n you m ay want to le t the m re nde r longe r - e ve n ove rnight - for re ally gre at re sults.

Simple Rendering of an Object Video

This vide o Tutorial, Sim ple R e nde ring of an O bje ct, e x plains how to cre ate a high-quality, photo-re alistic re nde rings from a
Sk e tchUp m ode l using IR e nde r nXt.
Simple Rendering of an Object
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=e e STovEKgg8
Mak e gre at re nde rings with out m ak ing any change s to the m ode l, or adjusting any re nde ring se ttings.
Le arn how to:
Download a model from the 3D Warehouse, (not a m ode l uploade d spe cially for this vide o)
Render it with no changes to the model
No special rendering settings.
This shows how e asy it is to use IR e nde r nXt, e ve n with no change s to your m ode l.
(O f course , you can m ak e e ve n be tte r re nde rings by adding lights, m ate rial se ttings, e tc.
(You will le arn how to do that in late r vide os.)
One Click Render Button

Rendering Passes
Compare final image to original SketchUp image
Late r tutorials will e x plain how to im prove the output by m ak ing alte rations to the m ode l and changing re nde ring se ttings.
Howe ve r, this vide o shows how you can ge t gre at re sults with m inim al e ffort.
Sim ple R e nde ring of an O bje ct - 2.2 - 52 -

IRender nXt Features - 2.3
Features Video
In this IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s Vide o De nnis e x plains the value of e ach of the se fe ature s and shows you how to use
the m .IR e nde r nXt se am le ss Sk e tchUp inte gration, lighting and m ate rial se ttings m ak e s it e asy to re nde r photore alistic
im age s.
IRender nXt Features Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=ytjDO 8Y06_s
This vide o Tutorial, IRender nXt Features, e x plains som e Basic Fe ature s of IR e nde r nXt.
* R e fle ctions
Placing Lights
Lighting Pre se ts
Bum p Maps
Se ction Plane s
Edge Line s
- 53 - IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s - 2.3

Advanced IRender nXt Features Video

A dvanced IRender nXt Features Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=n7wj6y90x e 8
This vide o Tutorial e x plains som e Advance d Fe ature s of IR e nde r nXt.

*De pth of Fie ld
Lighting C hanne ls
Mate rial Editor
Mate rial Librarie s
Indire ct Lighting
Panoram as
In this vide o De nnis e x plains the value of e ach of the se fe ature s and shows you haw to use the m .
De pth of Fie ld, Lighting C hanne ls, Mate rial Editor, Mate rial Librarie s, Indire ct Lighting, Panoram as .
Se e : Advance d IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s
Advance d IR e nde r nXt Fe ature s - 2.4 - 54 -

Interior Lighting Basics - 2.5
Interior Lighting Basics

The Inte rior Lighting Basics Vide o se ts up basic lights for Sk e tchUp R e nde ring.
Interior Lighting Basics Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=wW HO p9FXDK8
Fine -tune d lighting is the k e y to cre ating gre at-look ing inte rior and nighttim e sce ne s. In this vide o tutorial we show you how to
quick ly add lights to a room and adjust the ir re nde r se ttings for a be autiful final im age
This vide o Tutorial, Interior Lighting Basics, e x plains how to quick ly re nde r a room se tting with a basic lighting se t up. It goe s
ove r how to place a ce iling light, a floor lam p as we ll as m ak ing your own lights. Also, cove rs how to adjust a fe w se ttings to
im prove the final im age . This shows how quick ly you can put IR e nde r nXt to work .'
Ceiling Lights
Floor Lamp
Create your own lamp
Late r tutorials will e x plain how to add additional lighting type s.
- 55 - Inte rior Lighting Basics - 2.5


.
W atch our vide o tutorial, Lighting C hanne ls, to le arn how to adjust the lighting in your Sk e tch Up re nde ring using IR e nde r nXt.
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=x O DKAYo88_o
Lighting C hanne ls are use d to adjust the brightne ss of light source s - such as the sun and sk y and inte rior lights.
This vide o shows you how to quick ly adjust the lights while re nde ring your Sk e tchUp m ode l with IR e nde r nXt.
*Create Nighttime scene by switching off the sun, and lowering the intensity of the sky
A djust intensity of other groups of lights

Set intensity of "self-glow" panels on the wall
Quickly get the desired lighting effects without having to change and re-render the model
Se e also: Lighting C hanne ls
Lighting C hanne ls - 2.6 - 56 -

Rendering with Edge Lines - 2.7
Rendering with Edge Lines

W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=U9qHR TGih4w
This vide o Tutorial e x plains how to re nde r a sce ne with e dge line s visible . Som e tim e s, de tails can be washe d out in som e
re nde rings. R e nde ring with e dge line s turne d on in IR e nde r nXt can bring back m any of those lost de tails.
Late r tutorials will e x plain how to add additional advance d fe ature s.
- 57 - R e nde ring with Edge Line s - 2.7

Reflection Settings
R e fle ction Se ttings will add Highlights and Surface R e fle ctions to cre ate m ore re alistic re nde rings.
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=ofMW gVO hdNc
Highlights and surface re fle ctions are the be st way to add re alism to your re nde rings and the y're e asy to cre ate in IR e nde r
nXt.
In this vide o tutorial we show you how to add re fle ction to obje cts and m ate rials and fine -tune the ir se ttings for a be autiful,
and re alistic, re sult.
This vide o Tutorial, Reflection, shows how to use re fle ction to add re alism to your Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Create and place a mirror

Set reflection setting on materials
Intensity, Metallic, Glossy, etc.
Late r tutorials will e x plain how to add additional re nde ring fe ature s.
R e fle ction Se ttings - 2.8 - 58 -

Glass Transparency - 2.9
Glass Transparency
This Glass Transpare ncy Vide o e x plains how transpare ncy, re fraction and inte nsity se ttings e ffe ct the transpare nt obje cts in
your m ode l.
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=GaaHhUq7gcQ
R e alistic transpare ncie s are e asy to cre ate in IR e nde r nXt and can be fine d tune d for gre at re sults. In this vide o tutorial we
e x plain how transpare ncy, re fraction and inte nsity se ttings e ffe ct the transpare nt obje cts in your m ode l.
Fine tuning your transpare ncie s adds that ne x t le ve l of re alism to your de signs
Also cove rs Thick and thin glass se ttings that the use r can use to ge t the m ost re alistic obje ct.
This vide o also shows how e asy it is to adjust such se ttings as:
Transpare ncy
Thick and thin glass
R e fraction
C austic Illum ination
Highlighting .
- 59 - Glass Transpare ncy - 2.9

Multipass rendering Video

Mutli Pass Rendering Technology Video
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=3o1oJv5l9Do
This vide o, tak e n from a W e binar for the nXtR e nde r/IR e nde r/AccuR e nde r nXt Engine e x plains som e of the advantage s of
m ulti-pass re nde ring.
Multi Pass re nde ring le ts you quick ly se e what your re nde ring is going to look lik e – afte r the first fe w passe s – and the e ithe r
change se ttings, or le t the re nde ring continue go ge t be tte r.
In this vide o Scott Davidson shows you how m ulti-pass re nde ring work s for nXtR e nde r for AutoC AD, R e vit or Sk e tchUp.
Multipass R e nde ring - 2.10 - 60 -

How to choose a renderer - 2.11
How to choose a renderer

How to C hoose a R e nde re r highlights Sk e tchUp fe ature s which som e re nde re rs m ay not be able to handle .
W atch Vide o
www.youtube .com /watch?v=91-oT0UhW C Q
This vide o highlights Sk e tchUp fe ature s which som e re nde re rs m ay not be able to handle .
It doe s not ge t into artificial lighting, re fle ction and othe r spe cial re nde ring fe ature s which are also im portant, but conce ntrate s
on the im portance that the re nde re r be able to handle Sk e tchUp fe ature s - m ate rials, im age s, transpare ncy, sun and sk y, e tc.
which m ak e it e asie r to start adding advance d fe ature s to your m ode l for re nde ring without having to m odify the m ode l to
re nde r the ite m s which are alre ady the re .
The m ode l use d for this tutorial can be downloade d from the 3D W are house so you can te st it with re nde re rs you are
e valuation. 3D W are house Mode l
How to choose a re nde re r
Ability to proce ss Sk e tchUp ge om e try.

Ability to proce ss Sk e tchUp sun and othe r se ttings
- 61 - How to choose a re nde re r - 2.11

Start Rendering
Start Rendering
Start Rendering
Resume Rendering - add more passes with not changes
Restart Rendering - do not load ge om e try - re -re nde r with othe r change s only.
Start Rendering
Starts a ne w re nde ring of your curre nt m ode l and se ttings.
The e ntire m ode l and se ttings are e x tracte d from the Sk e tchUp m ode l and se nt to the IR e nde r R ay Trace e ngine .
Resume Rendering
R e sum e R e nde ring
Resume Rendering le ts you continue a re nde ring which has be e n com ple te d - e ithe r be cause the num be r
of passe s or re nde ring tim e lim it has be e n e x ce e de d, or be cause you click e d the Stop R e nde ring button -
and add m ore passe s.
IR e nde r nXt is a m ulti-pass re nde ring syste m . The e arly passe s allow you to quick ly che ck se ttings - such
as lighting and m ate rials. W ith Resume Rendering you can re nde r for just 20 passe s or os, se e how it
look s, and if you lik e it add m ore passe s, or a tim e lim it, and continue without having to start ove r.
Afte r re nde ring, you can e ithe r m ak e change s and re start the re nde ring, or use Resume Rendering to add
m ore passe s for be tte r re sults.
Resume Rendering le ts you continue a re nde ring which has be e n com ple te d - e ithe r be cause the num be r of passe s or
re nde ring tim e lim it has be e n e x ce e de d, or be cause you click e d the Stop Rendering button.
IR e nde r nXt im prove s its im age with e ach re nde ring pass. R e sum e R e nde ring le ts you re nde r for m ore passe s without having
to re start the re nde ring from the be ginning.
You can e nte r m ore passe s, or m ore tim e to le t it re nde r longe r. (Ente r 0 for no lim it)
Double Up - click this button to double the curre nt se ttings.
Note : If the rendering was not stopped properly - at the end of a pass - then the Resume Rendering icon will be grayed out.
Restart Rendering
The Restart Rendering fe ature re starts the re nde ring without e x tracting or re loading the ge om e try.
It will apply vie w or se tting change s. This can be a re al tim e save r whe n you want to m ak e your change s, e spe cially vie w
change s, dire ctly in Sk e tchUp and the n re start re nde ring without having to tak e tim e to re -e x tract the ge om e try from the
m ode l.
Most se ttings can be applie d - such as vie w, sun position, and colors of m ate rials. (Te x ture change s or ge om e try change s will
re quire a full re nde ring.)
R e nde ring - 3.1 - 62 -

Lighting Presets - 3.2
Presets Tab
The Presets tab is use d to se le ct re de fine d lighting se ttings and m ak e adjustm e nts to the m .
nXt is de signe d to sim ulate re al-world lighting. Use the following guide line s whe n lighting your m ode l:
Provide accurate inform ation whe ne ve r possible . Avoid using unre alistic inte nsity le ve ls for light source s.
Adjust the ove rall brightne ss of your re nde ring by using the Brightne ss control on the re nde ring display. Do not
atte m pt to adjust the ove rall sce ne brightne ss by changing the inte nsity of all of the light source s. nXt's autom atic
e x posure adjustm e nt will be work ing against you if you atte m pt to do this.
Lighting Presets
Lighting Presets
{{{topim age _te x t}}}
The Presets le ts you choose pre de fine d se ttings for the m ost com m on lighting situations.
The re are a lot of se ttings to cre ate spe cial lighting e ffe cts. The pre se ts m ak e it e asie r to ge t a good
re nde ring without having to m ak e all the se tting m anually.
Standard Presets
Studio or High Dynamic for subtle shadows for e x te rior sce ne s.

Exterior - for e x te rior sce ne s with sun and sk y.
Interior with Sun - Inte rior sce ne s with lighting through doors and windows.
Interior no Sun - Inte rior sce ne s with no e x te rnal lighting.
HDRi Sky - Ex te rior sce ne with a sk y full of clouds.
nXt provide s four lighting pre se ts which can he lp ge t you starte d whe n de ciding how to light your m ode l. The re are m any m ore
lighting options available , but the pre se ts are ofte n sufficie nt for m any diffe re nt re nde rings. The Pre se ts icons are available
on the Pre se ts Se tup Tab. C hoose the Pre se t which m ost close ly re se m ble s your sce ne :
High Dynamic
m im ics the lighting which m ight be found in a photographe r's studio. It is m ost use ful for re nde ring sm all to m e dium size d
obje cts in isolation.
The prim ary lighting is provide d by an high dynam ic range im age file (HDR i). The light from the HDR i has be e n artificially
dim m e d, to re se m ble the inte rior lighting le ve ls of the studio. You can m odify the HDR i se ttings and file on the HDR i Se tup
Tab . You can add artificial lights to your sce ne using the Lights tab.
Exterior
is use d for daylight sim ulations of archite ctural e x te riors. A sun and natural sk y are sim ulate d.
The sun and sk y se ttings can be m odifie d on the Sk y Se tup Tab . You can spe cify sun angle s dire ctly or you can use
ge ographical location and date and tim e . The de fault visible back ground for this pre se t is the sim ulate d sk y.
- 63 - Lighting Pre se ts - 3.2

Interior with Sun
Inte rior Daylight allows you to sim ulate an archite ctural inte rior during the day, lit by natural light.
For an inte rior daylight sim ulation to work prope rly, you m ust use a transpare nt m ate rial to re pre se nt the glass in your
windows. Sun and sk y se ttings are sim ilar to the Ex te rior pre se t. Inte rior Lighting.
Interior - no Sun
provide s a sim ulation of an archite ctural inte rior at night, lit by artificial lum inare s.
For this sim ulation to work prope rly, you m ust add artificial lights to your m ode l.
HDRi Sky
The HDR i Sk y pre se t loads a HDR i back ground and sk y - Be ar Mountain - and m ak e othe r se ttings to m ak e the sk y visible .
Afte r se le cting this pre se t, you can e asily use the HDR i tab to se le ct othe r sk ie s.
Additional Notes on Presets
Im age by by C hristophe r Alan Krupp on the IR e nde r nXt forum . Lighting

balance d with Lighting C hanne ls. C lick to vie w full size .
Indirect lighting - the lighting re fle cte d off of surface s, is on whe n one of the two inte rior pre se ts are se le cte d and off
for studio and e x te rior. This type of lighting is a ve ry significant com pone nt of an inte rior sim ulation. For e x te riors and
studio m ode ls the e ffe cts of indire ct lighting is m ore subtle . You can turn on indire ct lighting for e x te riors and studio
m ode ls if you want this additional re alism (at a substantial pe rform ance cost.)
Interior daylight mode and exterior mode do not have artificial lights e nable d. You can add artificial lights to the se
pre se ts if you wish by following the proce dure he re .
Night tim e re nde rings can be a little trick y. The Brightne ss slide r, and Lighting C hanne ls can m ak e it m uch e asie r to
balance the lighting.
Lighting Pre se ts - 3.2 - 64 -

Lighting Presets - 3.2
- 65 - Lighting Pre se ts - 3.2

Create Material
Using IR e nde r nXt you can cre ate Sk e tchUp m ate rials, which look lik e , and are autom atically m appe d to nXtR e nde r m ate rials
whe n you re nde r the drawing.
Creating AccuRender materials
AccuR e nde r m ate rial se le ction wizard
Mate rial de finition dialog
W ith IR e nde r nXt you can se le ct m ate rials from the AccuR e nde r Mate rial Library, and place the m as m ate rials in Sk e tchUp.
The Sk e tchUp m ate rials are cre ate d with a raste r im age of the AccuR e nde r m ate rial.
C re ate Mate rial - 3.3 - 66 -

Create Material - 3.3
W he n you re nde r with IR e nde r nXt the will autom atically be re nde re d as AccuR e nde r Solid m ate rials.
Selecting materials
C lick the Create Material icon on the toolbar.
This will load the AccuR e nde r m ate rial se le ction wizard.
C hoose the m ate rial de sire d from m ore than 5,000 m ate rials include d in the AccuR e nde r library.
Defining materials
Afte r you se le ct a m ate rial, a dialog will display the m ate rial param e te rs.
Se le ct the de sire d size for the m ate rial.
C lick A dd and Place to cre ate and place the m ate rial.
C lick A dd and Make A nother to cre ate this m ate rial, and re turn to the se le ction wizard.
- 67 - C re ate Mate rial - 3.3

Rendering Complete
The Rendering Complete dialog is loade d whe n the re nde ring has com ple te d - e ithe r be cause the num be r of passe s lim it, or
tim e lim it has be e n re ache d, or be cause the use r click e d the "e nd re nde r" icon.
W he n the re nde ring is com ple te you can choose to save or vie w the re nde ring im age , or to add additional passe s and
continue the re nde ring.
Save file
If A uto Image is se le cte d, the n the re nde re d im age will alre ady have be e n save d and the nam e will be displaye d.
Use A uto image when complete - If che ck e d, the n a re nde re d im age will autom atically be save d to the disk whe n the
re nde ring is com ple te d.
Save Image - save the curre nt re nde re d im age to the disk .
View Image - vie w the re nde re d im age if it has alre ady be e n save d.
Edit image in nXtImage Editor - adjust the im age with lighting channe ls, e tc.
(O nly available in IR e nde r nXt or Proje ctR e nde r Pro)
Resume Rendering
You can add additional re nde ring passe s and continue re nde ring to add m ore re alism to the lighting.
This functions is also available with the R e sum e R e nde ring icon.
Rendered passes - displays how m any passe s have be e n re nde re d alre ady.
Stop rendering after - incre ase the lim its on tim e or num be r of passe s.
Double Up - will double the num be r of passe s.
Resume rendering - will continue re nde ring until the ne w pass lim it is re ache d.
Other
Show this dialog after rendering - unche ck to not display this dialog.
(You can re -e nable it by right click ing in the title bar at the top of the re nde r window and se le cting "Support".)
Done - C lose the dialog.
R e nde ring C om ple te - 3.4 - 68 -

Brightness Slider - 3.5
Brightness Slider
The Brightness Slider at the top of the re nde re r window can be use d to adjust the ove rall brightne ss of the im age .
Use the up and down arrows to fin tune the brightne ss se tting.
- 69 - Brightne ss Slide r - 3.5

Tone Operator
The Tone Operator is use d to m odify your re nde re d im age afte r it is cre ate d:
Tone m apping is the proce ss of conve rting the lum inance data use d by nXt into displayable or printable R GB pix e ls.
The tone -m apping controls are locate d in the uppe r le ft corne r of the re nde r scre e n. The Brightne ss control is the m ost
im portant. In nXt, you cannot control the ove rall sce ne brightne ss by boosting the inte nsity all of the light source s. The
autom atic e x posure adjustm e nt built into the tone -m apping proce ss will de fe at this atte m pt. Adjust ove rall sce ne brightne ss
by using the Brightne ss control.
Tone Operator
The tone ope rator controls the m apping from lum inance data to R GB im age data. It is the sophisticate d se t of rule s
AccuR e nde r use s to cre ate a displayable picture from the lighting value s colle cte d during a raytracing or radiosity proce ss..
Settings
The Brightne ss control is the m ost im portant. In IR e nde r nXt, you cannot control the ove rall sce ne brightne ss by boosting the
inte nsity all of the light source s. The autom atic e x posure adjustm e nt built into the tone -m apping proce ss will de fe at this
atte m pt. Adjust ove rall sce ne brightne ss by using the Brightne ss control.
Brightness - The Brightne ss control is the m ost im portant.
Adjusts the ove rall brightne ss. For e x am ple , if a white surface in your m ode l is re nde ring gray, you can incre ase the
brightne ss until the surface appe ars white . O r, if your e x te rior sce ne se e m s ove re x pose d, you can de cre ase the
brightne ss until the sce ne appe ars m ore corre ct.
The de fault se tting is 100 — sm alle r num be rs produce dark e r im age s. For m ost re nde rings, sm all change s produce
notice able e ffe cts.
Contrast - Adjust the contrast of the im age .
Tone O pe rator - 3.6 - 70 -

Tone Operator - 3.6
Lowe ring the contrast m ak e s the im age m ore gray.
R aising the contrast m ak e light are a lighte r and dark are as dark e r.
Burn - Burn change s the white point of the im age so that le ss than m ax brightne ss obje cts will m ap to white .
Se e : Using Burn
Saturation - C ontrols the am ount of color include d in the re nde ring.
Slide it to the le ft to cre ate a gray im age .
Defaults
R e store the de fault se ttings.
- 71 - Tone O pe rator - 3.6

nXt
IR e nde r nXt (nXtR e nde r for Sk e tchUp) se am le ss Sk e tchUp inte gration, lighting and m ate rial se ttings m ak e s it e asy to re nde r
photore alistic im age s.
IRender nXt - nXtRender for SketchUp
Quick and Easy to use

W he the r de signing for work or fun, nXtR e nde r's se am le ss inte gration into
Sk e tchUp, AutoC AD or R e vit m ak e s it quick and e asy to cre ate photo-re alistic
re nde rings that show your de signs at the ir be st.
Im age by Gary Giacci
Time-Saving Features
nXtR e nde r optim ize s your de sign-tim e by saving your se ttings toge the r with
the 3D m ode l and allowing post-re nde r proce ssing. Update your de sign and
update your re nde r, without starting ove r again.
Im age by Mark Baue r
About IR e nde r nXt - 3.7 - 72 -

About IRender nXt - 3.7
Great Results
W ith the nXtR e nde r Engine you can cre ate gre at re sults. Save tim e with an
e fficie nt work flow that m ak e s change s e asy. C re ate stunning im age s that wow
your clie nt and he lp you win busine ss.
Im age by Nick Norm an
IRender nXt for Sk e tchUp is base d on com ple te ly ne w te chnology de ve lope d by R oy Hirshk owitz Ente rprise s .
IR e nde r nXt is a de licate balance of e x ce ptional im age re alism , e asy se tup, and quick re sults for de signe rs that don't have
tim e to be re nde ring ge e k s.
Realism
Ex ce ptional re alism is k e y to cle ar com m unication of your de signs from conce pt through to the de tails.
IR e nde r nXt's ne w te chnology brings a ne w le ve l of re alism to your de sign pre se ntations and m ark e ting m ate rials.
Se e for yourse lf. Browse the galle ry of use r ge ne rate d im age s.
Easy to use
You don't ne e d to be a re nde ring ge e k to ge ne rate im pre ssive im age s with IR e nde r nXt.
IR e nde r nXt include s e ve rything you ne e d to ge t starte d quick ly; lighting sce narios, an e x te nsive m ate rial library, and plant
library.
- 73 - About IR e nde r nXt - 3.7

W e do a have fe w buttons for the m ore advance d use rs, but we re com m e nd that you shouldn't touch the m unle ss you are a
ve ry se rious re nde ring ge e k .
Speed
The re are two m e asure s of spe e d, how long did it tak e s you and how long did it tak e s the com pute r. Since your com pute r
doe sn't care about what tim e it is, spe nding tim e with k ids or grandk ids, ge tting out to the be ach or sk i slope s, or m aybe
e ve n drink ing be e r, our prim ary focus is on saving you tim e .
IR e nde r nXt give s you an e arly im age ve ry quick ly, so you can de cide im m e diate ly if you ne e d to m ak e a change to the
vie w, lighting or a m ate rial.
O nce you are happy with the se tup, the n you ge t to de cide how long you want the com pute r to spe nd re fining the im age .
O fte n that is only a fe w m inute s but in som e case s you m ight want to le t the com pute r work ove r night just to se e if you can
te ll m uch diffe re nce in the m orning.
You can e ve n hand the proce ssing off to the nXt re nde r farm on othe r com pute rs while you use your com pute r for othe r
things.
Try it out
Download and install IR e nde r nXt: Downloads
Load "IR e nde r nXt" from the plugins m e nu to ope n the IR e nde r nXt tool bar and pre ss the R e nde r icon.
W ithin a fe w se conds you will se e the im age , but nXt continue s to re fine the im age until you ask it to stop. Afte r a m inute or
two, stop and try som e of the diffe re nt m ate rials and light se tups. Have fun!
Integrated into SketchUp

About IRender nXt - 3.7
IR e nde r nXt is fully inte grate d into Sk e tchUp 7 and Sk e tchUp 8 for W indows.
The Sk e tchUp m ode l that you se e on your scre e n is what will be re nde re d - with the sam e vie w, colors, m ate rials, e tc. You
can re nde r at the Sk e tchUp im age size , or at any othe r im age size de sire d.
IR e nde r nXt runs inside of Sk e tchUp and use s Sk e tchUp’s ge om e try, m ate rial, te x ture s and sun-position to produce a photo-
re alistic im age . In addition, you can add othe r re nde ring fe ature s - such as re fle ction, glow, plants and tre e s to m ak e
spe ctacular im age s.
The final, re nde re d im age can be save d as a JPEG or PNG file . You can also use IR e nde r nXt to produce high quality
anim ations.
Versions
IRender Overview
Sk e tchUp with IR e nde r toolbars
- 75 - About IR e nde r nXt - 3.7

C re ate d by R e nde r nXt , IR e nde r use s the nXtR e nde r re nde ring e ngine - a fast, m ode rn re nde ring e ngine which produce s
profe ssional re sults with a m inim um of e ffort.
A rielVision contains all the fe ature s you ne e d for photore alistic re nde rings from you Sk e tchUp m ode l - lights, re fle ctions,
m ate rials and m ore .
IRender nXt adds additional fe ature s for e ve n be tte r re nde rings - 500 fractal plants, 5,000 high quality m ate rials, advance d
m ate rial se ttings, and m ore .
IRender Features
IR e nde r nXt include s a large num be r of fe ature s which can be use d to fine tune re nde ring for spe cial situations.
Se e : IRender nXt Features - All fe ature s include d in IR e nde r nXt

Se e : IRender Feature Comparison C om parison of Arie lVision and IR e nde r nXt fe ature s.
Tutorials
The tutorials are a good place to start. Le arn how to use the basics of R ay Trace re nde ring - lights and re fle ctions.
The n le arn how to use m ore advance d fe ature s.
Se e Vide o Tutorials be low

Se e othe r: IR e nde r nXt Tutorials
Se e : IR e nde r nXt - Ge tting Starte d
Downloads and Installation

The re is a 30 day Trial Ve rsion for R PS products. This is a fully functional ve rsion, with wate rm ark s or othe r te x t adde d to
indicate that it is a trial ve rsion.
Follow the link s on the Downloads Page to download the late st ve rsion.
Purchase and Other Choices

To purchase IR e nde r, visit: IR e nde r Purchase
IRender nXt is the pe rfe ct solution for high quality re nde ring, and all the advance d fe ature s you ne e d at an affordable price .
If you are look ing for a lowe r cost, e asie r to use product - with fe we r fe ature s, but which can still produce high quality
re nde rings - che ck out A rielVision
IR e nde r nXt is include d in the R e nde r Plus C om bo Pack
Se e Purchase FAQ if you have proble m s orde ring or authorizing the software .
Image Gallery
Se e : Im age Galle ry for sam ple s of use r re nde rings with IR e nde r.

Image Effects - 3.9
Image Effects
Image Effects
Haze
Strength - se t the Stre ngth of the Haze
Near de fine s a distance in Me te rs in front of which no haze will appe ar. Use the < button to se le ct the distance of a
point in the re nde ring.
Far de fine s a distance in Me te rs be hind which full stre ngth haze will appe ar. Use the < button to se le ct the distance of
a point in the re nde ring.
Color use the < button to se le ct a color for the haze .
Depth Blur
Strength - am ount of Blur to apply
Focus - the distance in m e te rs of obje cts in focus. Use the < button to se le ct a point in the im age to be in focus.
In Focus Zone - m e asure d in m e te rs-- it controls the transition zone as we ll.
Blur - you can blur the fore ground (re nde re d im age ), back ground, or both.
Glare
Strength
Threshold
- 77 - Im age Effe cts - 3.9

Options
The Setup Options dialog is use d for se tting in IR e nde r nXt
Setup Options Tab Dialog

The Setup Options dialog is use d for re nde ring se ttings in nXt for R e vit. Se ttings are groupe d in the following tabs:
Presets Lighting Pre se ts and the se ttings the y affe ct
Render R e nde r window size , lights pe r pass, bounce s, e tc.
Lights O ve rride s for Lighting De faults
Sky Sun and Sk y m ode s, colors, and inte nsity
HDRi HDR i Sk y Se ttings
Background Back ground Im age and Ground Plane se ttings
Foreground Fore ground Im age , wate rm ark , or logo
Special Edge Line s and C om pone nts
Image Auto Im age , Im age C om m e nts, W ate rm ark s
R e nde r Se tup Dialog - 3.10 - 78 -

Render Setup Dialog - 3.10
More Load and Save se ttings, Lice nsing
nXt Plants, Se ction Plane s
- 79 - R e nde r Se tup Dialog - 3.10

Ready
Som e IR e nde r R e ady m ode ls in the 3D W are house .
IRender Ready Content
Spe cial colle ction on the Trim ble 3D Warehouse for lights, m irrors and othe r com pone nts which are re ady
for use with IR e nde r.
Lighting, R e fle ction and othe r re nde ring se ttings are alre ady store d int he the C om pone nts.
Se e : IRender Ready Content
IRender Ready is a colle ction on the Trim ble 3D W are house of obje ct, such as light fix ture s, which have lights place d in the m
so the y can be use d dire ctly with IR e nde r
Light Fix ture s

Mirrors
Tre e s
Lights, Mirrors and C om pone nts - 3.11 - 80 -

Lights, Mirrors and Components - 3.11
To vie w and download IR e nde r R e ady m ode ls, visit: IR e nde r R e ady C olle ction on the 3D W are house , or use the ne w IR e nde r
R e ady W izard:
The re is also a Google Group for discussion of the IR e nde r R e ady m ode ls. IR e nde r R e ady Group. Visit it if you would lik e to
m ak e com m e nts or sugge stions for m ode ls for us to m ak e IR e nde r R e ady.
Lights
Mirrors
C ustom Mirrors can also be cre ate d with the Mirror W izard from the R e nde r R e ady W izard.
C re ate Mirror
Trees
- 81 - Lights, Mirrors and C om pone nts - 3.11
Large Trees
Lights, Mirrors and C om pone nts - 3.11 - 82 -

Create Mirror - 3.12
Create Mirror
Create Mirror ( ) will cre ate a m irror com pone nt for you to place in the drawing.
1. Se le ct the C re ate Mirror icon: ( Im age :R e f24.PNG )

2. Se t the m irror param e te rs
3. C lick Create and Place to place the m irror in your drawing
Settings
Mirror type - only re ctangular is available at this tim e .
R e fle ction Pe rce ntage - 95% or 100% is usually good.
He ight, W idth - outside dim e nsions of fram e .
Fram e W idth - width be twe e n the outside of the fram e and the m irror itse lf.
- 83 - C re ate Mirror - 3.12

Fram e Thick ne ss. The fram e will e x te nd in front of the m irror by this am ount/
Fram e C olor - color of fram e
Mirror C olor - any spe cial color for the m irror - de fault white .
Lighting Se ttings - ignore the se for m irrors.
C re ate /Place - cre ate a com pone nt for your m irror and place it in the m ode l.
Mirror created with these settings
C re ate Mirror - 3.12 - 84 -

Material Wizard - 3.13
Material Wizard
The IR e nde r Mate rial W izard m ak e s it e asy to cre ate and e dit m ate rials.
IR e nde r nXt Mate rial W izard
Material Wizard
Applie s re fle ction and transpare ncy dire ctly to Sk e tchUp m ate rials. C hange s are m ade e asily with a slide r
bar.
IR e nde r nXt se ts m ultiple se ttings for a single m ate rial - such a se tting both transpare ncy and inde x of
re fraction for glass m ate rials.
Most com m on re nde ring se ttings for m ate rials can be m ade quick ly in the Mate rial W izard.
For m ore advance d se ttings, or to se e a pre vie w of your se ttings, use the Advance d Mate rial Editor .
The Mate rial W izard is invok e d by right click ing on a Sk e tchUp e ntity which can have a m ate rial, and se le cting: IR e nde r:
C re ate or Edit Mate rial. (If it doe s not have a m ate rial ye t, a ne w one will be cre ate d.)
- 85 - Mate rial W izard - 3.13

It is also invok e d from the Se le ct Mate rial wizard which allows you to se le ct Sk e tchUp m ate rials, add the m to you m ode l, and
e dit the ir re nde ring prope rtie s - All be fore placing the m ate rials on face s.
Defaults
Mate rial De faults
For m any standard m ate rials, you can use one of the Mate rial De faults on the le ft of the Mate rial W izard:
Matte
- no re fle ction, transpare ncy or spe cial prope rtie s
Thin or Thick Glass - 90% transpare nt.
Thin should be use d for glass cre ate d with a single face .
Thick should be use d for glass with two face s - one for e ach side .
Plastic - low transpare ncy, and som e what blurry

Reflective - m e dium re fle ction
Metal - highly re fle ctive , with Me tallic highlights.
Mirror - 100% re fle ctive
Shade - cre ate s a Transluce nt lam p shade
Glow - cre ate s a m ate rial which glows lik e a light
Main Tab
Mate rial W izard - 3.13 - 86 -

Base Color - se t the color or m ate rials without a te x ture .
Reflection and Highlight' The two slide rs com bine to de fine the am ount of re fle ction and the sharpne ss of re fle ction.
Metallic - highlight are re fle cte d in the color of the re fle ctive m ate rial.
(O the rwise highlights are re fle cte d in white )

Se e : Me tallic R e fle ction
Glossy - highlights are othe r re fle ctions are blurry.
Se e : * Glossy R e fle ction
No Light Source Reflections - doe s not show re fle ctions of lights.
Se e : No Light Source R e fle ctions
Intensity of the re fle ction. 1.000 is fully re fle ctive .
Sharpness - value s le ss than 1.000 cre ate blurry re fle ctions
See also
Mate rial Se ttings - R e fle ction

Highlighting
Transparency Tab

Transparency - this will be use d to se t the transpare ncy in Sk e tchUp as we ll.

Refraction this is the am ount that light is distorte d as it passe s through thick glass.
Translucency allows light to pass through the m ate rial, but not visibility - as with a lam p shade .
Special Properties
Daylight de fine s any face containing this m ate rial as a Daylight Portal - which doe s a m uch be tte r job of re nde ring
sunlight and sk y which illum inate s inte rior sce ne s.
Caustic - de fine s the m ate rial as caustic which produce s prism lik e e ffe cts whe n light passe s through the m ate rial.
Thick de fine s the face s containing the m ate rial as thick . This should be use d whe ne ve r m ore than a single face is use d
to de fine glass - se parate d by a distance to re pre se nt the thick ne ss of the glass. Se e : Thin - Thick
Monte Carlo - se ts a spe cial light dispe rsion m ode . (W e have n't se e n a good e x am ple of this work ing ye t.)
Gather - se ts a spe cial light dispe rsion m ode . (W e have n't se e n a good e x am ple of this work ing ye t.)
More Sliders
C lick the More button to display additional spe cial transpare ncy se ttings:
A ttenuation
Dispersion
Saturation
Texture Tab

Se ts spe cial bum p e ffe cts.
Each bum p e ffe ct has spe cial se ttings which de fine it.
A uto Bump
the Bum p stre ngth should be be twe e n -5.0 and 5.0

The C olor stre ngth de fine s how m uch of the color of the bum p te x ture is use d as part of the m ate rial de finition.
For pure bum p m aps, (which de fine the de pth of the m ate rial, but not the patte rn), this should be 0. If you are
using a te x ture - such as stucco - as both a te x ture and a bum p m ap, you should se t this to 1.
Se e : Autom atic Bum p Maps
Procedural Bumps The re are 5 proce dural bum ps which can be use d to give your m ate rial (with or without te x ture s) a
diffe re nt appe arance .
Each Bum p type has param e te rs to change its size , e tc.

Se e : Proce dural Bum p Maps

A Pyram id bum p was applie d to the salt shak e r, and a sandpape r bum p was
applie d to the pe ppe r shak e r.
Glow Tab
Se lf Glow
Self Glow illum inate s a surface as if it had light shining on it, without actually m ak ing it a light. For obje cts
which you want to appe ar bright, but which don't ne e d to illum inate othe r obje cts, this is m uch faste r than
m ak ing lights out of the m .
De fine s a m ate rial which glows with Self Glow, or acts as a light with Illumination.
Illuminance - the face s which contain this te x ture will act as lights.
Se t the de sire d W attage
Self Glow - the face glows, but doe s not illum inate othe r surface s. This is the be st se tting or Ne on lights.
Se t the glow pe rce ntage - 0 to 100%

Se e also: Glow
Advanced
Mate rial W izard - Advance d
Se ts m ultiple se ttings for a single m ate rial - such a se tting both transpare ncy and inde x of re fraction for
glass m ate rials.
The A dvanced button loads the nXt A dvanced Material Editor which allows you to place additional, advance d se ttings on your
m ate rial.
Som e of the tabs are the sam e as the Tab se ction of the Mate rial W izard. Som e of the tabs have additional fe ature s.
Se e : Advance d Mate rial Editor

Background Wizard
The Background Wizard is the part of the Im age Laye r W izard which is use d to position and adjust back ground im age s.
Background Wizard
The Background Wizard m ak e s it e asy to position your re nde re d m ode l in a back ground, and to re m e m be r the se ttings for
future re nde rings.
To invok e the Back ground W izard, se le ct Preview/Position from the Back ground Tab.
+ - and Zoom A ll
zoom in and zoom out on the im age
Video
C he ck out the Back ground W izard Vide o
Background Positioning
The Background Wizard m ak e s it e asy to position your re nde re d m ode l in a back ground, and to re m e m be r the se ttings for
future re nde rings.
Show Full Background
W he n che ck e d you can se e the full back ground im age , outside of the re nde re d im age , and use the handle s to stre tch
or scale the back ground.
Background Positioning
The se vale s show the offse ts and scale s which are applie d to the re nde ring e ngine whe n positioning the back ground.
Maintain A spect Ratio
if this is che ck e d, the n the whe n stre tching the im age , the original aspe ct ration will be m aintaine d.
A djust Center Line to Horizon
If che ck e d the n the im age will be scale d and offse t so that the horizontal ce nte r line of the im age m atche s the horizon
of the curre nt pe rspe ctive vie w.
The im age is scale d and positione d so that it still fills the e ntire back ground of the re nde re d im age .
Se e : Horizon
Distortion
O ff - Back ground is always re ctangular
Pe rspe ctive - R ight and Le ft side can be e x pande d or re duce d to product a pe rspe ctive e ffe ct.
Full - all four corne r points can be change d inde pe nde ntly
Reset
R e se ts to the de fault value s
Distortion and Perspective
Distortion allows you to alte r the back ground im age to be tte r m atch the pe rspe ctive in your m ode l.
Back ground W izard - 3.14 - 92 -

Background Wizard - 3.14
In Pe rspe ctive Distortion, the le ft and rights side s of the im age are always k e pt ve rtical, and whe n you m ove one corne r up or
down, the othe r corne r on the sam e side is m ove d by the sam e am ount.
This ofte n m ak e it e asy to m atch the back ground im age to a pe rspe ctive vie w. If you want m ore control se le ct Full Distortion
which le ts you m ove all 4 corne rs inde pe nde ntly.
Background Image placed behind perspective wall and windows.

The lack of pe rspe ctive in the back ground clashe s with the pe rspe ctive of the windows.
Se le ct Pe rspe ctive Distortion to le t you distort the back ground to m atch the pe rspe ctive vie w.
A djust right hand corners to add perspective to background

As you m ove one corne r up or down, the othe r corne r is autom atically m ove d to m atch.
- 93 - Back ground W izard - 3.14

By dragging the right hand center handle, all three right hand handles are moved together.
In thre e e asy ste ps, the back ground now m atche d the pe rspe ctive vie w.
Back ground W izard - 3.14 - 94 -

Sample Models - 3.15
Load Sample
C lick the Load Sample icon ( ) to load a sam ple drawing.
- 95 - Sam ple Mode ls - 3.15

SketchUp Animation
Anim ation
Anim ation or your IR e nde r nXt im age is cre ate d by re nde ring sce ne s, m oving the cam e ra, and re nde ring
the ne x t fram e .
Se e : Anim ation
A nimation is the film ing a se que nce of drawings or positions of m ode ls to cre ate an illusion of m ove m e nt. It is an optical
illusion of m otion due to the phe nom e non of pe rsiste nce of vision.
High quality anim ations of Sk e tchUp m ode ls can be m ade with IRender nXt . In IR e nde r nXt anim ation is cre ate d by
re nde ring sce ne s, m oving the cam e ra, and re nde ring the ne x t fram e . W e pass the re nde re d sce ne s to Q uick Tim e to cre ate a
.AVI m ovie . (O r as an option, you can cre ate a .JPG im age for e ach fram e and asse m ble the m into a m ovie late r.)
Se e : IR e nde r nXt Tutorial - Anim ation
Anim ation - 3.16 - 96 -

Chapter 4 - Rendering Toolbar
Render Toolbar Functions

IRender nXt Toolbar Functions
These are the functions for each of the buttons on the Render Dialog Toolbar:
- Load the A bout dialog
- Im age Filte rs and Tone O pe rator - Adjust Im age Brightne ss, C ontrast, Burn, and Saturation or apply othe r
filte rs.
- Brightness Control - Adjust the brightne ss without loading the Tone O pe rator
dialog
- Save the re nde re d im age to a JPEG or PNG file . Se e : Saving R e nde re d Im age
- C opy re nde re d im age to clipboard
- Zoom All - This button will toggle the re nde r display be twe e n showing the actual pix e ls and filling the
curre nt window.
- Vie w R otate - C hange Vie w and re -re nde r.
- R e nde r Se tup Dialog - C hange Se tup O ptions be fore re starting the re nde re r.
- R e nde r Mate rial Dialog - C hange Mate rials be fore re starting the re nde re r.
- 97 - C hapte r 4 - R e nde ring Toolbar

Afte r changing Se tup O ptions or Mate rials, use the Start R e nde r button to se e the change s.
- Lighting C hanne ls - adjust the inte nsity of sun, sk y or groups of lights dire ctly.
- Im age Effe cts - Switch to nXtIm age Form at for spe cial e ffe cts - R e al Tim e Haze , De pth Blur and Glare
- R e sum e R e nde ring - Use the R e sum e button to add m ore passe s to a re nde ring which has be e n
com ple te d. Se e : R e sum e R e nde ring .
- Start R e nde ring - This button is re d while the re nde re r is proce ssing. It will turn gre e n whe n the re nde ring
in finishe d. C lick on the re d button to stop the re nde ring. C lick on the gre e n button to re start the re nde ring.
- R e nde r Farm - se e the status of the R e nde r Farm - or re start it.
C hapte r 4 - R e nde ring Toolbar - 98 -

Image Filters - 4.1
Image Filters
Image Filters
Image Filters can be use d to sharpe n your re nde re d im age or apply othe r standard filte rs.
Image Filters are use d to sharpe n up your re nde re d im age or apply othe r filte rs afte r re nde ring with nXtR e nde r Batch .
Use the Tone O pe rator /Filte rs icon to launch the filte rs wizard afte r the re nde ring has starte d, (or is com ple te .)
Settings:
Se e : Tone O pe rator for Tone O pe ration slide rs.

Undo / Redo - re m ove or re store filte rs you have applie d.
Remember Filters - if this is che ck e d, the n the filte rs will
be re m e m be re d and re applie d the ne x t tim e you re nde r this m ode l.
Reset - re se t Tone O pe rator or Filte rs to the de fault value s.
Reset A ll - re se t both Tone O pe rator or Filte r se ttings.
Original Image
O riginal Im age
- 99 - Im age Filte rs - 4.1

A Brick House downloade d from the 3D ware house - with an nXtR e nde r tre e and an HDR i back ground sk y.
O riginal re nde ring - 32 passe s.
Sharpen
Sharpe n Filte r
Software sharpe ning cre ate s e nhance d sharpne ss by m ak ing the e dge s m ore contrasty. The algorithm notice s whe n colors or
inte nsitie s change in the im age and sharpe ns up the transitions.
Just a little sharpe ning can add de tail to a re nde ring.
Soften
Im age Filte rs - 4.1 - 100 -

Image Filters - 4.1
Softe n Filte r
Softe ning sm ooths out the transitions at "e dge s" - whe re the color or the inte nsity change s.
Smooth
The Sm ooth Filte r ble nds pix e ls toge the r to cre ate a sm oothe r im age .
O ne good application is whe n the re are unre solve d pix e ls from the Path Trace r. The se will re solve be tte r with m ore passe s.
Howe ve r, som e tim e , the Sm ooth filte r can he lp sm ooth out the im age .
(This re nde ring has Volum e tric Fog applie d.)

Fog sce ne afte r 42 passe s with Path Trace r - no Filte rs.
Sam e sce ne afte r applying Sm ooth Filte r. Notice that m any of the unre solve d
pix e ls are sm oothe d out.

Image Filters - 4.1
Gamma
Gam m a Filte r
Gamma filte ring change s the inte nsitie s of colors to work be tte r whe n displaye d on a C R T scre e n.
In the e arly days of te le vision it was discove re d that C R T's do not produce a light inte nsity that is proportional to the input
voltage . Inste ad, the inte nsity produce d by a C R T is proportional to the input voltage raise d to the powe r gamma. The value
of gam m a varie s de pe nding on the C R T, but is usually close to 2.5. In othe r words, the blue on one scre e n m ight we ll not be
the sam e as the blue on anothe r scre e n. A gam m a filte r atte m pts to corre ct for this.
For im age s which will be displaye d on the we b, you m ay want to add a gam m a filte r of about 2.5.
Gaussian

Gaussian 5x 5 Filte r
A Gaussian Filte r provide s sm oothing ove r a wide r range (3 x 3 or 5 x 5) of pix e ls.
Emboss

Image Filters - 4.1
Em boss Filte r
The Em boss filte r cre ate s the e ffe ct that an im age is e m bosse d into a thin m e tal plate
Edge

Edge Filte r
The Edge Filte r re cognize s e dge line s and displays only the e dge line s.

Save and Copy Rendered Image - 4.3
Saving Rendered Image
Saving Rendered Image C lick the Save button on the IR e nde r Toolbar to Save your Rendered Image
Image Formats
You can save the R e nde re d Im age in m any diffe re nt form ats:
JPEG - with and without com m e nts - JPG form at com pre sse s to the sm alle st disk file - with som e loss of quality due to
com pre ssion.
W he n you save to standard JPG form at - the se ttings you use d to cre ate your re nde ring are save d in the im age
file . This can be use ful if you want to cre ate othe r im age s late r with the sam e se ttings and cannot re m e m be r
what the y we re . Se e : IR e nde r More Tab
PNG file s - com pre sse d and no loss of quality.
The Transpare nt PNG option save s the im age with the back ground transpare nt. It can the be paste d on top of
othe r back grounds to cre ate spe cial e ffe cts.
Native nXt Im age - nXtIm age form at contains the inte nsitie s, de pths and m ate rials of e ach pix e l and can be use d with
the nXt Im age Editor for spe cial e ffe cts.
HDR i - save s the re nde ring im age with an inte nsity channe l which can be use d in high-e nd paint program s, or use d as
- 107 - Save and C opy R e nde re d Im age - 4.3

a HDR i back ground or HDR i sk y.
EXR - anothe r form at with inte nsity inform ation.
Action after image is saved

Do nothing
O pe n File - using application de fine d be low the se choice s
O pe n Folde r - ope n im age folde r in W indows Ex plore r
Application to open file

Navigate the the folde r containing the .EXE you want to use to vie w the im age .
Other Functions
Auto Image
Use che ck box to e nable auto im age - which autom atically save s the re nde re d im age afte r re nde ring.
Copy
C opy im age to the clipboard.
Create PDF
Use the im age to cre ate a PDF pre se ntation with a re nde re d im age and an inte ractive 3D vie wport.
This is a sub-se t of the functions in R PS 3D PDF.
Se e : C re ate PDF for de tails on how to de fine and cre ate the PDF file .
Save and C opy R e nde re d Im age - 4.3 - 108 -

Change View - 4.4
Rotate View While Rendering

Rotate View While Rendering
- The View Rotate re nde ring toolbar button le ts you change the vie w and zoom afte r re nde ring,
and re -re nde r without having to change the vie w in Sk e tchUp, re -e x tract and re -re nde r the m ode l.
W hile changing vie ws, the original m ode l from Sk e tchUp is shown with its Sk e tchUp colors and te x ture s.
C hange the vie w as de sire d and re -re nde r whe n done .
Se e : Rotate View While Rendering
Functions
- O rbit vie w
- Pan with m ouse drag
- Zoom with m ouse drag
- Zoom All
- Zoom W Indow
- R e store pre vious vie w.
- R e -re nde r with curre nt vie w
- Save curre nt vie w as style for loading late r.
- Load save d vie w
Sample Usage
In this se que nce we are using the Vie w R otate function to zoom in on an are a of the re nde re d vie w and re -re nde r it at a
sm alle r re solution.
1. Afte r R e nde ring, Se le ct the Vie w/R otate icon to load the Vie w/R otate window.
- 109 - C hange Vie w - 4.4

2. C hange the vie w as de sire d - he re we are using the Zoom -W indow function to zoom in on an are a of the original re nde ring.
C hange Vie w - 4.4 - 110 -

Change View - 4.4
3. W e could se le ct Render to re -re nde r with the ne w vie w, but we want to change the scre e n size , so we will se le ct C lose to
re turn to the re nde ring window.
- 111 - C hange Vie w - 4.4

4. He re we are se tting a custom re nde ring size of 400 x 400
C hange Vie w - 4.4 - 112 -

Change View - 4.4
5. This is the ne w sm alle r re nde ring of the clippe d are a.
- 113 - C hange Vie w - 4.4

C hange Vie w - 4.4 - 114 -

Lighting Channels - 4.5
Lighting Channels
Lighting Channels
Lighting C hanne ls is an im portant ne w fe ature of IR e nde r nXt which le ts you quick ly adjust light source s. By
assigning channe ls to sun, sk y, and groups of lights, you can quick ly adjust the inte nsity of e ach channe l
with a slide bar and im m e diate ly se e the e ffe ct on the final re nde ring.
You can quick ly adjust the inte nsity of e ach channe l with a slide bar and im m e diate ly se e the e ffe ct on the
final re nde ring. This will save s tim e both in de te rm ining the re lative inte nsitie s to use for light source s and
in fine tuning the final im age be fore publication.
In Ve rsion 3.5, Lighting C hanne ls are inte grate d into the Batch R e nde re r, as we ll as use d se parate ly with
the nXt Im age Editor.
Lighting C hanne ls Vide o

Balance d Lighting Tutorial
Lighting Channels is an im portant ne w fe ature of IR e nde r nXt which le ts you quick ly adjust light source s - sun, sk y and/or
artificial lighting - individually quick ly to balance the brightne ss and light balance of your re nde ring.
Now: Fully Integrated into the Batch R e nde re r
You can quick ly adjust the inte nsity of e ach channe l with a slide bar and im m e diate ly se e the e ffe ct on the final re nde ring.
This will save s tim e both in de te rm ining the re lative inte nsitie s to use for light source s and in fine tuning the final im age
be fore publication.
W hile re nde ring, or afte r the re nde ring is com ple te d, you can use the Lighting C hanne l W izard to m odify the re nde re d im age
by changing the inte nsitie s of the lighting channe ls. You can the n adjust the inte nsity of the light source s, or save the Lighting
C hanne l sttings to re use the sam e channe ls in future re nde rings.
Q uick ly adjust the final re nde ring to ge t the lighting e ffe cts de sire d.
Adjust both the sun and sk y to cre ate dusk , or nighttim e re nde rings.
Add 'se lf glow' to obje cts - such as TV m onitors, or illum inate s signs, and adjust the m the balance with the re st of the
sce ne .
Save tim e by not having to re -re nde r afte r lighting inte nsity change s.
To le arn m ore about Lighting C hanne ls, se e the R e nde r Plus Videos and Tutorials|Videos and Tutorials.
Lighting C hanne ls Vide o

Balance d Lighting Tutorial
- 115 - Lighting C hanne ls - 4.5

Settings
Channels to use
For norm al re nde rings, things will go faste r if you use just one channe l. (If individual lights are se t to value s large r than this
num be r, the y will be re nde re d in channe l 0)
Default Channels
De fault channe ls are se t on the Light Se tup tab.
The de faults are :
Sun: 0
Sk y: 1
C e iling Lights: 2
O the r Lights: 3
Se lf Glow m ate rials 4
You can change s the se de fault value and/or use the sam e channe ls for othe r lights.
For e x am ple , if you are not using Se lf Glow, you can le ave it se t to channe l 4, but also use channe l 4 for othe r lights.
Individual Lights

The re are up to 8 channe ls available (0 to 7).
You can se t spe cific channe ls for individual lights.
This can be done whe n cre ating the lam p, or as a right click e dit once a lam p is place d.
Changing Lighting Channel Intensities
Lock Autom atic Lum inance to k e e p othe r inte nsitie s the sam e while you adjust Lighting
C hanne ls

1. C lick the Lighting C hanne l Icon at the top of the re nde ring window.( )
2. Nam e the channe ls if de sire d on the dialog.
3. Use the slide rs to adjust the inte nsity of various lighting channe ls.
Norm ally, whe n you change the inte nsity of one Lighting C hanne l, all othe r illum ination will change to com pe nsate .
A utomatic Luminance or Photometrics autom atically adjusts the ove rall inte nsity of your re nde ring, m uch lik e the autom atic
e x posure on a cam e ra.
If you want to adjust Lighting Channels or othe r ite m s without having Photom e trics apply, you can lock the A verage
Luminance on the Tone O pe rator or Filte rs W izard.
Se e : Autom atic Lum inance
Samples
Nighttime Scene
Im age by by C hristophe r Alan Krupp on the IR e nde r nXt forum . Lighting balance d with Lighting C hanne ls.
C lick to vie w full size .
Interior example
This is a m ode l provide d by Boothy for use in our docum e ntation and tutorials
He re are 4 sce ne s from the m ode l using lighting channe ls:
The original re nde ring with de fault channe l inte nsitie s

An e x te rior, sun/sk y only re nde ring
An nighttim e - no sun, dim sk y - re nde ring
A balance d re nde ring adjusting various channe ls.

For m ore e x am ple s of this m ode l, se e : Balance d Lighting Tutorial
Nighttim e - Sun and Sk y turne d off. For an e v

le ave the sun off, but add just a little sk y.
O riginal R e nde ring - all channe ls se t to the de fault inte nsity of 1.0

Balance d Lighting. O the r - (lights outside doo

on the wall) - m ade ve ry inte nse (40.0) for e f
adjuste d to achie ve de sire d e ffe ct.
Daytim e - no inte rior lights. Sk y adjuste d down, be cause at 1.0 it was too bright.
Guidelines
This powe rful fe ature allows you to adjust m any aspe cts of the lighting in your re nde re d im age in re al-tim e , afte r the
re nde ring has be e n produce d. This is accom plishe d by allowing you to cre ate up to 8 lighting "channe ls" in the im age . Each
light source in the drawing, including the sun and sk y, can be assigne d to a channe l. O nce this im age is re nde re d and save d,
e ach channe l can be individually scale d in the nXt Im age Editor. For e x am ple , using this capability, you can produce day and
night inte riors with a single re nde ring. The following five ste ps are ne ce ssary to produce and m anipulate a m ulti-channe l
im age :
1. You m ust te ll nXt how m any channe ls you want. Go to Lights Se tup Tab and se t the num be r de sire d from 1 to 8, or
che ck the "Use all C hanne ls" che ck box .

(Each additional channe l you add re quire s an additional 12 byte s pe r pix e l inte rnally. This is a lot of m e m ory,
particularly for high re solution re nde rings. It m ay not be possible to com ple te your re nde ring on a 32 bit syste m .)
2. You m ust turn on all of the participating lights. Lights which are off will not contribute to the im age and will not be
scalable . Be cause you are re nde ring with m ore lights, it m ay tak e a little longe r.
3. You m ust te ll e ach light source which channe l it be longs to. By de fault, Sun and Sk y are se t to channe ls 0 and 1,
artificial lights to channe ls 2 and 3. You can change s the se de faults on the Lights Se tup Tab. You can also se t
channe ls individually for e ach light. Valid channe ls are 0-7.
A utomatic Luminance
As you adjust the channe ls, Autom atic Lum inance will com pe nsate to k e e p the ove rall brightne ss of the sce ne
constant. All of the tone m apping controls and rule s still apply. For e x am ple , if you're trying to do a night and day
e x te rior using the sam e re nde ring, you will alm ost ce rtainly ne e d to adjust the tone -op brightne ss down for the night
tim e sce ne . O r Lock the Autom atic Lum inance while adjusting the lighting channe ls to k e e p the brightne ss the sam e .

Render Farm
O ve rvie w of R e nde ring Farm logic.
The IR e nde r nXt Render Farm
A R e nde r Farm consists of a group of ne twork e d com pute rs work ing toge the r to com ple te large re nde ring task s. R e nde r farm s
proce e d sile ntly, without graphically displaying the re nde rings as the y progre ss, or you can run the R e nde r Farm Display tool
to display parts of the im age as the y are com ple te d. Using the R e nde r Farm allows you to use m ore com pute powe r for
le ngthy task s at the e x pe nse of som e inte ractivity.
The IR e nde r nXt R e nde r Farm Software is sold se parate ly from IR e nde r nXt itse lf. (Hhowe ve r a 2-C PU R e nde r Farm is
include d with the C om bo Pack ). Also A 30-day 2-C PU trial is available for te sting.
Ne ithe r Sk e tchUp nor IR e nde r nXt itse lf are re quire d on com pute rs which will only be use d for re nde ring farm ing.
Technology
The nXt R e nde r Farm include s four pie ce s of software :
1. IR e nde r nXt is use d to de fine the m ode l to re nde r. The R e nde r Farm can be starte d dire ctly from IR e nde r nXt, or if
you pre fe r to pre vie w the re nde ring first you can start a pre vie w re nde ring (with sm alle r re solution and fe we r passe s),
and the n start the Farm from IR e nde r Batch.
2. The Farm itse lf, (nXt.e x e ornXt64.e x e , running on e ach Farm C PU). This is a ve rsion of the nXt re nde ring e ngine which
R e nde r Farm - 4.6 - 122 -

Render Farm - 4.6
re nde rs ne arly sile ntly, in the back ground, with ve ry little use r inte rface . This portion of the nXt R e nde r Farm Software
can be use d by itse lf, in conjunction with com m e rcial re nde r farm software , for a m ore sophisticate d re nde r farm
solution.
3. nXtFarm e r.e x e (nXtFarm e r64.e x e ) is a sm all e x e cutable that runs on e ach ne twork re nde ring station, waits for jobs to
be ge ne rate d, and starts the Farm Proce ssor.
4. IR e nde rBatch.e x e is a utility program to display re nde rings as the y are com ple te d and save the m as .JPG, .PNG or
.ArIm age file s.
Downloads
You can download the IR e nde r nXt R e nde r Farm software from the McNe e l nXt Forum :
R e nde r Farm Downloads
Be sure to download the ve rsion to m atch your ope rating syste m (32 bit or 64 bit)
Note:Do not purchase a Render Farm directly from McNeel. To use the Render Farm with IRender nXt, you need to purchase the Render
Farm and interface software from Render Plus. Se e : R e nde r Farm Purchase
License and Purchase

You can use a 2-C PU R e nde r Farm in trial m ode for 30 days.
Afte r 30 days, you will ne e d to purchase a 2-C PU Lice nse , or an unlim ite d C PU lice nse , from R e nde r Plus.
The 2-C PU Lice nse for the R e nde r Farm is also include d in the R e nde r Plus C om bo Pack .
Se e : R e nde r Farm Purchase
Installing and Configuring the Render Farm

C re ate a share d folde r for use by the re nde r farm . (C re ate a folde r on a m achine which is acce ssable by all the othe r
m achine s which will proce ss or use the R e nde r Farm )
All of the ne twork re nde ring com pute rs m ust have re ad/write acce ss to this folde r. The share d folde r should have a lot of
available disk space to store both data (input) and im age s (output.) 20 - 200 GB of available storage are re com m e nde d. You
m ust pe rform the following four ste ps on e ach com pute r you plan to use in the re nde r farm , including any nXt work stations
which will subm it jobs to the re nde r farm :
1. Install the nXt R e nde r Farm Software .

2. From the Start m e nu, run the R e nde r Farm e r on e ach m achine . The R e nde r Farm e r will appe ar as an icon in the
syste m tray.
3. R ight click on the icon and se le ct R e store . A window title nXt Farm e r should appe ar.
4. Se le ct O ptions→Path… from the m e nu and se le ct the path to the re nde r farm . The Farm e r window can now be
m inim ize d to the tray.
The R e nde r Farm is now configure d. To ve rify that the farm e r m achine s are re sponding run the R e nde r Farm Monitor from the
Start m e nu on any of the work stations. The m achine s should appe ar in the Configure Machines window. If you wish to e x clude
a m achine from participating in the re nde r farm , you can se le ct it, right click , and choose Suspe nd.
Submitting a Job to the Render Farm

The re are two m ode s to start a R e nde r Farm job:
1. Start the Farm dire ctly from Sk e tchUp, or

2. Do a pre vie w re nde r first, and start the Farm from IR e nde rBatch.
Submitting a Farm job directly from SketchUp

Pe rform the following ste ps to subm it a job to the re nde r farm :
1. C onfigure your m ode l and re nde ring param e te rs in the usual way.
2. Pre ss the Farm button on the toolbar to show R e nde r Farm param e te rs.
3. C hoose to e ithe r run the job Start Now, Manual, or Start at Specified Time. If you choose "Manual" you will ne e d to
use the nXt R e nde r Farm Monitor to m anually start the job. Se e : Se tup be low.
4. Maximum Tasks to Farm Out de te rm ine s how m any sub-task s to slice the job into. Se e : [#Se tup|Se tup]] be low.
Afte r the job is com ple te , output can be found in the job's O utput folde r.
- 123 - R e nde r Farm - 4.6

Preview the rendering first
1. Start your re nde ring norm ally from Sk e tchUp. (Pe rhaps at a sm alle r re solution or with fe we r passe s)
2. Ex am ine the re nde ring. Mak e change s to m ate rials, se ttings, e tc. if de sire d
3. Use Farm Icon to start the Farm from IR e nde r Batch.
Submitting a Render Farm Job
The R e nde r Farm Se ttings W izard use d to de fine se ttings for the Render Farm and to start re nde ring a m ode l with the Farm .
Render Farm Job Name
Nam e the job or acce pt the de fault. The date and tim e is autom atically pre -pe nde d to the nam e you choose . A sub-
folde r for the job is cre ate d in the R e nde r Farm share d folde r. An O utput folde r is also cre ate d in the ne w job folde r.
Render Image Size
This is the size which will be use d for the R e nde r Farm re nde ring.
Stop rendering after
You m ust spe cify how m any passe s to use be fore stopping the re nde ring.
The re is corre sponding se tting for a tim e lim it.
Maximum tasks to farm out
Your job will be slice d up into this m any task s.

Typically a num be r e qual to 1X, 2X or 2.5X the num be r of Farm m achine s available will be a good choice .
That way the faste r proce ssors can proce ss m ore task s and the slowe r proce ssors will not proce ss as m any.
R e nde r Farm - 4.6 - 124 -

Render Farm - 4.6
(If you have 4 R e nde r farm Proce ssors, se t this to 10)
Use A uto Image
The .nXtIm age and .JPG (or .PNG) file will autom atically be cre ate d whe n the task is com ple te .
(This is probably not working yet)
Render Farm Mode
Start Now - the R e nde r Farm will be starte d im m e diate ly (afte r e x tracting and pre paring the m ode l.)
Manual - The m ode l will be e x tracte d and proce sse d, but you will have to activate it late r in the Farm Monitor.
Start at Specified Time - e nte r a date and tim e for starting the job.
Start Farm Monitor
Starts the Farm Monitor, or give s it focus if it is alre ady running.

The Farm Monitor shows the status of curre nt Farm re nde rings.
Launch Farm Displayer
If this is se t, the R e nde r Farm Display window will stay up afte r the job is starte d. This window will display e ach slice of the
re nde ring as it com ple te s.
If this is unche ck e d, you will have to use the Start Farm Monitor button to track progre ss of the R e nde r Farm and display
partial, or com ple te d im age s.
Start
C lick Start afte r you have m ade any change s to the se ttings to start the R e nde r Farm proce ss.
Se e : R e nde r Farm Monitor
Fequently Asked Questions

I am not se e ing the farm icon in m y toolbar. It is tick e d in the toolbar config are a and I have the farm software
installe d. W hat e lse do I ne e d to do?
Have you installe d the R e nde r Farm on the m achine whe re you are running Sk e tchUp.
Eve n if the m achine running Sk e tchUp is not gong to be use d as an active farm , the farm ne e ds to be installe d.
- 125 - R e nde r Farm - 4.6

Render Tab
Render tab
The Render Tab le ts you se t re nde ring size and quality.
Render Image Size
Use Me dium for sam ple re nde rings until you ge t lighting and othe r things se t for your m ode l.
Proce ssing tim e and m e m ory usage are dire ctly (line arly) re late d to the total num be r of pix e ls in your
re nde ring. The highe r the re solution, the longe r the re nde ring will tak e and the m ore m e m ory it will re quire .
Stop Rendering A fter
No Limit - che ck to re nde r inde finite ly (until you stop the re nde ring)
Se t passe s to 40 (de fault), 20, or le ss while te sting lighting and appe arance .
Se t e ithe r se tting to 0 to disable that lim it.

Sce ne s with re fle cte d light and/or are a lights will im prove the longe r you le t the m re nde r.
A utosave - if not 0, the n an im age of your re nde ring is save d afte r e ve ry N passe s.
Lights per Pass
R e nde ring Se tup - 5.2 - 126 -

Rendering Setup - 5.2
Using all lights (100%) in e ve ry pass, will le t you se e the e ffe cts of all lights in the first pass, but will tak e a long tim e .
Using about 33% (1/3rd) of the lights pe r pass se e m s to work be st - adjust as ne e de d.
Engine
Se le ct the re nde ring e ngine for re nde ring.
Pack e ts
Path Trace r
Se e : nXt Path Trace r
Render Quality
Quick Draft is about 4 tim e s faste r and should be use d, along with a sm alle r re nde ring size while you are work ing on
your m ode l.
High products a full, high quality re nde ring.
Refractive Bounces
This spe cifie s how m any tim e light is proce ss whe n re fracting through click glass.
3 is usually O K. Howe ve r, if you have sce ne s with glass case s, or thick glaze d windows, you m ay ne e d to
incre ase it to 8 or m ore .
Reflective Bounces
De te rm ine s how m any tim e re fle ction is proce sse d.
6 is a good de fault.
Use highe r num be rs for spe cial situations, or lowe r value s to spe e d up re nde ring whe n only 1 or 2 le ve ls of
re fle ction are re quire d.
nXtRender Batch Settings
Se ts folde rs and options for nXtR e nde r Batch.

W ill also allow you to com ple te the re nde ring proce ss on othe r com pute rs.
Se e : nXtR e nde r Batch
Show Settings before rendering - loads a dialog of re nde ring se tting be fore re nde ring so you can che ck your se ttings.
- 127 - R e nde ring Se tup - 5.2

Lights Tab
Lights Tab
Light Balance
Se ts the balance be twe e n Am bie nt light and light from lam ps and light fix ture s,
Afte r changing this value , you m ust pe rform a full re nde r - not just a re fre sh re nde ring.
Se e : Am bie nt Light
Lights Query and Edit Lights in Model Loads the Lights Q ue ry & Edit W izard to find and e dit lights in the m ode l.
Settings
Show Light Bulbs

Process light bulbs on invisible layers
Use Indirect Lighting and Bounces - Se e : Indire ct Lighting
A rtificial Lighting - Turn this off to not use the illum ination of lam ps in the m ode l.
Use camera lights when rendering
The cam e ra_light com pone nt will be aligne d to the cam e ra while re nde ring, and the n hidde n again afte r the
re nde ring is com ple te .
Se e : C am e ra Light
Lighting Channels
Lighting Se tup - 5.3 - 128 -

Lighting Setup - 5.3
Se ts the num be r of channe ls to use and de fault channe ls for groups of lights. Se e : Lighting C hanne ls
Set Lighting Channels
Se ts the nam e s of the lighting channe ls.
- 129 - Lighting Se tup - 5.3

HDRi Tab
HDRi Tab
HDRI Sky Image
Se le ct an im age to use for an HDR I Sk y - e ithe r as an actual sk y, or for illum ination and re fle ctions.
HDRi Rotation - e nte r the de gre e s of rotation for the sk y.
HDRi Intensity - e nte r the inte nsity for the sk y. (0.0 to 1.0)
HDR I Sk y Se tup - 5.4 - 130 -

Background Setup - 5.5
Background Tab
Background Tab
The Back ground Tab is use d to de fine back ground im age and also for Ground Plane m ate rials.
Background Image
C lick Browse to se le ct an im age to use for the back ground.

C lick Clear to cle ar the back ground im age .
Background Visibility
Visible - im age is visible (will ove rride any sk y se ttings)

Reflected - im age is re fle cte d in windows.
Background Projection
This de te rm ine s how the im age is proje cte d onto the sk y of back ground.
Flat
Cylindrical
Spherical
Create Planar HDR i Image
C onve rts a norm al im age to a HDR i back ground im age .

Se e : Planar HDR i Back grounds
Clear
C le ar out Back ground Im age
Browse
Se le ct HDR i Im age from disk
Positioning
Offsets and Scales
Use the Im age Laye r W izard to size and position the back ground im age and se t the se value s.
Rotation
for C ylindrical and Sphe rical Proje ctions.
if this is not che ck e d, the back ground im age is stre tche d to fill the scre e n.
Se e : Horizon
- 131 - Back ground Se tup - 5.5

Reset
R e se ts O ffse ts, Scale s and R otation.
Preview/Position
Loads the Back ground W izard to e asily position and scale the back ground im age .
Se e : Back ground Im age for e x am ple s.
Ground Plane Settings
On - turns on the Ground Plane

A lpha Channel - m ak e s the ground plane transpare nt, but shows the shadows on the ground.
Se e : Alpha C hanne l
Elevation - se t the e le vation of the ground plane .
Se e : Ground Plane
Ground Plane Material
From the Background Tab you can de fine and e dit m ate rials for the Ground Plane .
This le ts you apply a grass te x ture for land, or a Proce dural Bum p Map and re fle ction to e m ulate wate r.
Se e : Background Tab
A lpha Transparent Ground Plane
W ith an Alpha Transpare nt Ground Plane , you can save the re nde ring as an Alpha Transpare nt im age , and the ground
plane will be transpare nt. Howe ve r, shadows on the ground will be visible . This can be use d to place the ground plane
im age on top of a back ground im age and still se e whe re the shadows would appe ar. (O f course this work s be st if you
are placing he im age on a flat surface .)
Back ground Se tup - 5.5 - 132 -

Special Setup - 5.6
Special Tab
Special Options Tab
Edge Lines
Norm ally e dge line s are not displaye d as part of the R ay Trace re nde ring.
No Edge Lines - Do not include e dge line s
A ll Edges - include all e dge line s
Orphans Only - this displays only e dge s which are not attache d to face s. (Som e plant com pone nts use e dge line s,
which are not conne cte d to face s, to re pre se nt branche s and twigs. If you are using the se type of plant com pone nts
(not AccuR e nde r plants), the n se t Edge lines to display Orphans only.)
A ll with material set - will only include e dge s with a m ate rial se t. This can be use d whe n you want only som e e dge s -
such as a ce iling grid - to re nde r. Put a m ate rial on the e dge in Sk e tchUp and che ck this option.
Pixel Width - se ts the approx im ate width of the e dge s in pix e ls.
Note : Sk e tchUp has additional e dge se ttings for Profile , De pth C ue and Ex te nsion e dge s. IR e nde r doe s not e m ulate
the se spe cial e dge line se ttings.
A utomatically Expand Proxy Components
Prox y C om pone nts contain a HI-PO LY and a LO W -PO LY laye r. The LO W -PO LY laye r can be use d for display in
Sk e tchUp, and IR e nde r nXt will autom atically re nde r using the HI-PO LY laye r.
- 133 - Spe cial Se tup - 5.6

Se e : Prox y C om pone nts
Process 2 sided faces
Never - O ne m ate rial pe r face . This is the faste st m ode for re nde ring. W e will use the m ate rial assigne d to the front
face , if m ate rials are assigne d to both the front and back face s. This re quire s that the m ode l has be e n cre ate d so that
the m ate rials that you se e are on the front side s of the face s.
When Front and Back materials are both defined for a face - Two m ate rials pe r face , only if the se is a m ate rial, othe r
than the de fault m ate rial, assigne d to both side s.
A lways - This m ode will always use the m ate rials shown in Sk e tchUp for both side s of a face , e ve n if one of the
m ate rials is the de fault m ate rial. This m ode will re quire the m ost proce ssing tim e , but will e nsure that you will se e the
e x act sam e m ate rials that you se e in Sk e tchUp.
Image Processing
Lights per pass - this de te rm ine s how m any lights will be proce sse d pe r re nde ring pass. The de fault is 33%. You can
change the pe rce ntage or e nte r a spe cific num be r so that m ore (or fe we r) lights are proce sse d pe r pass. (O f course ,
e ach re nde ring pass will tak e longe r with m ore lights, and you will ne e d m ore re nde ring passe s with fe we r lights.)
Se e : Lights Pe r Pass
Reflective Bounces - de te rm ine s how m any tim e re fle ctions are proce sse d. For e x am ple whe n a m irror re fle cts anothe r
m irror or a re fle ctive surface .
The de fault is 3. More bounce s can tak e appre ciably m ore tim e to re nde r if you have a lot of re fle ctive surface s.
No Blurry reflections - norm ally re fle ctions are a little blurry to e m ulate actual surface re fle ction.
This se tting e lim inate s the blurrine ss applie d to re fle ctions - which was im ple m e nte d to m ak e the m se e m ore re alistic.
Refractive Bounces - de te rm ine s how m any tim e re fractions are proce sse d. For e x am ple whe n a transpare nt surface
vie ws anothe r transpare nt surface .
The de fault is 3.
Max. Texture Size
If you spe cify a m ax im um re solution for im age s, the n any im age s which are large r than this will be re duce d to this
size .
If you find that the m ode l is too large to re nde r, you m ight lowe r the de fault value from 1,000 pix e ls in width.
O r if you find that an im age you place on a plane is losing re solution, you can incre ase the num be r
Se e : Te x ture R e solution
Spe cial Se tup - 5.6 - 134 -

Image Setup - 5.7
Image Tab
Image Tab
A uto Image
A uto Image is a fe ature in IR e nde r nXt which will autom atically save an im age of your re nde ring whe n it is com ple te .
This is use ful, be cause it you start a re nde ring in the back ground, and inadve rte ntly close Sk e tchUp without re alizing
that the re nde ring is com ple te , the n the re nde ring will be lost. A uto Image can be use d to autom atically save the
im age on disk whe n it is com ple te d.
Settings
Use A uto Image - turns on the use of Auto Im age

Prompt before Rendering - loads a dialog be fore re nde ring to re vie w and change se ttings
A utosave Image e ve ry XXX passe s - if XXX is gre ate r than 0, the n a copy of your re nde ring will be save d afte r
e ach XXX passe s. (The im age is save d in the folde r use d in the Im age nam e be low. The de fault is "My
Docm e nts\IR e nde r")
Image name - Spe cifie s the nam e to use for the im age .
If you che ck Auto Im age , the n an im age is autom atically save d whe ne ve r you com ple te a re nde ring.
You can choose to:
always use (and ove rwrite ) the sam e im age nam e ,

always use (and ove rwrite ) a nam e base d on the nam e of your m ode l
cre ate a unique nam e e ach tim e you re nde r.
- 135 - Im age Se tup - 5.7

A utomatically name image by drawing - Use s the curre nt drawing nam e for the im age nam e .
Make Unique - If the im age nam e alre ady e x ists, this se tting will cre ate a ne w unique nam e for the im age . This
allows you to e nable auto-im age and have copie s of all your re nde rings autom atically save d on the disk .
Notify when done - Loads a dialog whe n the re nde ring is com ple te .
Launch when done - Launche s the im age in a paint program whe n done .
Close Window - C lose the re nde ring application whe n done .
JPEG images
Quality - se t quality for JPEG im age s (vs com pre ssion)

Move ve ry close to the right for be st re sults.
R e com m e nd the highe st quality se tting (de fault).
Se e : JPEG Q uality
A lways add comments after saving image
You will be prom pte d for com m e nts to save with the JPEG im age .
Edit/Query - load a JPEG im age to vie w or e dit pre cious com m e nts.
Im age Se tup - 5.7 - 136 -

More Setup - 5.8
More Tab
More Tab
Save Options Values
Save s the de faults from the Se tup W izard as User Defaults - to be use d for ne w m ode ls, or in a File which you can m anually
load into othe r m ode ls.
Load Options Values
User Defaults - re load the last use r de fault you save d.

File - re load save d de faults from a file
JPG File - load de faults from a JPG file of a pre vious re nde ring
Batch - load de faults from a Batch Folde r
Load Factory Defaults - re loads all de faults and othe r value s to the ir original se tting.
Change Default Settings - change s to de faults for sm all, m e dium and large re nde ring size .
Other Functions
Check for Updates - load the download page to se e if a ne w ve rsion is available .

Customize Toolbar - de fine the icons you want to display on the Toolbar. Se e : IR e nde r Toolbar Se tup
License - load the Lice nse and Authorization dialog.
Support - load a spe cial dialog of additional se ttings. - Use if you have be e n re que ste d to try spe cial se ttings by
C ustom e r Support.
A bout - load the About dialog. - inform ation about the IR e nde r ve rsion
Other Settings
- 137 - More Se tup - 5.8

A utomatically load IRender toolbar and function to autom atically load the IR e nde r toolbar and application whe ne ve r
you start a Sk e tchUp se ssion.
If you do not autom atically load the application, the n you ne e d to se le ct IRender: Load from the Sk e tchUp
plugins m e nu.
If you have turne d off the toolbars during a pre vious, you ne e d to turn the m back on from the Sk e tchUp
View/Toolbars m e nu.
Number of Threads
You can se t the m ax im um num be r of thre ads to be use d for re nde ring.
The de fault is to se t the num be r of thre ads to m atch the num be r of core s available .
Se tting a num be r gre ate r than the num be r of core s m ay provide faste r re nde rings.
Se tting a num be r le ss than the num be r of core s will re nde r slowe r, but m ay spe e d up othe r functions on your
com pute r.
More Se tup - 5.8 - 138 -

nXT Setup - 5.9
nXt Tab
nXt Tab
Special Options for IR e nde r nXt .
nXtRender plants
Season - se ts the de fault se ason for all plants.
Random Rotation - random ly rotate s plants.

Random Height - random ly scale s plants.
Se e : C re ate Plant
Color Render Mode - re nde rs sce ne without colors or te x ture s

Normal - use norm al re nde ring m ode .
Clay - no te x ture s, all colors are white
Gray - No Texture - no te x ture s, all color are gre y
Color - No Texture - no te x ture s, norm al but use m ate rial colors.
Se e : Color Render Mode for m ore e x am ple s.
- 139 - nXT Se tup - 5.9

Ex am ple of clay re nde r m ode
Section Planes
You can use Sk e tchUp Se ction Plane s to cut se ctions through your IR e nde r nXt m ode l.
IR e nde r nXt cannot te ll which se ction plane s are e nable d or disable d. O rdinarily, all se ction plane s which are visible are
use d to clip the re nde ring.
You can ove rride this with:
Visible Only
A ll
None
Create Materials from Layer Names

C re ate ne w Mate rials to m atch laye r nam e s, and assign the m to face s in laye rs.
Se e : C re ate Mate rials from Laye r Nam e s
See also
Se ction Plane s
IR e nde r nXt Plants
C re ate Mate rials from Laye r Nam e s
nXT Se tup - 5.9 - 140 -

Chapter 6 - Materials
Materials
Materials are an im portant aspe ct of a Photore alistic re nde ring.
IR e nde r nXt autom atically use s te x ture s, color and im age s from the Sk e tchUp m ode l. You can add additional e ffe cts, such as
re fle ction or bum p m aps e ffe cts for m ore re alistic e ffe cts.
You can also cre ate ne w Sk e tchUp m ate rials from the IR e nde r nXt Librarie s .
Material Types
The re are thre e type s of m ate rials base d on how the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial was cre ate d:
SketchUp Materials - m e aning the nXt m ate rial was originally cre ate d from an e x isting Sk e tchUp m ate rial
Library Materials - m e aning a ne w Sk e tchUp m ate rial was cre ate d from an e x isting nXt .ArMate rial are handle d in
diffe re nt ways.
User Materials - this is a Sk e tchUp m ate rial whe re the first te x ture has be e n m odifie d by the use r using the Advance d
Mate rial Editor.
SketchUp Materials
The nXt m ate rial was originally cre ate d from an e x isting Sk e tchUp m ate rial
C hange s to the te x ture m ade with the Sk e tchUp m ate rial e ditor are applie d to the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial whe n it is ne x t
re nde re d or e dite d.
If you change the first te x ture in the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial, using the Advance d Mate rial Editor, the n the m ate rial type is
change d to User. No change s are m ade autom atically to the Sk e tchUp te x ture and future change s m ade to the Sk e tchUp
te x ture are not applie d to the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial.
C olor change s will be synchronize d be twe e n the nXt m ate rial and the Sk e tchUp m ate rie l.
C olor change s m ade in the Mate rial W izard are use d to alte r the color in Sk e tchUp. Howe ve r you will not se e the colors change
dynam ically on the te x ture as you change the m .
Transpare ncy is synchronize d be twe e n the nXt m ate rial and the Sk e tchUp m ate rie l.
O the r se ttings are store d on the Sk e tchUp te x ture and use d for re nde ring and late r e dits..
Library Materials
A ne w Sk e tchUp m ate rial was cre ate d from an e x isting nXt .ArMate rial.
W he n the Sk e tchUp te x ture was first cre ate from the .ArMate rial m ate rial, a te x ture was cre ate d for the Sk e tchUp m ate rial.
Future change s to the Sk e tchUp te x ture are not applie s to the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial, and future change s m ade to the te x ture s
in the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial are not use d to alte r the Sk e tchUp m ate rial.
You can update the Sk e tchUp te x ture to m atch change s in the .ArMate rial by re -saving the .ArMate rial and re loading it into
Sk e tchUp.
If the re is no te x ture on the m ate rial, the n color change s will be synchronize d be twe e n the nXt m ate rial and the Sk e tchUp
m ate rie l.
C olor change s m ade in Sk e tchUp have no e ffe ct on the nXt te x ture .
C olor change s m ade in the nXt e ditor will not be transfe rre d to the Sk e tchUp te x ture .
Transpare ncy is synchronize d be twe e n the nXt m ate rial and the Sk e tchUp m ate rie l.
- 141 - C hapte r 6 - Mate rials

Custom User Materials
A m ate rial is m ark e d as Use r if it was originally cre ate d from a Sk e tchUp m ate rial, and the n the use r alte re d the first te x ture
using the nXt Advance d Mate rial Editor.
Future change s to the Sk e tchUp te x ture are not applie s to the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial, and future change s m ade to the te x ture s
in the IR e nde r nXt m ate rial are not use d to alte r the Sk e tchUp m ate rial.
If the re is no te x ture on the m ate rial, the n color change s will be synchronize d be twe e n the nXt m ate rial and the Sk e tchUp
m ate rie l.
C olor change s m ade in Sk e tchUp have no e ffe ct on the nXt te x ture .
C olor change s m ade in the nXt e ditor will not be transfe rre d to the Sk e tchUp te x ture .
Transpare ncy is synchronize d be twe e n the nXt te x ture and the Sk e tchUp te x ture .
C hapte r 6 - Mate rials - 142 -

Edit Material - 6.1
Edit Material
Edit Material is a right-click e dit which se ts the re fle ction or glow of a face .
To se t the re fle ction or glow of a face , se le ct it, right click on it and se le ct IRender: Edit Material.
This will load the Material Wizard .
Se le ct the m ate rial type de sire d.

Ente r the am ount of re fle ction or othe r param e te rs de sire d.
Reflection
Use num be rs around 70% to 80* for re fle ctive floors, e tc.
Use num be rs ve ry close to 100% for a m irror.
Metallic
A m e tallic re fe ction is m ore re fle ctive and k e e ps m ore of the e x isting m ate rial visible .
For an e x am ple , se e : Me tallic R e fle ction
Glossy
Glossy R e fle ction doe s not re fle ct im age s pre cise ly.
For an e x am ple , se e : Glossy R e fle ction
Fresnel
Fre sne l R e fle ction incre ase s the re fle ctivity of surface s at glancing angle s, but not at pe rpe ndicular angle s.
For an e x am ple , se e : Fre sne l R e fle ction
- 143 - Edit Mate rial - 6.1

Glow
You cannot se t both re fle ction and glow on a face . If you do only glow will be use d.
Se lf glow doe s not cre ate a light. Inste ad, it m ak e s the obje ct glow as if it was illum inate d. This is use ful for ne on
lights, or im age s in windows which would have be e n illum inate d from an inte rior light.
Translucency
Se ts a transluce nt e ffe ct which allows light to pass through the m ate rial (such as a lam pshade ), but doe s not le t the e ye se e
through the m ate rial.
Se le ct Shade to cre ate a transluce nt m ate rial.
Edit Mate rial - 6.1 - 144 -

Select Material - 6.2
Select Material
Select Material is a wizard to le t you se le ct m ate rials and place the m on Sk e tchUp face s.
Se le ct Mate rial will place the m ate rial on the se le cte d face without the ne e d to ope n com pone nts and groups for e dit.
In IR e nde r nXt Se le ct Mate rial can e dit the m ate rial by adding re fle ction and othe r re nde ring se ttings be fore placing the
m ate rial on face s.
- 145 - Se le ct Mate rial - 6.2

Place Material
Place Material use s an Ex plore r type tre e to se le ct m ate rials and place the m dire ctly on face s without having to ope n
com pone nts and groups for e dit.
Expand: Ex pands all the folde rs in the library tre e .
Collapse: C ollapse s all the folde rs in the library tre e .
Refresh: R e loads the m ate rial librarie s from disk .
Model: R e turns to the root of the library tre e .

A pply to single surface only: If che ck e d, whe n placing a m ate rial, only the surface dire ctly click e d on will re ce ive the
ne w m ate rial. O the rwise , all surface s in the sam e com pone nt or group that had the sam e m ate rial be fore hand will be
change d as we ll.
Pick: C lick to start a m ate rial pick ing tool, which le ts you choose a m ate rial from an e x isting surface in to m ode l to
apply to othe r surface s.
Place: C lick to start the m ate rial placing tool, which applie s the m ate rial curre ntly se le cte d in this dialog to surface s in
the m ode l.
Place Mate rial - 6.3 - 146 -

Advanced Material Editor - 6.5
Advanced Material Editor
The A dvanced Material Editor allows the use r to control m any spe cific characte ristics of the ir m ate rial. It is organize d into four
tabs.
Main Tab
Color - se t the color or m ate rials without a te x ture .
Reflective Finish and Highlight' The two slide rs com bine to de fine the am ount of re fle ction and the sharpne ss of re fle ction.
Highlight Color
Metallic - highlight are re fle cte d in the color of the re fle ctive m ate rial.
White - highlights are in W hite
Custom - highlights are in a custom color.
Glossy - highlights are othe r re fle ctions are blurry.
Se e : * Glossy R e fle ction
Intensity of the re fle ction. 1.000 is fully re fle ctive .
Sharpness - value s le ss than 1.000 cre ate blurry re fle ctions
Fresnel - se ts the am ount of Fre sne l R e fle ction .
- 147 - Advance d Mate rial Editor - 6.5

The Fre sne l se tting is use ful for glossy m ate rials, not transpare nt one s.
The Fre sne l se tting affe cts only re fle ctive m ate rials. It controls an e ffe ct k nown as fre sne l re fle ction of conductors. If
your m ate rial is not 100% transpare nt, the n this se tting m ay com e into play
Fresnel reflectivity of conductors m ode ls the te nde ncy of m any m ate rials to be com e m ore spe cular (m irror-lik e ) at
glancing angle s, while re taining m ore m atte prope rtie s at pe rpe ndicular vie wing angle s.
See also
Mate rial Se ttings - R e fle ction

Highlighting
Fre sne l R e fle ction
Transparency Tab
The Transpare ncy tab of the Advance d Mate rial Editor controls a num be r of diffe re nt prope rtie s associate d with light passing
through a m ate rial.
Intensity. This affe cts how transpare nt the m ate rial is.
IOR. Inde x O f R e fraction de te rm ine s both the re fle ctivity of the m ate rial and how re fractive it is. C ontrols the am ount
that light is distorte d as it passe s through thick glass.
The highe r the IO R , the le ss transpare nt and the m ore re fle ctive the glass is. Lowe r value s of IO R will re sult in m ore
light on the inside .
Translucency. This is a m e asure of diffusion. High transluce ncy produce s a "sandblaste d" e ffe ct, since m ore light is
scatte re d random ly through the m ate rial. Allows light to pass through the m ate rial, but not visibility - as with a lam p
shade .
A ttenuation. This is a m e asure of the loss of inte nsity of light as it passe s through the m ate rial. Sunglasse s, for
e x am ple , have a high atte nuation.
Dispersion. This controls how m uch light is split into its com pone nt wave le ngths.
Saturation. This de te rm ine s the am ount of dispe rsion.
No Daylight Portal. This che ck box pre ve nts the m ate rial from be com ing a source of sunlight for an inte rior re nde ring.
Glow. This cre ate s the illusion of illum ination. Se ts Se lf Glow - the face glows, but doe s not illum inate othe r surface s.
Texture Tab
Advance d Mate rial Editor - 6.5 - 148 -

The Te x ture Maps tab contains a num be r of options for alte ring te x ture s as we ll as an orde re d list of the m aps be ing use d.
The controls for adding and re m oving m aps, as we ll as re -orde ring the m , are at the top of this list.
The four tabs be low the m ap list are :
Main. C ontrols for the scale of the tiling, re placing the curre nt m ap, and changing the m ap type , are locate d he re .
De pe nding on the choice of m ap type , the re are additional controls. For standard m aps, the use r is able to se t
Stre ngth (how cle ar the te x ture is) and Bum p, which use s the m ap's gradie nt to cre ate the appe arance of de pth.
Norm al m aps only have a bum p control. For displace m e nt m aps, the use r can alte r he ight, face t size , and z-offse t.
Masking. By de fault, the alpha channe l will be m ask e d. By se le cting "C olor" inste ad of "Alpha," it is possible to m ask
any R GB value . The Transpare nt che ck box se ts the m ask e d color to transpare nt. The R e ve rse che ck box m ask s
e ve rything but the m ask e d color. Blur de te rm ine s the m agnitude of partial m ask ing around the m ask e d color, and
Se nsitivity m e asure s the size of the are a around the color that is also m ask e d.
Channels. The controls for channe l m anipulation are locate d he re . Inve rt C hanne ls switche s R GB value s, so dark
be com e s light, blue be com e s orange , e tc. The C olor che ck box turns all colors on and off. Spe cular Inte nsity m ak e s
the m ate rial m ore re fle ctive and m irror-lik e . Spe cular C olor ble nds the highlight color (unde r the Main tab of the
m ate rial e ditor) and the te x ture m ap's color for spe cular re fle ctions.
Orientation. R otation rotate s the tile s, O ffse t X and Y m ove the tile s around on the surface of the m ate rial.:
You can place up to 4 te x ture im age s on your m ate rial.
You can spe cify spe cial e ffe cts for additional te x ture s - such as ble nding m ate rials, or using the se cond m ate rial as a Bum p
Map
Bumps Tab

Se ts spe cial proce dural bum p type s. Each bum p type has its own param e te rs.
The Bum ps tab provide s options for cre ating the appe arance of a spe cific k ind of surface without using displace m e nt m aps or
re quiring the use r to provide any additional m aps. The patte rns offe re d are : Sandpape r, R ubble , W rink le d, Marble d, and
Pyram id. W he n one of the bum p m aps is che ck e d, additional controls be com e available . Stre ngth controls the appe arance of
de pth. Scale controls the proportional size of the bum ps.
Se e : Proce dural Bum p Maps
Special Blends
Advance d Mate rial Editor - 6.5 - 150 -

Som e m ate rials, such as Solid W ood are cre ate d by ble nding se ve ral sub-te x ture s.
This fe ature is m ostly undocum e nte d. The be st way to use it is to choose an e x isting m ate rial and to try to change the
se ttings to achie ve the de sire d e ffe ct.

Material Placement
The Material Placement tool is use d to se le ct and place m ate rials in your m ode l. This le ts you place a m ate rial on a face in a
com pone nt or group (without having to ope n the com pone nt for e dit first).
The tool locate s the face unde r the cursor, back s up until it finds whe re the curre nt m ate rial is de fine d for the face (if it is in
the de fault m ate rial), and fix e s e ve rything so that the face appe ar with the prope r m ate rial - all in one ste p.
Se le ct the Mate rial Place m e nt tool from the Paintbrush icon on the IR e nde r nXt toolbar. ( )
Mate rial Place m e nt - 6.6 - 152 -

Glow - 6.7
Glow
Bud Sign with glow in IR e nde r nXt
Glow is a re nde ring te rm which m e ans to de fine a m ate rial which appe ars to be illum inate d by lights, e ve n if it is in a shadow,
or the lights are dim , as in a night sce ne .
Uses of Glow
Glow can be applie d to windows which are illum inate d from the inside of a building, ne on lights, or othe r lights, such as a car
tail light, which would look Photore alistic if the y we re se lf-illum inating, but do not ne e d to cast light on ne arby obje cts.
Som e tim e s a he adlight or a taillight ne e ds to have a lam p in it, so that it can illum inate the road, or othe r obje cts, but
som e tim e s it is sufficie nt to apply a glow m ate rial inste ad.
Glow vs Using Lights

To be com ple te ly re alistic, the use r should place light source s inside e ach se gm e nt of the ne on tubing, or inside e ve ry light of
a car, and the n use transpare nt m ate rials for the tubing itse lf or the le ns of the light, but the is som e tim e s e x ce ssive and
unne ce ssary for m ost re nde rings.
Mode l with 75% glow assigne d to the ne on le tte rs. Sk e tchUp 3D Mode l
- 153 - Glow - 6.7

courte sy of O m e ga Signs Lim ite d. R e nde ring pe rform e d with IR e nde r .
Sam e m ode l with no spe cial glow.
Making an image glow
Te le vision with 10% se lf-glow
Te le vision with no glow
You m ay have an obje ct in your m ode l which is back lit, or produce s its own illum ination, such as a te le vision se t. You can
m ak e it glow brighte r or look m ore re alistic by adding se lf-glow from the m ate rial e ditor.
Note : Ite m s with se lf-glow will se e m brighte r, but will not illum inate othe r ite m s in the room . If you wante d the te le vision to
illum inate a dark room , you would se t it to be a light inste ad.
Se e : Glow Tab
Glow - 6.7 - 154 -

Glow - 6.7
- 155 - Glow - 6.7

Convert Material
How to Convert an AR 3 Material to nXt.
IR e nde r Plus ] contains a large library of pre de fine d m ate rials. The se can be use d dire ctly in IR e nde r nXt ] by assigning an
AR 3 Library m ate rial to a Sk e tchUp m ate rial.
You can also conve rt an AR 3 m ate rial to a nXt m ate rial and save it in nXt form at. This article e x plains how to pe rform the
conve rsion.
Step 1 - select an AR3 material
Afte r starting Sk e tchUp and loading IR e nde r nXt, se le ct a m ate rial icon from the toolbar.
Se le ct a m ate rial from the library and click O K.
This will load the A R3 Material Dialog.
Step 2 - Convert to nXt
C onve rt Mate rial - 6.8 - 156 -

Convert Material - 6.8
C lick Convert to nXt
Step 3 - make desired changes in nXt material editor

Step 4 - save as nXt material
How to load and use nXt material
- 157 - C onve rt Mate rial - 6.8

Solid Materials
W ood C hair in Sk e tchUp - C lick for full size im age .
W ood C hair with Solid Mate rial - C lick for full size
im age .
Solid Materials re fe rs to m ate rials which appe ar to be carve d out of a solid block , rathe r than just applie d to face s of a sculpte d
obje ct.
Sk e tchUp place s m ate rials on face s, and doe s allow for som e m apping which wraps onto surface s. Howe ve r, if you want a
re alistic re nde ring from an obje ct sculpte d from wood, you will ne e d to use a Photore alistic R ay Trace program , such as
IR e nde r nXt to cre ate the re nde ring.
He re is a sculpte d Sk e tchUp m ode l with a solid wood grain m ate rial applie d:
Solid Mate rials - 7.1 - 158 -

Solid Materials - 7.1
He re is a close up of som e of the solid m ate rial de tail:
- 159 - Solid Mate rials - 7.1

Solid Mate rials - 7.1 - 160 -

Arroway Textures - 7.2
Arroway Textures
A rroway Textures
A rroway Textures is a m anufacture r of high-re s te x ture s, which are use d in m any are as of digital
visualization, e .g. archite cture , de sign and art.
Arroway has m ade about 100 low-re s ve rsions of the ir te x ture s available to IR e nde r nXt use rs.
Se e : A rroway Textures
A rroway Textures is a m anufacture r of high-re s te x ture s, which are use d in m any are as of digital visualization, e .g.
archite cture , de sign and art.
Arroway has m ade about 100 low-re s ve rsions of the ir te x ture s available to IR e nde r nXt use rs.
W e have conve rte d the se into .Arm ate rial m ate rials in the IR e nde r nXt Librarie s . Arroway is providing the se sam ple te x ture s
in the hope s that you will lik e the m we ll e nough to purchase the hi-re s ve rsions.
You can cre ate .ArMate rial file s for IR e nde r nXt using Arroway Te x ture s. Each Te x ture se t contains diffuse (norm al color),
bum p, spe cular and opacity Iim age Maps which can be com bine d while re nde ring.
Se e : Arroway W e b Site
Using Arroway Textures
Selecting the Image Maps
1. Load the Material Functions dialog from the toolbar. ( )
Note this icon is not norm ally place d on the tool bar. You can use C ustom ize Toolbar to put it on the toolbar, or e lse
se le ct Mate rial Library from the Plugins/IR e nde r nXt/IR e nde r nXt m e nu in Sk e tchUp.
2. C lick Load from Library'
3. Navigate to the Arroway Sam ple s page , se le ct a te x ture and place it.
- 161 - Arroway Te x ture s - 7.2

Sample Low-Res Arroway Textures
Arroway Te x ture s - 7.2 - 162 -

A sam ple se t of low-re s Arroway te x ture s is also include in the IR e nde r nXt.
The se can be use d to e x pe rim e nt with Arroway Te x ture s until you are re ady to purchase the full re solution ve rsions.
Making Arroway Texture look better

R e ce ntly, we had this que ry on our forum :
I recently bought all the Arroway materials. Some of the materials look good, and others look just OK. The interesting thing I
noticed is that none of the renderings look anything like their demo scenes. I'm not sure if it's something in the settings or
something they are doing in another program. But thought i would pose the question to you all at IRender. Is it possible to get a
tutorial or YouTube video? I go through the create texture setup no prob and it assign settings...the finished rendered product
just doesn't come out as photorealistic as advertised on their site.
He re is som e inform ation we provide d:
Since you did not include any im age s, it is hard to k now whe the r you are having a proble m with re solution, or othe r aspe cts of
the re nde ring such as re fle ctions. He re are som e guide line s.
He re is a re nde ring using a sam ple , low-re s Arroway W ood te x ture , (Boards 002), from our library:

This im age is fairly flat. So we will show som e ways to im prove it by adding lights and obje cts to the m ode l to re fle ct.
He re is the Arroway sam ple im age for this te x ture :

He re I zoom e d in to ge t a vie w angle m ore lik e the Arroway sam ple . I also lowe re d the inte nsity of the sun, so that I would
ge t m ore re fle ction from the sk y.

W e do not have the sam e high-re solution as in the Arroway sam ple im age . But this is be cause I am using a low-re solution
sam ple of the original Arroway te x ture .
If you are using the hi-re s Arroway te x ture s and not ge tting full re solution, m ak e sure you have turne d off the te x ture
re solution on the Se tup W izard:

For this ne x t im age I use d an HDR i sk y, rathe r than just the sun and standard sk y. This provide s be tte r re fle ctions from the
sk y itse lf.

In this ne x t sce ne , I k e pt the sun and sk y, but rotate d the e ntire sce ne so that the re was m ore dire ct re fle ction from the sun.


Water Materials
Water Materials
can be use d to give your m ate rial (with or without te x ture s) a look and fe e l which e m ulate s wate r.
Se e : Water Materials
IR e nde r nXt has som e Proce dural Bum p Maps which work ve ry we ll for wate r.
Adding bum p m aps to wate r will incre ase re alism by adding ripple s to the surface of the wate r. R e vie w the im age s to the right
for e x am ple s of bum p m aps
He re are som e e x am ple s using W rink le d or R ubble proce dural m aps.
Im age of a pool with 'W rink le d' bum p m ap applie d. Im age of a pool with
'W rink le d' bum p m ap applie d. Scale = 2.00 Stre ngth = .50
W ate r Mate rials - 7.3 - 170 -

Water Materials - 7.3
Im age of a pool with 'W rink le d' bum p m ap applie d. Im age of a pool with no
bum p m ap applie d.
Bump Map Settings
- 171 - W ate r Mate rials - 7.3

The im age above use d a scale of 40 inche s and an inte nsity of 0.20
The se are e x am ple s of diffe re nt se ttings of bum p m aps using the W rink le d Proce dural Bum p Map to cre ate a wate r e ffe ct.
Notice how the sk y and building are re fle cte d in the wate r.
The large r scale would m ak e m ore se nse for large r bodie s of wate r.
This im age use s a scale of 200 and inte nsity of 0.50.
W ate r Mate rials - 7.3 - 172 -

Texture Mapping - 7.4
Texture Mapping
Texture Mapping re fe rs to assign a te x ture (raste r im age ) to a m ate rial.
Texture Position
Te x ture Position push-buttons in

Sk e tchUp
Sk e tchUp can align, rotate , scale and/or distort te x ture m appings to achie ve spe cial e ffe cts.
IR e nde r proce sse d m ost of the se te x ture positions prope rly.
The red push button is use d to m ove the te x ture .

The green push button is use d to scale and rotate the te x ture .
The blue push button is use d to she ar or sk e w the te x ture .
The yellow push button is use d to distort the te x ture .
Skewed Textures
The nXtR e nde r e ngine , use d by IR e nde r, doe s not proce ss sk e we d te x ture s prope rly. W e cre ate a ne w te x ture which is
alre ady sk e we d and the n m ap it without sk e wing.
Som e tim e s this can cause a proble m re nde ring the m ode l. If it doe s, try using a pre -sk e we d te x ture - which can be scale d
and rotate d, or try to distort the te x ture a little bit using the ye llow push button. (Distorte d te x ture s are proce sse d in a
diffe re nt m anne r and do not have this proble m .)
- 173 - Te x ture Mapping - 7.4

Texture Resolution
Spe cial O ptions - Te x ture R e solution is at bottom .
Texture Resolution is a ne w fe ature in IR e nde r nXt which allows you to re nde r large r m ode ls by re -sam pling large im age s in
you Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Som e tim e s use rs add im age s to a Sk e tchUp m ode l - as an Im age or as a Mate rial Te x ture - which are m uch large r than
ne ce ssary for display of the Sk e tchUp m ode l.
W he n the se im age s are se nt to the IR e nde r e ngine , the y can cause e x ce ss m e m ory usage and e x ce ss proce ssing tim e
during re nde ring.
If you spe cify a m ax im um re solution for im age s, the n any im age s which are large r than this will be re duce d to this size .
1,000 pix e ls is a good m ax im um for m ost use s. Howe ve r, if you are having proble m s be cause your m ode l is too large ,
try se tting this to 500 or 250 e nd re -re nde ring the m ode l. This will ofte n fix proble m s which pre ve nt large m ode ls from
re nde ring.
If you find that the m ode l is too large to re nde r, you m ight lowe r the de fault value from 1,000 pix e ls in width. O r if you
find that an im age you place on a plane is losing re solution, you can incre ase the num be r
Te x ture R e solution - 7.5 - 174 -

Automatic Bump Maps - 8.1
Automatic Bump Maps

A utomatic Bump Maps
A utoBump - using Sk e tchUp m ate rials as bum p m aps as we ll as color im age s.
This is not quite corre ct, but can ofte n cre ate an inte re sting 3D e ffe ct.
Se e : A utomatic Bump Maps
A uto Bump - Autom atic Bum p Maps are cre ate d autom atically from Sk e tchUp m ate rials using IR e nde r nXt .
R ight click on an e ntity containing a m ate rial to load the Mate rial W izard , load the Plus tab, and che ck Auto Bump and the
te x ture in the m ate rial is tre ate d as a bum p m ap as we ll as than a te x ture .
Auto Bump Map
Auto Bum p in Mate rial W izard
The Auto Bum p Map option on the Mate rial W izard cre ate s a bum p m ap (autom atically) from the Sk e tchUp im age on a
m ate rial.
Slide r bars are provide d to se t the inte nsity of the Bum p Map (-5.0 to 5.0) and the how m uch of the color of the te x ture is
include d in the m ate rial. (0.0 to 1.0)
He re is an A uto Bump e x am ple of a wall with Sk e tchUp's stone m ate rial, and two spot light shining on the the m ate rial:
(Bump maps have their best effect when there is lighting at an angle to the material, because the bump map 3D effect is more
pronounced when there is light shining on the material.)
- 175 - Autom atic Bum p Maps - 8.1

No Auto Bum p Map
W ith Auto Bum p Map and 100% color stre ngth
Color Intensity
The im age above use s the te x ture to provide both color and the bum p m ap. You can adjust Color Strength to use the bum p
m ap as a pure bum p m ap (no color), or any se tting in be twe e n.
Autom atic Bum p Maps - 8.1 - 176 -

Auto Bum p with 0% color stre ngth
Reversal
Auto Bum p assum e s that the bum p m ap im age e x trude s from the surface whe re it is dark e r, and goe s into the surface whe re
it is lighte r. If this is incorre ct you ne e d to re ve rse the im age .
The im age on the right is lighte r whe re it e x trude s from the surface , so it ne e ds to be re ve rse d to re nde r prope rly.

Auto Bum p im age as m ate rial in Sk e tchUp. (No bum p

e ffe cts in Sk e tchUp)
Auto Bum p - norm al. The lighte r are s se e m to re ce ss into

the surface .
Autom atic Bum p Maps - 8.1 - 178 -

Auto Bum p - re ve rse d. - The lighte r are as protrude out

of the surface .

Auto Bump
Te m plate :Auto Bum p2 A uto Bump - Autom atic Bum p Maps are cre ate d autom atically from Sk e tchUp m ate rials using IR e nde r
nXt .
R ight click on an e ntity containing a m ate rial to load the Mate rial W izard , load the Plus tab, and che ck Auto Bump and the
te x ture in the m ate rial is tre ate d as a bum p m ap as we ll as than a te x ture .
Auto Bump Map
m ate rial.
Slide r bars are provide d to se t the inte nsity of the Bum p Map (-5.0 to 5.0) and the how m uch of the color of the te x ture is
include d in the m ate rial. (0.0 to 1.0)
Auto Bum p - 8.2 - 180 -

Auto Bump - 8.2
No Auto Bum p Map
Color Intensity
The im age above use s the te x ture to provide both color and the bum p m ap. You can adjust Color Strength to use the bum p
m ap as a pure bum p m ap (no color), or any se tting in be twe e n.
- 181 - Auto Bum p - 8.2

Reversal
Auto Bum p assum e s that the bum p m ap im age e x trude s from the surface whe re it is dark e r, and goe s into the surface whe re
it is lighte r. If this is incorre ct you ne e d to re ve rse the im age .
The im age on the right is lighte r whe re it e x trude s from the surface , so it ne e ds to be re ve rse d to re nde r prope rly.
Auto Bum p im age as m ate rial in Sk e tchUp. (No bum p

e ffe cts in Sk e tchUp)
Auto Bum p - 8.2 - 182 -

Auto Bump - 8.2
Auto Bum p - norm al. The lighte r are s se e m to re ce ss into

the surface .
Auto Bum p - re ve rse d. - The lighte r are as protrude out

of the surface .
- 183 - Auto Bum p - 8.2

Standard Bump Maps
Bum p Map e ditor for nXt m ate rials
Standard Bump Maps are cre ate d by using one im age to re pre se nt the he ight of the bum ps, and a base color, or anothe r
im age is use d to re pre se nt the unde rlying m ate rial.
The IRender nXt Mate rial e ditor can cre ate Bump Maps with unde rlying te x ture s (be side the bum p m ap) and othe r spe cial
fe ature s.
Bump map editor

The re are two ways to do bum p m aps.
1. You can use the original te x ture as a bum p m ap (Se e : Autom atic Bum p Maps ) or
2. You can provide a se parate im age to use a bum p m ap.
W ith IR e nde r nXt, you can use the nXt m ate rial e ditor to cre ate your own m ate rials, with m any additional m ate rial fe ature s,
including bum p m apping.
Afte r cre ating an nXt m ate rial, the use r can autom atically cre ate a m ate rial for Sk e tchUp which appe ars sim ilar, (but of course
with no bum p m apping or re fle ctive prope rtie s). This Sk e tchUp m ate rial will autom atically re nde r using the nXt m ate rial with
IR e nde r.
Standard Bum p Maps - 8.3 - 184 -

Standard Bump Maps - 8.3
The bum p m ap applie d. The black dot was

adde d to de m onstrate a large bum p e ffe ct.
(The dark e r the bum p im age , the m ore the
bum p)
A close up re nde ring of the bum p-m ap wall. You can se e the bum p e ffe ct m ore
dram atically. Bum ps do not cre ate ne w ge om e try which stick s out of the wall. But
the y do e ffe ct lighting by cre ating a shadow e ffe ct around the bum ps.
- 185 - Standard Bum p Maps - 8.3

Procedural Bump Maps

Procedural Bump Maps
can be use d to give your m ate rial (with or without te x ture s) a diffe re nt appe arance .
Se e : Procedural Bump Maps
Procedural Bump Maps can add spe cial e ffe cts to a m ate rial.
The re are 5 proce dural bum p m aps which can be use d to give your m ate rial (with or without te x ture s) a diffe re nt appe arance .
Each Bum p type has param e te rs to change its size , e tc.
SandPaper
Rubble
Proce dural Bum p Maps - 8.4 - 186 -

Procedural Bump Maps - 8.4
Pyramid
- 187 - Proce dural Bum p Maps - 8.4

A Pyram id bum p was applie d to the salt shak e r, and a sandpape r bum p was
applie d to the pe ppe r shak e r.
Wrinkled

Procedural Bump Maps - 8.4
- 189 - Proce dural Bum p Maps - 8.4

W ate r e ffe ct with W rink le d Bum p Map
Marbled

Bump Maps - Additional Information - 8.5
Bump Maps - Additional Information
m ate rial.
Auto Bump Map Sample
No Auto Bum p Map
- 191 - Bum p Maps - Additional Inform ation - 8.5

Bump map guidelines

A bum p m ap use s the inte nsity of the raste r im age to de te rm ine a he ight offse t from the base face on which the bum p m ap
is place d. (Black is the lowe st e le vation and white is the highe st.) The bum p m ap is use d to alte r the e ffe cts of lighting on the
surface , which give s it an e nhance d 3D e ffe ct, without having to m ode l the ge om e try in 3d.
Basic bump map

This is a sim ple bum p m ap, with a flat are a in white , and a hole in black . The re are se ve ral gray transition line s be twe e n the
white and black are as.
bum p1.png
raste r im age
e nlarge d corne r of bum p im age - to
Bum p Maps - Additional Inform ation - 8.5 - 192 -

se e de pth transition line s (in gray).
Bum p m ap m ate rial applie d and re nde re d in

Sk e tchUp.
"Flat" re nde ring in Sk e tchUp.
Bum p m ap m ate rial has be e n applie d to two face s.
Bum p im age re nde re d with IR e nde r as "flat"

im age (no "bum p" e ffe ct").

Bum p re nde ring from IR e nde r.

_bump was adde d to the m ate rial nam e in Sk e tchUp.
(The nam e of the m ate rial, not the nam e of the te x ture
im age file .)
R e nde re d as norm al bum p m ap. Note the e ffe cts of light

with m ak e the black are a appe ar as a hole .
R e nde re d as re ve rse bum p m ap, by changing the

m ate rial nam e to include _bumprev.
Note the gray and black are as cre ate a rise from
the base plane ..
Se e : No transitions for an e x am ple with no transition line s.
Brick example

Bum p m ap for brick
This is a bum p m ap use d for a brick e ffe ct. (The color will be adde d whe n the te x ture is cre ate d in Sk e tchUp.)
(Note : This im age , which was downloade d from the inte rne t doe s not have any transition gray. It jum ps from light to dark .
The R e nde re r will add som e transition if not is provide d in the raste r im age .)
Flat brick re nde ring
This is the "flat" re nde ring in IR e nde r.

(No bum p e ffe ct)

Bum p e ffe ct on brick re nde ring
This re nde ring is m ade with the sam e Sk e tchUp m ate rial, and the bum p e ffe ct e nable d ("_bum p" adde d to the m ate rial
nam e .)
This give s m ore of a 3D e ffe ct. (The light and dark shade s at the e dge s of the brick s are de te rm ine d by the angle to the sun
in the actual m ode l.)
No gray transitions
Bum p m ap with no gray transition line s.
This is the sam e im age with the gray transition line s re m ove d. The only colors are black an white .
The IR e nde r e ngine adds som e transition, but doe s not do it as sm oothly as whe n transition line s are include d in the raste r
im age . But notice , the re is som e distortion on the corne rs.

R e ve rse d bum p m ap with no gray transition line s
R e ve rse d bum p m ap with no transition line s. The black are a in the im age appe ars to e x trude out from the surface .
Shaded bump maps
Bum p m aps should not contain shading from the light. (For instance , a photo of a stone wall will have dark are as be cause of
lighting, rathe r than be cause of the de pth of the surface .
This re nde ring on the right is a "flat" re nde ring of a Sk e tchUp stone m ate rial.

rightBum p m ap re nde ring of sam e te x ture .
Howe ve r, be cause im age s such as this stone im age te nd to be dark e r be twe e n the rock s, the y do m ak e good, (e ve n if not
te chnically corre ct) bum p m aps.
Better stone example
Stone bum p m ap im age . A stone bum p m ap

downloade d from the inte rne t: ( Filte r Forge
Bum p Map ) Note : It doe s not look lik e a
photo of stone , be cause the light and dark
are as re pre se nt de pth and not illum ination.

Stone bum p re nde ring in IR e nde r it produce s a

ve ry re alistic stone e ffe ct.
R e nde ring with light from right. Note in the

pre vious im age that with the lighting from the le ft,
the bum e ffe ct produce s lighte r shade s on the le ft
of e ach stone , and dark e r shade s on the right.
W he n we m ove the sun to the right, the e ffe ct is
re ve rse d. This is the advantage of bum p m aps
ove r photographs - the e ffe ct of lighting is base d
on the angle of the light in your m ode l, and not
the angle of the light whe n the original photograph
of a stone surface was cre ate d.

Bum p m ap re nde re d as a displace m e nt m ap. A

Displace m e nt Map cre ate s ge om e try base d on the
inte nsitie s in the bum p m ap im age .
Realistic expectations
Bum p m aps can be use d to provide som e 3D e ffe ct to re nde rings without having to com plicate your m ode l with lots of 3D
ge om e try.
Howe ve r, the bum p m aps do not produce true 3D. The y are use d for lighting, but not use d to obscure othe r ge om e try.
Also, bum p m aps work be st whe n the re is good angle d light to bring out the bum p e ffe ct.
Note. This concept - using an image to create a bump map of itself is not really correct. It make the dark parts of the image seem
depressed and the light parts raised up. However, many people and many rendering systems use it because it create a 3D effect for
some materials.
He re is a be tte r e x am ple , using a de pth orie nte d bum p m ap, rathe r than just an im age to cre ate the bum p e ffe ct.

Stone bum p m ap im age .

Note : It doe s not look lik e a photo of stone , be cause the light
and dark are as re pre se nt de pth and not illum ination.
Stone bum p re nde ring in IR e nde r.

It produce s a ve ry re alistic stone e ffe ct. Notice the
subtle diffe re nce in shading be twe e n the front and
the top.
(Base d on the angle of the light.)
Advanced effects

Bum p Map e ditor for nXt m ate rials
IR e nde r Plus use rs can cre ate m ore advance d e ffe cts by applying bum p m aps to nXt m ate rials. (For e x am ple , using one
raste r im age for a bum p m ap and anothe r raste r im age for a te x ture .) Se e : IR e nde r nXt Bum p Maps

Transparency
Transparency
IR e nde r nXt autom atically use s Sk e tchUp transpare ncy se ttings. It include s re fraction, re fle ction and
illum ination through the transpare nt surface .
You can e dit the transpare ncy se ttings with a slide r-bar, change the Inde x of R e fraction , or add othe r
spe cial e ffe cts such as Transluce ncy and C austics
Vide o: Transparency Video
Glass and Transpare nt Mate rials
Transparency in com pute r graphics re fe rs to the ability so se e through an ite m - e ithe r partially of fully. The te rm
Translucency is use d whe n light can pass through, but you cannot se e throught cle arly.
Overview
The re is "full transpare ncy" i.e . som e thing that is com ple te ly invisible . O f course , only part of a graphic could be fully
transpare nt, or the re would be nothing to se e . And the re is "partial transpare ncy" or " transluce ncy " whe re the e ffe ct is lik e
colore d or froste d glass.

- 203 - C hapte r 9 - Transpare ncy

Alpha Channel
Transpare ncy m ay be store d in a raste r im age in an A lpha-Channel (α-channel). This is an additional channe l in digital
picture s, which contains, be side color inform ation, the transpare ncy (how m uch you can se e through an obje ct) of e ach pix e l in
an im age .
Transparent Materials
You can also m ak e an obje ct of face transpare nt by giving it a transpare nt m ate rial.
You can se le ct a pre de fine d Sk e tchUp transpare nt m ate rial from the Sk e tchUp Mate rial Browse r, such as this glass: ,
or you can cre ate a ne w transpare nt m ate rial, (or e dit an e x isting one ), by de fining its opacity.
C hapte r 9 - Transpare ncy - 204 -

Se t O pacity
O bje ct with glass on one face , and transluce nt stone on

anothe r
IRender nXt Transparency Adjustments

IR e nde r nXt m ak e s som e adjustm e nts to Sk e tchUp transpare ncy to try to m ak e the transpare nt face s appe ar m ore lik e the y
do in Sk e tchUp.
Se e : Transpare ncy Adjustm e nts
- 205 - C hapte r 9 - Transpare ncy

Translucency
Translucency
Allows light to pass through non-transpare nt m ate rials.
Translucency is a form of Transpare ncy whe re the light passe s through a m ate rial, but you cannot se e through the m ate rial.
Note in the im age that light from the lam p inside the transluce nt shade illum inate s the wall. But the shade itse lf is not
transpare nt.
Settings
In IR e nde r nXt transluce ncy is se t on the Transpare ncy Tab of the Mate rial W izard . Transluce ncy can only be se t if
transpare ncy is also se t.
The se se ttings are hard to de scribe .
The Translucency slide r de fine s how we ll you can se e through the transluce nt surface . 100% m e ans that you can not se e
through it, but light can pass through it.
The Transparency slide r e ffe cts how m uch light passe s through. Som e light will always pass through, but if you se t
Transpare ncy highe r, m ore light will pass through.
Samples
This chart will show you som e of the typical re sults.
Transluce ncy 100, Transpare ncy 50 is the de fault if you se le ct the Shade Defaults
The box has transluce nt side s, but an ope n top. The light on the ce iling com e s dire ctly from the light bulb in the box . The
Transluce ncy - 9.2 - 206 -

Translucency - 9.2
light on the wall has passe d through the transluce nt surface .
Transpare ncy = 10 Transpare ncy = 50
Transluce ncy
= 100
Transluce nt
shade is TR 10
opaque .
TR 50 TL 100
TR 10 TL 100
De fault for Shade
Transluce ncy
= 75
Som e light
passe s TR 10
through
shade .
TR 10 TL 75 TR 50 TL 75
- 207 - Transluce ncy - 9.2

Transparent Settings
IR e nde r nXt has two se ttings for Transpare ncy. Thin - Thick and Caustic . The se se ttings are available on the Edit Mate rial
W izard - in IR e nde r nXt m ode and/or as O bje ct Prope rtie s
Thin / Thick
Bowl and Pyram id m ak e d as thin (de fault). (The y wil work be tte r if m ark e d as thick )
Transpare nt Se ttings - 9.3 - 208 -

Transparent Settings - 9.3
Bowl and Pyrm id m ak e d as Thick
The re is a Thin/Thick se tting for glass. Thin turns of the re fractive e ffe cts of transpare ncy. It should be use d with plane s of
window glass m ade with a single face rathe r than two face s to indicate thick ne ss.
Thick is use d for thick pane s of glass m ade from two face s and solid obje cts lik e this bowl or cone . Thick proce sse s re fle ction
and re fraction be tte r.
Sk e tchUp transpare nt glass will be re nde re d as Thin, as the de fault, unle ss the transpare nt m ate rial is m ark e d as thick in the
Mate rial W izard , or the face or obje ct containing the glass is m ark e d Thick as an O bje ct Prope rty .
The se sce ne is illum inate d with a spotlight. Note that without the C austic se tting, obje cts which are highly transpare nt do not
cast appre ciable shadows.
Se e also: Thin - Thick
Caustic
A caustic is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of
rays on another surface.
The C austic e ffe ct produce s focuse d light and shadow e ffe cts from a point light.
Note : C austic doe s not curre ntly work with the Sun for illim ination.
Wine Glass Example

Thin Glass (default)
- 209 - Transpare nt Se ttings - 9.3

W ine Glass from 3D W are house , re nde re d with de fault transpare ncy prope rtie s.
Thin Glass - Transpare ncy 1.00 - Inde x of R e fraction 1.50
Thick Glass

W ine Glass with Thick Glass.

Note : More re alistic re fle ctions and distortion of obje cts be hind the glass.
Thick Glass - Transpare ncy 1.00 - Inde x of R e fraction 1.50
Thick Glass with Caustics

W ine Glass with Thick Glass and C austics e nable d.

Note : Inte re sting Shadows.
Thick Glass with C austics - Transpare ncy 1.00 - Inde x of R e fraction 1.50


Refraction
Refraction re fe rs to the be nding of light as it passe s through a transpare nt surface in a R ay Trace re nde re r such as IR e nde r
nXt .
The im age on the le ft shows the e ffe cts of R e fraction on a thick pie ce of glass. (The glass on the right was m ark e d,
incorre ctly, as Thin, and doe s not product m uch re fraction)
Index of Refraction
The Inde x of R e fraction de te rm ine s how m uch the light and appe arance of obje cts be hind the glass is distorte d whe n
passing through the glass.
A vacuum is de fine d as having an Inde x of R e fraction of 1.00
He re are som e standard value s you can use for othe r m ate rials:
Ice - 1.31
W ate r - 1.33
Acrylic glass - 1.49
Flint glass (pure ) - 1.60
Sapphire - 1.76
Diam ond - 2.42
This m ode l is re nde re d in Sk e tchUp, with no re fraction from

the transpare nt glass.
R e fraction - 9.4 - 214 -

Refraction - 9.4
This is the sam e m ode l run through IR e nde r . Notice how the
stone wall is re fracte d as it passe s through the thick glass.
The Inde x of R e fraction is se t in the Mate rial W izard
- 215 - R e fraction - 9.4

Stained Glass
This article de m onstrate s som e m e thods to work with Stained Glass in IR e nde r .
Sample
This is an im age from a Sk e tchUp m ode l poste d to Sk e tchUcation by W IP.
The re are lots of things to play with whe n m ak ing a nice im age from staine d glass - lik e the am ount of transpare ncy,
transluce ncy, re fraction, and daylight proce ssing for the glass. And the lighting outside .
R athe r than dire ct sun, this im age was cre ate d with a sunse t sk y HDR i for the sk y. It give s an inte re sting, diffe re nt e ffe ct.
Stained Glass Texture
Staine d Glass - 9.5 - 216 -

Stained Glass - 9.5
W e cre ate d a sim ple room and place d a staine d glass te x ture on the back wall.
Rendering
This is a re nde ring with two ce iling lights, but no spe cial illum ination on the staine d glass.
- 217 - Staine d Glass - 9.5

Glow
W e the n place d a glow on the staine d glass.
This le ts the glass glow brightly. The glass will also illum inate the room , if you balance the inte nsity of th e glow and the
inte nsity of the ce iling lights.
Sunlight
Staine d Glass - 9.5 - 218 -

Stained Glass - 9.5
And, in m any case s, you can m ak e the glass transpare nt, and le t sunlight pass through the staine d glass.
(W e should have m ade the glass m ore opaque , so le ss light passe d through it.)
Be sure to spe cify "Inte rior daylight" on the options dialog to ge t the e ffe ct you want.
And you will also want to use the Tone O pe rator to adjust the ove rall brightne ss.
- 219 - Staine d Glass - 9.5

Daylight Portal
Daylight Portals
a spe cial transpare nt face place d ove r an e x te rior ope ning or window which cause s e x te rior light to be
proce sse d be tte r.
The le ft half im age on the le ft has a norm al (non-Daylight Portal) ope ning. It took hundre ds of passe s to
re solve prope rly. The right half has ope nings m ark e d as Daylight Portals. The lighting look e d this good
afte r just a fe w passe s.
A Daylight Portal is a spe cial transpare nt face place d ove r an e x te rior ope ning or window which cause s e x te rior light to be
proce sse d be tte r. In IR e nde r nXt, Daylight is a se t using the Mate rial W izard
Daylight Tips
Use accurate value s for your lights, daylight se ttings, and window glass if possible . Be cause the sun and sk y are ve ry m uch
brighte r than m ost lights, you m ay not se e a lot of e ffe ct from adding artificial lighting to your daylit sce ne . This is norm al.
Avoid the te m ptation to artificially boost the powe r of your light source s. It is le gitim ate to turn the sun and sk y down
som e what, as the se are base d on a cle ar, unim pe de d sk y.
A m ulti-channe l re nde ring m ay he lp you ge t the picture you want, while still pre se rving accurate data. Se e : Lighting C hanne ls
Sky only
This im age was re nde re d for just 1 pass with ordinary ope nings on the le ft and Daylight Portals use d on the right. You can se e
that the light com ing in through the daylight portal is e ffe ctive starting with the first pass.
This is the sam e drawing afte r just 63 re nde ring pass. (The im prove d lighting afte r the first pass is also a re sult of Indire ct
Daylight Portal - 9.6 - 220 -

Daylight Portal - 9.6
Lighting which adds the e ffe ct of light re fle cting off of othe r surface s during m ultiple passe s.
It would tak e hundre ds of passe s for the ordinary ope ning to proce ss the light from the sk y prope rly.
Sunlight
The im age s above we re m ade with no sun shining into the window. This im age had sunlight, as we ll as sk y and cloudine ss.
Afte r 5 passe s, the Daylight Portal(on the right) is work ing fairly we ll)
- 221 - Daylight Portal - 9.6

He re is the re sult afte r 2900 passe s. (Afte r lots of passe s, the non-daylight-portal ope ning on the le ft conve rge s to m atch the
daylight-portal ope nings on the right.
The Daylight Portal on the right has im prove d as we ll, but m ostly be cause of the Indire ct Lighting e ffe ct.
Setting up a Daylight Portal
Daylight Portal - 9.6 - 222 -

Daylight Portal - 9.6
Daylight Portals can be se t using the Mate rial W izard to assign the prope rty to a m ate rial, or using O bje ct Prope rtie s .
Material Wizard
1. Place a transpare nt Mate rial in, or be hind the ope ning.
2. Load the Mate rial W izard
3. C lick More to load the IR e nde r nXt se ttings.
4. C he ck Daylight from the Transparency se ction.
Object Properties
1. R ight click on window.
2. Se le ct Object Properties
3. C he ck Daylight
- 223 - Daylight Portal - 9.6

Thin - Thick
Thin is a se tting for transpare nt m ate rials, or transpare nt obje cts, which cause s the m to be re nde re d as a thin pie ce of glass.
Thin If the obje ct is not space -e nclosing and is transpare nt (for e x am ple , a pane of glass m ode le d with a single surface ),
se le ct Thin. Thin m e ans that the surface will be tre ate d as a two-side d obje ct for re fraction purpose s (lik e a she e t of glass).
This is im portant if you are m ode ling a she e t of glass with a single surface . Thick If the surface s are part of a solid obje ct
whose surface norm als consiste ntly point outward, se le ct Thick . This m e ans that e ach surface will be tre ate d as single side d.
thick and thin glass se ttings
In the e x am ple on the right, the orange "bage ls" are inside the box e s, the purple one s are be hind, the le ft box is se t to
Thick , and the right box is se t to Thin. The box on the le ft re fracts as if it we re a solid pie ce of glass.
Transpare nt m ate rials and glass will be re nde re d as Thin, as the de fault, unle ss the transpare nt m ate rial is m ark e d as thick
in the Mate rial W izard , or the face or obje ct containing the glass is m ark e d Thick as an O bje ct Prope rty .
Thick should be use d whe n you use two face s for a pane of glass (or 2 or 4 face s for a double glaze d windows), you will have
Thin - Thick Glass - 9.7 - 224 -

Thin - Thick Glass - 9.7
to m ark the face s as "Thick ". You can do this whe n m ak ing the transpare nt m ate rial, or using "O bje ct Prope rtie s" on the
glass.
- 225 - Thin - Thick Glass - 9.7

Reflection
Reflections and Mirrors
Mak e any Sk e tchUp m ate rial re fle ctive with a sim ple right click e dit.
You can start with a de fault Reflective Material and use a slide r bar th change the am ount of re fle ction.
You can also add othe r spe cial fe ature s - such as Sharpness/(blurriness), glossiness or metallic
reflection.
Reflection is a prope rty you add to a m ate rial to e m ulate re fle ctive obje cts lik e m irrors and shiny surface s.
R e fle ction is accom plishe d in a ray trace re nde re r by following a ray from the e ye to the m irror and the n calculating whe re it
bounce s from , and continuing the proce ss until no surface is found, or a non-re fle ctive surface is found. R e fle ction on a shiny
surface lik e wood or tile can add to the photore alistic e ffe cts of a 3D re nde ring.
Polished - A Polishe d R e fle ction is an undisturbe d re fle ction, lik e a m irror or chrom e .
Blurry - A Blurry R e fle ction m e ans that tiny random bum ps on the surface of the m ate rial cause the re fle ction to be
blurry.
Metallic - A re fle ction is Me tallic if the highlights and re fle ctions re tain the color of the re fle ctive obje ct.
Glossy - This te rm can be m isuse d. Som e tim e s it is a se tting which is the opposite of Blurry. (W he n "Glossine ss has a
low value , the re fle ction is blurry.) Howe ve r, som e pe ople use the te rm "Glossy R e fle ction" as a synonym for "Blurre d
R e fle ction".Glossy use d in this m e aning m e ans that the re fle ction is actually blurre d.
Reflection Overview
The re fle ctions he lp to add re alism to this m ode l.
C hapte r 10 - R e fle ction - 226 -

This is boring and flat without re fle ctions.
O ne of the be st things that you can do to im prove a re nde ring is to focus on the de tails. It’s the de tails that can incre ase
re alism of a re nde ring and one de tail that m any use rs ove r look is adding re fle ction to all the m ate rials in a m ode l that ne e d
it. Not only that, but you m ust also apply the corre ct k ind and the corre ct inte nsity of a re fle ction to a m ate rial.
Use rs norm ally apply re fle ctions to the notice able obje cts in a re nde re d sce ne such as a m irror but ofte n forge t about the
sm all obje cts lik e a table top, or a door k nob or othe r acce ssorie s. Spe nding tim e on the se de tails can m ak e the diffe re nce
be twe e n a boring, flat im age and an e ngaging, re alistic one .
Examples
Polished or Mirror reflection
Mirror on wall re nde re d with 100% re fle ction.
Mirrors are usually alm ost 100% re fle ctive .
Metallic Reflection
- 227 - C hapte r 10 - R e fle ction

The large sphe re on the le ft is blue with its re fle ction m ark e d as
m e tallic. The large sphe re on the right is the sam e color but doe s not
have the m e tallic prope rty se le cte d.
Norm al, (non m e tallic), obje cts re fle ct light and colors in the original color of the obje ct be ing re fle cte d.
Me tallic obje cts re fle ct lights and colors alte re d by the color of the m e tallic obje ct itse lf.
Blurry Reflection
The large sphe re on the le ft has shapne ss se t to 100%. The sphe re on

the right has sharpne ss se t to 50% which cre ate s a blurry re fle ction.
Many m ate rials are im pe rfe ct re fle ctors, whe re the re fle ctions are blurre d to various de gre e s due to surface roughne ss that

scatte rs the rays of the re fle ctions.
Se e : Blurry R e fle ction
Glossy Reflection
The sphe re on the le ft has norm al, m e tallic re fle ction. The sphe re on
the right has the sam e param e te rs, e x ce pt that the re fle ction is
m ark e d as "glossy".
Fully glossy re fle ction, shows highlights from light source s, but doe s not show a cle at re fle ction from obje cts.
Se e : Glossy R e fle ction
Setting reflection values

To de fine re fle ctive m ate rials in IR e nde r or AccuR e nde r nXt for R e vit , use the Mate rial W izard to m ak e a m ate rial re fle ctive .
It will tak e som e e x pe rim e ntation to de te rm ine the am ount of re fle ction de sire d. For e x am ple , the se two im age s have wood
re fle ction se t to 50% and 80%

50% re fle ction for wood counte r.
80% re fle ction for wood counte r.
Creating Reflective Materials

To m ak e a m ate rial re fle ctive :
1. R ight click on a face which use the m ate rial, and se le ct IRender: Edit Material
2. This will load the Mate rial W izard .
3. Se le ct the Reflective m ate rial type from the de faults on the le ft.
4. Use the slide r bar to se le ct the re fle ction de sire d.
The n whe ne ve r you use this m ate rial, it will be re fle ctive .
For instance , the m ate rial applie d to the m irror in the se m ode ls has be e n se t to 90% re fle ctive .

Material Settings - Reflection

This Editing Material Settings - Reflection article will e x plain som e m ate rial se ttings.
R e fle ction O ve rvie w

Mate rial Se ttings
De fault Se ttings
Me tallic
Non-Me tallic R e fle ction
Sharpne ss
Glossy
Reflection Overview
The re fle ctions he lp to add re alism to this m ode l.
This is boring and flat without re fle ctions.
Mate rial Se ttings - R e fle ction - 10.1 - 232 -

Material Settings - Reflection - 10.1
O ne of the be st things that you can do to im prove a re nde ring is to focus on the de tails. It’s the de tails that can incre ase
re alism of a re nde ring and one de tail that m any use rs ove r look is adding re fle ction to all the m ate rials in a m ode l that ne e d
it. Not only that, but you m ust also apply the corre ct k ind and the corre ct inte nsity of a re fle ction to a m ate rial.
Use rs norm ally apply re fle ctions to the notice able obje cts in a re nde re d sce ne such as a m irror but ofte n forge t about the
sm all obje cts lik e a table top, or a door k nob or othe r acce ssorie s. Spe nding tim e on the se de tails can m ak e the diffe re nce
be twe e n a boring, flat im age and an e ngaging, re alistic one .
Material Settings
The ability to pre cise ly control the m ate rial se ttings is a ve ry powe rful and unique fe ature to IR e nde r nXt. Be low, are som e
im age s that e x plain m any of the diffe re nce s be twe e n som e of the custom izable m ate rial se ttings.
‘Edit Material’ Box
Inside the ‘Edit Mate rial’ Box , unde r ‘De faults’ and ‘R e fle cations and Highlights’, is whe re the change s to the m ate rial
se ttings are m ade .
Default Settings
The Mate rial W izard m ak e s it e asy to cre ate and e dit m ate rials. The W izard contains m any pre de fine d se ttings for a varie ty
for m ate rials.
Matte Default Setting
Plastic Default Setting
- 233 - Mate rial Se ttings - R e fle ction - 10.1

O nly use d 'Plastic' de fault se tting - C an se e slight high

e gde s of the te a pot.
O nly use d 'Matte ' de fault se ttings

Reflective Default Setting
Metal Default Setting
O nly use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - The re lfe ctions on th

ve ry cle ar and sharp now - The highlights are ve ry stro
O nly use d 'R e fle ctive ' de fault se tting - C an start to se e the re fle ctions
of the box e s in the te a pot - Highlights are starting to appe ar
Metallic
'Me tallic' change s the color of a re fle cte d obje ct base d on the color of the re fle ctive obje ct and the obje cts be ing re fle cte d.
Metal - Metallic - Yellow Tea Pot
Metal - Metallic - Blue Tea Pot

Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - In this e x am ple the blue

re fle cting the color re d from the che ck e r patte rn as bla
be cause the color blue has no re d in it the re fore re d is
black .
Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - In the re fle ctions on the te a pot, the blue
che ck e r patte rn is shown as black . That is be cause the color ye llow has
no blue in it the re fore blue is re fle cte d as black .
A nother Example
He re is anothe r e x am ple . Both large sphe re s are a light blue m e tal

(the sam e color). The sphe re on the le ft is m ark e d m e tallic and re fle cts
lights and othe r obje cts in the color of the sphe re itse lf. The sphe re on
the right is not m ark e d m e tallic, so the unde rlying color of the sphe re
doe s not e ffe ct the re fle ction at all. (Both sphe re s are 100% re fle ctive .
If the y we re le ss re fle ctive , the n unde rlying color would e ffe ct the final
appe arance .)
Non-Metallic Reflection
Metal - NON Metallic - Yellow Tea Pot
Metal - NON Metallic - Blue Tea Pot

Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - W ith the 'm e tallic' se tting
are accurate ly re lfe cte d.
Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - W ith the 'm e tallic' se tting off, all colors
are accurate ly re lfe cte d.
Sharpness
'Sharpne ss' controls how cle arly obje cts can be se e n re fle cting off of an obje ct.
Metal - Sharpness 1.0
Metal - Sharpness 0.2
Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - W ith a Sharpne ss of 0.2,

ve ry uncle ar.
Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - W ith a Sharpne ss of 1.0, re fle ctions are
m ax im ally cle ar.
Glossy
'Glossy' turns off the m irror lik e re lfe ctions and only le ave s the highlights.
Glossy - Metallic
Glossy - NON Metallic

Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - This tim e glossy is turne

turne d off, the highlights are now white .
Use d 'Me tal' de fault se tting - W ith glossy turne d on, you can se e that
the re are now no re fle ctions on the te a pot, only highlights.

Reflection Guidelines
Bright sun and Highlighting
This is a m ode l whe re the bright sun shining on the floor was m ak ing highlight in the cabine ts which we re too inte nse .
Although the highlights are too inte nse , the im age m ay be fairly re alistic.
(Bright sun can produce a lot of glare - e spe cially he re in C olorado in the W inte r)
1. This is the W alnut-m e dium gloss nXt .ArMate rial. If we we re to use the low gloss ve rsion from the library, the re would
be le ss highlighting of the light on the cabine t.
2. The sun is re fle cting from the floor. If we m ade the floor le ss re fle ctive , the n le ss sun would re fle ct from it.
3. The sun m ay be too bright and it is shining dire ctly onto the floor. W e could lowe r the inte nsity of the sun.
4. The am bie nt light is se t to the de fault of m e dium , if we we re to raise the am bie nt light to high, it m ay cause le ss
re fle ction from the sun.
5. You could se t the re fle ctive bounce s to 1 rathe r tha 3. This m ight e lim inate the bounce s from the floor to the cabine t.
6. You could se t the cabine t to be glossy.
For this ne x t im age I:
1. Use the low gloss m ate rial

2. Made the floor 25% rathe r than 50% re fe lctive
3. Lowe re d the inte nsity of the sun. (Sin, sk y and cloudine ss all at .33)
4. Se t am bie nt light to High
He re is the re sult afte r 20 passe s:
R e fle ction Guide line s - 10.4 - 238 -

Reflection Guidelines - 10.4
The proble m with trying 4 ide as at once , is that you are not sure which one work e d be st. The re sult of all 4 change s m ay be a
bit too subdue d.
This ne x t im age was cre ate d with all the original se ttings, e x ce pt for the use of the low gloss m ate rial.
He re is the e ffe ct, with the original se ttings, of m ak ing the m ate rial use glossy re fle ction whic spre ads out the highlighting.
- 239 - R e fle ction Guide line s - 10.4

Reflection Settings
R e fle ction Se ttings are use d by nXt whe n it calculate s re fle ctions. The de fault se ttings are the be st choice for m ost m ate rials.
Howe ve r the re are tim e s whe n anothe r choice m ight offe r be tte r pe rform ance , conve rge faste r, or produce fe we r artifacts in
the proce ss.
Many of the se ttings de al spe cifically with how artificial light source s are re fle cte d in a m ate rial. The re are two fundam e ntal
algorithm s use d by nXt to calculate the se re fle ctions. The first is a "ray casting" algorithm and the se cond is a "highlight"
algorithm . The se two algorithm s are m athe m atically e quivale nt and will e ve ntually produce ide ntical re sults.
R e fle ction Se ttings use d in IR e nde r nXt are :
Balanced. (de fault) This is the de fault shade r and is the corre ct choice for m ost situations. nXt autom atically balance s
the two algorithm s base d on the Sharpne ss of the re fle ction.
Glossy. This shade r incre ase s the blurrine ss of the re fle ction and pre ve nts ray-casting e ntire ly. No obje ct or light
re fle ctions are calculate d. Use this shade r to incre ase pe rform ance and pre ve nt artifacts for m ate rials with ve ry blurry
re fle ctions. Som e re fle ctive subtle ty m ay be lost.
No Light Source Reflections. This shade r e x clude s ray-caste d re fle ctions of light source s. This is som e tim e s use ful in
pre ve nting "spe ck le " artifacts if your m ate rial is blurry and your sce ne contains sm all, bright, light source s.
Monte Carlo. O nly raycasting is use d to calculate re fle ctions of light source s. The raycasting occurs in an initially ve ry
noisy way, and gradually conve rge s to the corre ct solution. It is m ost use ful whe n the surface is not too blurry. Both
conve rge nce and fram e rate m ay slow whe n using this option.
Se e also: Blurry R e fle ction
Percentage reflection
A use r se nt m e a m ode l in which he couldn't se e any re fle ction in the swim m ing pool. He had clouds turne d on and was also
using a wate r m ate rial.
I discove re d that you ne e d to se t re fle ction highe r on a surface which has a m ate rial.
He re is an im age of re fle ction with just colore d wate r.
R e fle ction Guide line s - 10.4 - 240 -

Reflection Guidelines - 10.4
(The re fle ction is 0%, 10%, 20%, ..., 90% as you m ove from le ft to right)
As you can se e the re fle ction be com e s visible at about 40%
I the n adde d the Sk e tchUp "spark ling wate r" m ate rial to the wate r. You can se e that you ne e d highe r re fle ction se ttings to
se e the re fle ction of the fe nce in the wate r.
Now the re fle ction is visible at 50%, but not re ally what you would e x pe ct until you ge t to 60% or 70%
So: Plan to se t re fle ction highe r on te x ture d surface s.
- 241 - R e fle ction Guide line s - 10.4

Fresnel Reflection
The re is a Fresnel Reflection (pronounce d fray-NELL) slide r in the re fle ctivity se ction of the Advance d Mate rial Editor. This
se tting incre ase s the re fle ctivity of surface s at glancing angle s. It doe s not alte r the re fle ctivity of m ate rials at pe rpe ndicular
vie wing angle s. Turning this se tting down m ay offe r m ore control whe n only slight re fle ctivity is de sire d.
The Fre sne l slide r is on the Advance d m ate rial e ditor. It will have m ore e ffe ct on obje cts which are le ss re fle ctive , than on
obje cts which are m ore re fle ctive .
This is a te apot with ordinary re fle ction se t to 0.23 and no Fre sne l re fle ction. The re is
a light on the back wall, above the te apot, cre ating the re fle ction on the top of the
te apot, and a light in front of the te apot on the right cre ating the re fle ction on the
front.
This is the sam e sce ne , with re fle ction se t down ve ry low - 0.02 and Fre sne l re fle ction
se t to 1.00. This cause s the re fle ction at sharp angle s to appe ar - on the top of the
Fre sne l R e fle ction - 10.5 - 242 -

Fresnel Reflection - 10.5
te apot, but not the re fle ction at norm al angle s - on the front.
- 243 - Fre sne l R e fle ction - 10.5

Glossy Reflection
Glossy Reflection doe s not re fle ct actual obje cts, but doe s have highlighting from lights.
Te apot with Me tallic re fe ction and Glossy e nable d.
Glossy R e fle ction - 10.6 - 244 -

Glossy Reflection - 10.6
Te apot with Me tallic re fe ction e nable d.
- 245 - Glossy R e fle ction - 10.6

Metallic Reflection
Reflections won a sculpted model
A re fle ctive m ode l re fle cting light from an Autom atic Sk y
A re fle ctive m ode l re fle cting light from an HDR i Sk y with sun and clouds.
Me tallic R e fle ction - 10.7 - 246 -

Metallic Reflection - 10.7
A re fle ctive m ode l re fle cting light from an HDR i im age of a city sce ne .
- 247 - Me tallic R e fle ction - 10.7

Reflections on an Airstream Camper

Im age of an Airstre am re nde re d with an HDR i sk y. The HDR i im age provide s a back ground as we ll as the corre ct illum ination,
shadows and full 360-de gre e re fle ctions.

Metallic Reflection - 10.7
O ne of the be ne fits of HDR i sk ie s is the fact that the back ground im age is in the shape of a dom e , providing a full 360
de gre e back ground. This m e ans that no m atte r what angle you are vie wing your m ode l from , the re will always be a high
quality back ground im age . This also m ak e s the m valuable for sce ne s which contain re fle ction - re fle ctive surface s lik e this
C am pe r, or windows.
Comparison to non-HDRi rendering
This se cond im age was re nde re d using the de fault Sk e tchUp Sun. C om pare this to the im age above which use s HDR i sk ie s.
The re are a num be r of notable im prove m e nts in the HDR i im age including softe r shadows, softe r lighting and re fle ctions that
m atch the back ground im age .All of the se im prove m e nts he lp to add to the re alism of the m ode l.
Sam e m ode l with re fle ction from an norm al, "Autom atic", sk y.
- 249 - Me tallic R e fle ction - 10.7


Window Reflections - 10.9
Window Reflections
m ode l with back ground sk y, windows, and m irrors to he lp with se ttings.
It can a little e ffort to ge t good Window Reflections.
1. You ne e d to m ak e sure you have som e thing to re fle ct,

2. You ne e d to balance to transpare ncy and re fle ction of the windows to ge t the e ffe ct you want.
3. You ne e d to position the cam e ra so that the windows re fle ct the Sk y rathe r than the ground.
Original Model
He re is a m ode l a use r se nt in to try to ge t he lp with window re fle ctions.
W e adde d a m irror ne x t to the window. This will he lp as we are trying to ge t the transpare nt/re fle ctive se ttings adjuste d.
W e also m ade the building 5 tim e s talle r and re pe ate d the window, be cause som e tim e s you e x pe ct a sk y re fle ction whe n you
are re ally re fle cting the ground.
W e also adde d a ground plane , to m ak e it e asie r to se e the horizon.
Back grounds, such as this back ground sk y are truly back grounds - the y are place d be hind the re nde re d im age , and do not
e ffe ct lighting or re fle ctions.
In this first im age , the back ground is not re fle cte d, and the re is ve ry little to re fle ct e ve n in the m irror. (More on windows
late r.)
Use an HDRi Sky
- 251 - W indow R e fle ctions - 10.9

m ode l with HDR i sk y
W e re place d the back ground with an HDR i sk y - the Be ar Mountain sk y include d with IR e nde r.
W e also turne d off the sun, be cause with the sun on and an HDR i sk y, the sun is too bright and ofte n not in the sam e
position as the sun in the HDR i sk y.
The HDR i sk y is re fle cte d. Howe ve r, in this case the m ode l and vie w are positione d so that the stunning part of the HDR i sk y
is be hind the building, and visible in our vie w. So the m irrors are re fle cting the le ss-stunning part of the sk y. (This particular
HDR i has a gre at sk y - but also has a m ountain - se we are se e ing the m ountain re fle cte d in the windows.
W indow R e fle ctions - 10.9 - 252 -

m ode l with HDR i sk y rotate d 180 de gre e s
So we rotate d the HDR i sk y 180 de gre e s. This puts the m ountain be hind the building and the sk y be hind us, so that if re fle cts
in the windows.

m ode l with HDR i sk y rotate d 270 de gre e s
By rotating the sk y 270 de gre e s inste ad of 180, I was able to put the m ountains to the side , so we se e m ore sk y and still
re fle ct som e sk y.
(If you look around on the inte rne t, you can find som e sk ys which will work we ll for both back ground im age s and re fle ctions.
But re m e m be r you ge t be tte r re fle ctions whe n the sun is be hind you, not be hind the building.
Window Settings

100% re fle ctive , 50% transpare nt window
W he n work ing with re nde ring e ngine de ve lope rs we ofte n have discussions lik e "C an a 100% transpare nt obje ct have
re fle ctions?". The proble m he re is what "100% transpare nt" m e ans. If it m e ans that 100% of the light passe s through the
window, the n the re is no light le ft to re fle ct back to the e ye . No m atte r who wins the argum e nt, you ne e d to balance
transpare ncy and re fle ction to ge t the de sire d e ffe ct.
Also, if you look at a pie ce of glass which is re fle cting light, you will notice that the glass is m ore opaque whe re the light is
re fle cte d, and m ore transpare nt whe re no light is re fle cte d.
Inste ad of starting with glass for the window and adding re fle ction, we are now going to start with a m irror and add
transpare ncy. For this im age , I m ade a m irror m ate rial 50% transpare nt.
You can adjust the re fle ction and transpare ncy to ge t the e ffe ct you want.
Camera Position

cam e ra 5' from ground.
Now, with a tall building, we want to position the cam e ra we ll. If the cam e ra is high above the ground, the re fle ctions of the
windows will se e the ground and not the sk y. So you want to place the cam e ra ne ar the ground.
(I also re m ove d the m irrors, so we can se e just the windows.)
For this first im age , I place d the cam e ra at 5' from the ground.

cam e ra 5' from ground, look ing up using 2pt pe rspe ctive and pan.
In orde r to se e the whole building, you ne e d to change the vie w.
If you try to rotate the vie w in Sk e tchUp to se e the top of the building, you will find that the cam e ra m ove s be low the ground.
If you pan up to se e the top of the building, Sk e tchUp will m ove the cam e ra he ight to 1/2 the he ight of the building and m ost
of the windows will re fle ct the m ountains and the ground.
The trick is to turn on 2-pt pe rspe ctive in Sk e tchUp, and the n pan. The cam e ra wil stay at 5' for good re fle ctions, but the
building will be visible , and the ve rtical line s will stay ve rtical.
Showing Sky in Windows only

W indows re fle cting an invisible sk y
Anothe r trick you can use is to turn off the sk y, but le ave the sk y re fle ctive .
This le ts you sk y re fle ctions be stunning, while the visible sk y is just a white back ground.

Chapter 11 - Lighting
Lighting
Lighting is an im portant aspe ct of a Photore alistic re nde ring.
Use the following guide line s whe n lighting your m ode l:
Provide accurate inform ation whe ne ve r possible . Avoid using unre alistic inte nsity le ve ls for light source s.
Adjust the ove rall brightne ss of your re nde ring by using the Brightne ss control on the R e nde r Display W indow . Do not
atte m pt to adjust the ove rall sce ne brightne ss by changing the inte nsity of all of the light source s. nXt's autom atic
e x posure adjustm e nt will be work ing against you if you atte m pt to do this.
IR e nde r nXt autom atically proce sse s illum ination and shadows from the Sk e tchUp sun and from the sk y. You can add
additional lights to the m ode l - e spe cially for inte rior sce ne s for m ore re alistic e ffe cts.
- 259 - C hapte r 11 - Lighting

Lighting Defaults
Lighting Pre se ts
{{{topim age _te x t}}}
The Presets le ts you choose pre de fine d se ttings for the m ost com m on lighting situations.
The re are a lot of se ttings to cre ate spe cial lighting e ffe cts. The pre se ts m ak e it e asie r to ge t a good
re nde ring without having to m ak e all the se tting m anually.
Standard Presets
Studio or High Dynamic for subtle shadows for e x te rior sce ne s.

Exterior - for e x te rior sce ne s with sun and sk y.
Interior with Sun - Inte rior sce ne s with lighting through doors and windows.
Interior no Sun - Inte rior sce ne s with no e x te rnal lighting.
HDRi Sky - Ex te rior sce ne with a sk y full of clouds.
Se e : Lighting Pre se ts
Lighting Presets m ak e it e asy to cre ate an e ffe ctive re nde ring without having to worry about lights, the sun, or shadows.
Te m plate :IR e nde r Nx t De faults Tab
3D Object Sample
Lighting De faults - 11.1 - 260 -

Lighting Defaults - 11.1
IR e nde r nXt sam ple . (No lights. 4 m inute s re nde ring tim e . 50 passe s)
This m ode l, downloade d from the Google 3D W are house , (Lock Machine by Jon was re nde re d without m ak ing any light or
m ate rial se ttings. Using the de fault Studio, or High Dynam ic Lighting in nXtR e nde r m ak e s an e x ce lle nt re nde ring, with subtle
lighting e ffe cts with the push of a single button in IR e nde r nXt.
Sam e m ode l with re fle ction se ttings on m ate rials. (No lights. 5 m inute s
re nde ring tim e . 30 passe s.)
Adding som e re fle ctive m ate rials, (by right click ing on the m ate rial, and se le cting the de fault plastic, or m e tal box ), cre ate s a
- 261 - Lighting De faults - 11.1

m uch m ore dram atic re nde ring - again without adding any lights.
Lighting De faults - 11.1 - 262 -

Ambient Light - 11.3
Ambient Light
A mbient light is a constant light that is adde d to the re nde ring. IRender adds A mbient Light to a sce ne to re pre se nt m ore
re alistic lighting e ffe ct without having to e nte r e ve ry actual light source . Am bie nt Light is light applie d to the e ntire sce ne .
Using Am bie nt Light, you can highlight parts of an im age with an actual light, and use Am bie nt Light to provide a flat, but
usable illum ination for the re st of the sce ne .
De cre asing the am ount of am bie nt light ge ne rally produce s im age s with m ore contrast. Too m uch am bie nt light can m ak e a
re nde re d im age se e m flat and uninte re sting; too little can cause e x ce ssive contrast.
IR e nde r nXt also use s Indire ct Lighting which calculate s the e ffe ct of light bouncing off of surface s and illum inating othe r
surface s. This re duce s the ne e d for Am bie nt Light.
Note: I know everybody wants an "easy button" which will just make the scene look the way you want. But you will need to adjust some
things to get lighting right. Be sure to use the Brightness Slider and Tone Operator to adjust the brightness of the rendered image.
Brightne ss slide r on re nde r window
Ambient Light presets
Am bie nt light le ve ls are autom atically se t with e ach of the pre se t, de fault, lighting type s on the Pre se ts Tab .
High Dynamic - se ts Low Am bie nt Light. (also se ts Studio brightne ss - e ve n lowe r)

Exterior - se ts High Am bie nt Light.
Interior w/sun - se ts Me dium Am bie nt Light.
Interior no sun - se ts Me dium Am bie nt Light.
The se le ve ls can be ove rridde n on this Pre se ts Tab.
The balance be twe e n am bie nt light and artificial lights can adjuste d on the Light Tab .
- 263 - Am bie nt Light - 11.3

Ambient Light Balance

You can use the slide r on the Light Se tup Tab to adjust the balance be twe e n lam ps and Am bie nt Light. (Default 50%)
Note :This slide r adjusts am bie nt light vs artificial light. If you want to adjust the e ffe cts of sun and sk y, you ne e d to use the
slide rs on the Sk y Tab .
De fault Inte rior Am bie nt Light Balance
Am bie nt Light - 11.3 - 264 -

Balance at 90% - mostly lamps
90% Am bie nt Light Balance - m ostly lam ps

Balance at 10% - mostly ambient
Living R oom with Am bie nt Light
Am bie nt Light - 11.3 - 266 -

Frequently asked questions
This is a 6-side d cube vie we d from the inside . The re are no lights. W hy is the ce iling brighte r than the floor? ( I ge t
the sam e re sult with e arlie r ve rsions, and without te x ture s on the walls.)
The am bie nt lighting is inte ntionally non-uniform -- m ore light is dire cte d upward.

Highlighting
Highlighting' is the re fle ction of lights onto a surface .
The IR e nde r nXt Mate rial W izard has se ve ral se ttings which apply to re fle ctive m ate rials.
W ith the ne w Mate rial W izard is that you can change all of the se and quick ly se e the e ffe ct in the re nde r pre vie w window at the
right.
Reflection
This is the m irror lik e re fle ction of othe r obje cts
Plastic with re fle ction se t to 0.40 and highlighting turne d off.
Plastic with re fle ction se t to 0.80 and highlighting turne d off.
Highlight intensity or Sharpness

This controls "highlights" from the re fle ction of light source s. This is also som e tim e s calle d Glossine ss.
Highlighting - 11.4 - 268 -

Highlighting - 11.4
Plastic m ate rial with Highlight Inte nsity se t low - 0.16
Plastic m ate rial with Highlight Inte nsity se t high - 2.00
Highlight Sharpness
O r Inte nsity-Y - this is how sharp or fuzzy the highlight is. Note how the Highlight Sharpne ss se tting change the appe arance of
plastic. (The de fault Highlight Sharpne ss for plastic is 150.)
- 269 - Highlighting - 11.4

Plastic m ate rial with sharpne ss se t

to 246.
Plastic m ate rial with sharpne ss se t

to 45.
Highlight Type
W hite , Me tallic or colore d - this de te rm ine s the color of the highlight.
Highlighting - 11.4 - 270 -

Intensity Override - 11.5
Intensity Override
Afte r cre ating, or placing a light fix ture , you can override the intensity of the lam ps within the fix ture for e ach instance of the
light fix ture . This allows you to place two ide ntical light fix ture s and give the m diffe re nt inte nsitie s.
1. R ight click on a light fix ture and se le ct Override Light Intensity

2. Se le ct the ove rride de sire d (% or W atts)
3. C lick O K to save the se ttings for the light fix ture .
[[Im age :Inte nsity ove rride sam ple .jpg|fram e |le ft|Four floor lam ps with varying inte nsitie s.
The lam p on the le ft has its original inte nsity (75 W atts).
The ne x t lam p has a pe rce ntage ove rride of 50%.
The ne x t lam p has a wattage ove rride of 300 watts.
Note : If the light fix ture has m ultiple lam ps, the n the ove rride is applie d to e ach lam p. If the lam ps within a light fix ture
originally had diffe re nt inte nsitie s, and you ove rride the m with W atts, the y will all be se t to the sam e inte nsity.
- 271 - Inte nsity O ve rride - 11.5

Camera Light
The page e x plains how to cre ate and use r a Camera Light
It is ofte n ve ry difficult to place e nough lights in your drawing to be fully re alistic. Am bie nt light se ttings he lp with this, but
ofte n produce a flat e ffe ct. By placing m ovable lights, attache d to the cam e ra you can add e ffe ctive illum ination and
highlighting which will be use d for all vie ws.
Lights which m ove with your cam e ra m ak e it e asie r to illum inate sce ne s with out having to place lights for e ve ry vie w angle
you m ay want to use .
You can, and should, add lights to your sce ne - e spe cially lights which will appe ar in the re nde re d im age . Howe ve r, a couple of
lights place d ne ar the cam e ra will provide good illum ination for the re st of the sce ne .
How to use a Camera Light

Step1 - create camera light
C am e ra Light - 11.6 - 272 -

Camera Light - 11.6
C am e ra Light com pone nt
C re ate a com pone nt with one or m ore lights in it.
The origin of the com pone nt should be t in the location whe re it will snap to the cam e ra.
The blue ax is will be aligne d to the line from the cam e ra to the e ye .
The gre e n ax is be aligne d to the cam e ra's up ve ctor.
The re d ax is will be aligne d pe rpe ndicularly to the up ve ctor - usually le ft and right of the cam e ra.
Place any ge om e try or attribute s in the cam e ra_light com pone nt which will he lp illum inate the sce ne . (The construction line s
will not e ffe ct the sce ne )
Do not place any ge om e try which will obstruct the cam e ra.
Save the com pone nt as 'camera_light
Step 2 - place camera_light component in a drawing
- 273 - C am e ra Light - 11.6

cam e ra_light com pone nt place d in drawing.
It doe s not m atte r whe re you place it, it will be snappe d into position whe n you align it.
Step 3 - Align camera_light to camera
C am e ra light afte r alignm e nt.

(Zoom e d out a bit so that we can se e it).
Se le ct A lign Camera Light from the plugins m e nu.
W he n aligne d prope rly you will not be able to se e it.
For te sting, it m ay be handy to zoom out to le t you se e how the cam e ra has be e n place d.
Step 4 - Render model with camera light
C am e ra Light - 11.6 - 274 -

Camera Light - 11.6
Sce ne re nde re d with cam e ra light.

(Zoom e d out a bit. Norm ally the cam e ra light would not be visible
(R e nde re d with IR e nde r nXt. No othe r lights in m ode l.)
Creating a Camera Light in Render Plus
Sce ne re nde re d with 4-bulb C am e ra Light ge ne rate d by IR e nde r nXt

(Note : This im age is a little e x tre m e be cause the re are no othe r lights. Norm ally you
would use the cam e ra lights to augm e nt othe r lighting.
- 275 - C am e ra Light - 11.6

You can autom atically cre ate cam e ra lights in R e nde r Plus from the C re ate Lam p W izard.
Se e : C am e ra Light Tab
Tips
Two or m ore spotlight will usually provide the be st e ffe ct.
Norm ally the cam e ra light will not be your only light. It is inte nde d to augm e nt othe r lighting.
C am e ra Light - 11.6 - 276 -

Cove Lighting - 11.7
Cove Lighting
Cove Lighting re fe rs to lighting in a suspe nde d ce iling whe re the lighting itse lf points up and is the n re fle cte d by the ce iling
into the sce ne .
He re is a m ode l with cove lighting afte r 30 re nde ring passe s. The m ode l has a single light applie d to the e ntire upward facing
surface on top of the re ce sse d are a of the ce iling. Afte r 30 passe s the lighting in the room is som e what balance d, but still the
lighting above the ce iling shows the e ffe cts of the individual lights. This will im prove with additional re nde ring passe s.
1 cove light, 30 passe s.
Afte r 200 passe s, the lighting is fairly sm ooth.
- 277 - C ove Lighting - 11.7

1 cove light, 200 passe s.
C ove Lighting - 11.7 - 278 -

Light Setup - 11.8
Light Setup
Light Settings for IR e nde r nXt
Lights Tab
Light Balance
Settings
Show Light Bulbs

- 279 - Light Se tup - 11.8

Lighting Channels
Light Se tup - 11.8 - 280 -

Sun - 12.1
Sun
The Sk e tchUp Sun is autom atically use d in IR e nde r to cre ate lighting e ffe cts and shadows.
- 281 - Sun - 12.1

Sun Settings
Sun Settings de pe nd on the Sk e tchUp Sun Se ttings, and on ove rride s on the Lighting O ptions Tab of the IR e nde r Se tup
Dialog. O the r sun se ttings are m ade dire ctly in Sk e tchUp .
SketchUp Settings
Location from Mode l Info in

Sk e tchUp
Shadow Se ttings in Sk e tchUp
Basic shadow and sun se ttings are m ade in Sk e tchUp - using the Mode l Location and Shadow Se ttings dialog.
IRender Setup Dialog

You can se t cloudine ss, and ove rride the Sk e tchUp inte nsitie s on the Sk y Se tup Tab .
Lights Tab
Sun Se ttings - 12.2 - 282 -

Sun Settings - 12.2
Light Balance
Settings
Show Light Bulbs

Lighting Channels
- 283 - Sun Se ttings - 12.2

Sun Se ttings - 12.2 - 284 -

Shadows - 12.3
Shadows
Shadows from the sun. R e nde re d with Sk e tchUp.
Multiple shadows from Sk e tchUp stre e t light com pone nts.

R e nde re d with IR e nde r .
Shadows add to the Photore alism of a re nde re d m ode l.
Shadows in SketchUp
Sk e tchUp displays shadows from the sun, using the Shadow Se ttings dialog box to spe cify the day of the ye ar, and the tim e
of day. to cre ate the shadows.
Se e Shadow Se ttings for inform ation on how to se t sun shadows.
Multiple Shadows
High e nd re nde re rs, such as a IR e nde r nXt , can also cast shadows from othe r light source s to cre ate a m ore re alistic e ffe ct
for inte riors or night sce ne s.
This sce ne is re nde re d with m ultiple lights and Soft Shadows.
- 285 - Shadows - 12.3

Soft Shadows
Soft Shadows is a fe ature of IRender which re -sam ple s the sun and lam ps to cre ate soft shadows.
Lamp Size
Large r lam p bulbs will cre ate software shadows - se e the e x am ple s be low.
Sm all lam p place d in front of chair. 30 re nde ring passe s. Note harshe r
shadows
Large lam p place d in front of chair. 30 re nde ring passe s. Note soft
shadows
Notes
The shadows are softened with each rendering pass, so you need to allow enough rendering passes to see the soft shadows.
The wall on the left has Auto Bump enabled.
Another Example
He re is anothe r e x am ple using a 0.05" lam p on the le ft and a 2" lam p on the right.
Soft Shadows - 12.4 - 286 -

Soft Shadows - 12.4
500 passe s with the Path Trace r Engine
- 287 - Soft Shadows - 12.4

HDRi Skies
HDR i Sk ie s will im prove your Sk e tchUp R e nde ring with re alistic back grounds and e x te rior illum ination.
HDRi Skies
HDRi Skies are spe cial im age s to re pre se nt sk ie s which contain e x tra inform ation about inte nsitie s of the
colors.
HDR i (high dynam ic range im aging)is a se t of te chnique s that allows a gre ate r dynam ic range of
e x posure s (the range of value s be twe e n light and dark are as) than norm al digital im aging te chnique s. The
inte ntion of HDR i is to accurate ly re pre se nt the wide range of inte nsity le ve ls found in re al sce ne s ranging
from dire ct sunlight to shadows.
IR e nde r nXt offe rs support for HDR i Sk ie s - use d as visible sk ie s, as sk y re fle ctions and for illum ination
from the Sk y.
HDRI Skies are spe cial 360 de gre e im age s of back ground im age ry such as sk ie s, tre e s, sunse ts and buildings that also
contain illum ination inform ation such as the inte nsity and color of light base d on the back ground im age ry chose n.
W hat HDRi Skies m e ans to you...
Accurate ly illum inate a sce ne .

C re ate re alistic re fle ctions.
Incre ase re alism .
Fe ature d in IR e nde r nXt and nXtR e nde r.
HDRI (high dynam ic range im aging)is a se t of te chnique s that allows a gre ate r dynam ic range of e x posure s (the range of
value s be twe e n light and dark are as) than norm al digital im aging te chnique s. The inte ntion of HDR I is to accurate ly re pre se nt
the wide range of inte nsity le ve ls found in re al sce ne s ranging from dire ct sunlight to shadows.
HDRi Sky Tutorial
HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6 - 288 -

HDRI Skies - 12.6
This tutorial show you how to use the HDR i Sk y Lighting de fault, to add a quick HDR i sk y back ground to a m ode l.
You can e asily choose a diffe re nt HDR i sk y, or m k e othe r change s afte r you vie w a sam ple re nde ring.
Se e HDR i Sk y Tutorial
Using HDRI skies in IRender nXt
W e adde d a ne w Lighting Pre se t to IR e nde r nXt - HDR i Sk y
Be cause of the ne w Im age Laye r W izard - which m ak e it e asy to rotate and position HDR i sk ie s, m ore and m ore pe ople are
using HDR i sk ie s in the m ode ls.
This ne w Lighting Pre se t autom atically m ak e s the be st se ttings for HDR i sk ie s, and se le cts a nice sk y with a m ountain,
back ground tre e s, sk y and clouds.
If you want to use a diffe re nt HDR i sk y - just choose this pre se t and the n go to the HDR i Se tup tab to choose a diffe re nt sk y.
IR e nde r contains se ve ral HDR I sk ie s from various source s, including ArchVision, AccuStudio and Eve rMotion. You can click on
the plus sign to cycle be twe e n the include d HDR I sk ie s.
- 289 - HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6

HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6 - 290 -

HDRI Skies - 12.6
- 291 - HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6

If you want to m ak e HDR I Sk ie s visible , or just re fle ctive , use the Sun/Sk y Tab to adjust the se ttings
In orde r to se e the HDR I sk ie s, you ne e d to turn the sk y on, and se le ct an HDR I sk y. None of the 4 lighting de faults se le cts
HDR I sk y and m ak e s the sk y visible , so you ne e d to do this m anually on the Sun/Sk y tab. In the e x am ple on the right, we
se le cte d the Ex te rior De fault, the n turne d off the sun, and turne d on HDR I sk y m ode . (W e se le cte d the HDR I sk y to use from
the HDR I tab)
Resolution Issues
HDR I sk ie s don't work we ll for back grounds unle ss you have a ve ry high re solution HDR i, or use a ve ry large Fie ld of Vie w.
If you use a standard FO V of 35, the n you're only using 10% of the width of the HDR i im age and stre tching part of the im age
that across the back ground of your re nde ring. (35 de gre e s is about 10% of 360 de gre e s)
So if you do the m ath, for a 1000 pix e l re nde ring, you would ne e d a 10,000 pix e l HDR i im age for a 35 de gre e FO V to re nde r
at highe st quality.
If the FO V is sm all, it will look lik e you are zoom e d in on the back ground im age , the wrong scale . So it's be tte r to use a large r
FO V for e x te rior sce ne s for which you want to use a HDR i sk y for the back ground.
If you se t the FO V to 90, the n you will se e 1/4 th of the HDR i im age as a back ground. That k ind of work s, but of course you
m ay ge t distortion from the 90 FO V in the pe rspe ctive vie w. 2 Pt Pe rspe ctive m ay he lp with this.
He re I use d StJohns_09_2.hdr, one of the highe st re solution HDR i file s that are include d with the librairie s. It has a width of
4096 pix e ls. And I use d a FO V of 90 and turne d on 2 pt pe rspe ctive .
HDR i back ground. 90 de gre e FO V and 2 PT pe rspe ctive se t in Sk e tchUp.
So it's using about 1/4 of the e ntire HDR I im age : (This is hard to se e he re be cause this is a flat re pre se ntation of a
Panoram ic HDR I Im age )
HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6 - 292 -

HDRI Skies - 12.6
Approx im ate location of the back ground use d from full HDR i im age .
He re is anothe r sam ple with a 90 de gre e FO V for an e x te rior - without 2 PT Pe rspe ctive .
(Using the Be ar Mountain HDR i from our library)
HDR i back ground. 90 de gre e FO V and norm al pe rspe ctive se t in Sk e tchUp.
- 293 - HDR I Sk ie s - 12.6

Additional HDRI Skies

HDRI Tab
Additional HDR I Sk ie s - 12.7 - 294 -

Additional HDRI Skies - 12.7
- 295 - Additional HDR I Sk ie s - 12.7

The Plus Sign on the IR e nde r nXt HDR I Sk ie s tab will page through additional HDR I Sk ie s.
Sources
HDR I Sk ie s which can be use d with IR e nde r nXt are available at: Free HDRI Skies:
HDR I-Hub.com - HDR I-Hub.com is your first addre ss for royalty fre e , high re solution 360-de gre e High Dynam ic R ange
panoram as and high quality archite ctural te x ture s. The se e nable you to light and shade your 3D sce ne s photo
re alistically. You will find the panoram a im age s and te x ture s in our shop.
O PENFO O TAGE.NET - 35 Full 360 de gre e HDR I Panoram as for back grounds
www.accustudio.com AccuStudio Galle ry - go to Ex change and the n HDR I.
Eve rMotion
Brian Jam e 's HDR I colle ctions
Paul De be ve c Probe s
Max Planck Institut O pe nEXR
USC - IC T Graphics Laboratory
Ke ith Bruns HDR I Galle ry
Eve rm otion.org
Gre g W ard, Anywhe re Software
Not free HDRI files:
ArchVision
Hype rfocal De sign
Dosch De sign
HDR I Studio
Sachform Te chnology
Additional HDR I Sk ie s - 12.7 - 296 -

High Dynamic Lighting - 12.8
High Dynamic Lighting
The Studio or High Dynamic de fault provide s HDR i lighting which is ve ry e ffe ctive
for m any re nde rings without using the sun or any e x te rior lights.
W he n you are trying to re nde r an obje ct or building you have cre ate d, High
Dynam ic Lighting cre ate s a good re nde ring without having to place the sun, lights,
re fle ctive pane ls, e tc.
Se e also: nXtR e nde r , Lighting Pre se ts Fe ature
- 297 - High Dynam ic Lighting - 12.8

Aim Lamp
IR e nde r lam p, with (optional), transpare nt pointing be am . The lam p was

initially "glue d" to the wall. W e want to point it at the plant on the table .
Use cursor to point lam p. (C ursor position is ne ar whe re the word "Endpoint"
appe ars.) As you m ove the cursor, the lam p points to the cursor location
until you click the m ouse button. The base point of the light stays fix e d.
A im Lamp is a Sk e tchUp tool to point an IR e nde r lam p at an obje ct in the Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Aim Lam p - 13.1 - 298 -

Aim Lamp - 13.1
Starting the tool
R ight click on a lam p, and se le ct IRender:: A im Lamp, or
Se le ct a lam p, or othe r com pone nt, and se le ct A im Components from the Sk e tchUp Edit m e nu.
Aim lamp
The lam p will autom atically point at the cursor position.
Snap the cursor to a face , e dge , e tc. at which you want to point the lam p.
C lick the le ft m ouse button to point the lam p, or click e scape to stop the ope ration.
Other components
You can use Point Components to point othe r com pone nts as we ll. Howe ve r, the y will point be st if the com pone nts ax is
is se t to the ce nte r bottom of the com pone nt, and if the blue ax is is aligne d in the dire ction you want the com pone nt
to use for pointing. (You can right click on a com pone nt and se le ct Change A xes to re se t its ax e s for be tte r Pointing.)
Notes
1. If a lam p or com pone nt is glue d, the n a unique instance will be cre ate d which is not glue d. (Be cause you can not aim
glue d com pone nts - the y will re -glue whe n you save the m ode l.)
- 299 - Aim Lam p - 13.1

Beam and Field Angles

The Beam and Field A ngles de te rm ine how a spot light lights the surrounding are a.
For m ost use s, the fie ld angle should be 180 de gre e s, be cause that cre ate s a softe r transition at the e dge of the be am
angle .
W e have change d the de fault fie ld angle to 180. (It use d to be 1 1/2 x the be am angle ). This should give be tte r re sults. If
you want a tighte r angle , the n ove rride r it.
Be am 15 de gre e s, Fie ld 180 de gre e s (de fault)
Be am and Fie ld Angle s - 13.2 - 300 -

Beam and Field Angles - 13.2
Be am 60 de gre e s, Fie ld 75 de gre e s
Visible Light Paths
Se e : Visible Light Paths
- 301 - Be am and Fie ld Angle s - 13.2

Create Lamp or Light Fixture

Create Lamp or Light Fixture
Adding lam ps and light fix ture s will provide lighting for your Inte rior Sce ne s or Nighttim e Sce ne s.
SketchUp lamps - m any Sk e tchUp lam ps are autom atically use d as light source s.
Create Lamp - the lam p wizard m ak e s it e asy to add custom lam ps.
Components and Lamps - the O bje ct Prope rtie s W izard m ak e s it e asy to turn any surface or obje ct
into a lam p.
Vide o: Inte rior Lighting Basics
The Light Fixtures dialog is launche d by the cre ate light fix ture icon ( ) on the IR e nde r Toolbar:
A light fix ture is cre ate d as a Sk e tchUp com pone nt, e ithe r as a lam p or as an uncove re d light source . An uncove re d light
source can be place d inside som e othe r ge om e try to m ak e a ne w light fix ture com pone nt, or place d dire ctly in the drawing.
You can e dit a lam p alre ady place d in the drawing by right-click ing on it and se le cting Edit Irender Lamp .
Light Fixture Types
C re ate Lam p - 13.3 - 302 -

Create Lamp - 13.3
The tabs at the top of the dialog se le ct one of se ve ral type s of light fix ture s, e ach with its own com ple m e nt of se ttings that
apply to that type only.
Ceiling
A C e iling light fix ture is a flat re ctangle that e m its light.
Se e : C e iling Light Tab
Floor
A floor lam p is a de corative lam p that has a shade and a tall stand.
Se e : Floor Lam p Tab
- 303 - C re ate Lam p - 13.3

Table
A table lam p is sim ilar to a floor lam p, but it has a shorte r base and is m e ant to be place d on top of a pie ce of furniture .
Se e : Table Lam p Tab
Point
A Point light fix ture is a light source that radiate s light from a single , sphe rical point of origin, such as a bare light bulb.
Se e : Point Light Tab
Spot
Se e : Spot Lam p Tab
Linear
A Line ar Light sub-divide s a long, narrow light so that points within the lam p are sam ple d m ore ofte n and m ore sm oothly.
Line ar light - bottom and re ctangluar light - top afte r

5 re nde ring passe s.
Se e : Line ar Light Tab
Camera Light
C re ate s a single com pone nt calle d "cam e ra_light" which is autom atically aligne d to the curre nt vie w cam e ra whe n re nde ring.
Se e : C am e ra Light Tab
Beams
C re ate Lam p - 13.3 - 304 -

Create Lamp - 13.3
C re ate s a visible Light Be am .
Se e : Visible Light Paths
- 305 - C re ate Lam p - 13.3

Edit Lamp
Edit Lamp is use d to change to se ttings for a lam p place d as a Sk e tchUp com pone nt.
To invok e Edit Lamp, right click on a lam p and se le ct: IRender: Edit Lamp.
For value s for se ttings, se e Create Lamp .
C lick OK to save your change s.
Editing Multiple Instances of a Lamp

Edit IR e nde r Lam p" only change s one lam p at a tim e . (The ne w light inte nsity is store d on the instance , and not in the
com pone nt de finition)
If you want to re place all the e x isting lam ps, you can cre ate a ne w lam p with the ne w wattage , and the n go to the Sk e tchUp
C om pone nt W indow in Mode l Vie w and List Vie w.
1. R ight C lick on the lam p you want to change (In the C om pone nts window), and click "Se le ct Instance s"
2. R ight C lick on the ne w lam p and click "R e place Se le cte d"
That should re place the se le cte d instance s of the original lam p with the ne w lam p.
Edit Lam p - 13.5 - 306 -

Indirect Lighting - 13.7
Indirect Lighting
Indirect Lighting
Indirect Lighting re fe rs to the IR e nde r nXt fe ature of proce ssing light re fle cte d from m irrors and othe r
surface s.
This cre ate s a re alistic lighting e ffe ct which im prove s with e ach succe ssive re nde ring pass. Indire ct should
be use d with m ost inte riors sce ne s to softe n the lighting e ffe cts.
Se e : C ove Lighting
Indirect Lighting re fe rs to the fe ature of proce ssing light re fle cte d from m irrors and othe r surface s.
Indire ct lighting, or lighting re fle cte d from othe r surface s, can add som e subtle ty and re alism to your e x te rior re nde ring. In
particular, the unde rside s of ove rhanging fe ature s such as e ave s or balconie s can be re nde re d m ore accurate ly whe n using
indire ct lighting.
This subtle ty, howe ve r, com e s at a pe rform ance cost. More passe s will be re quire d to re solve the im age , and e ach pass will
tak e longe r.
More re alistic lighting e ffe cts.

Subtle , soft shadows due to re fle cte d lights.
Be tte r im age s for pre se ntations.
Cove Lights
Indire ct lighting from lights above suspe nde d ce iling.
In this e x am ple , the lights are place d above the suspe nde d ce iling and re fle cte d into the room from the m ain ce iling.
The lighting be com e s sm oothe r and sm oothe r as m ore bounce s are proce sse d during e ach re nde ring pass.
- 307 - Indire ct Lighting - 13.7

Settings
Method
The re are two m e thods for Indire ct Lighting - Standard and Gathe r.
Gathe r som e tim e s produce s a sm oothe r e ffe ct, but tak e s longe r.
Gathe r Indire ct Light use s Monte C arlo lik e te chnique s to solve the indire ct portion of the lighting. Im age s start out noisy and
gradually re fine . May be use ful for e x te rior daylighting-- m uch slowe r for inte riors than standard m e thod and not m uch be tte r.
Se e : Gathe r Indire ct Lighting m e thod
Bounces
The de fault for indire ct lighting bounce s is 1, m e aning that a light shining on a wall or m irror, will be bounce d once , but it is
not, the n, bounce d off of additional walls.
You can incre ase this value for spe cial situations, but e ach bounce adde d will add to the re nde ring tim e .
Indire ct Lighting - 13.7 - 308 -

Lumens vs Watts - 13.8
Lumens vs Watts
IR e nde r allows you to spe cify lam p inte nsity in Watts. W attage spe cifie s how m uch e ne rgy the lam p use s.
IR e nde r use s a conve rsion factor of 17 Lum e ns pe r W att, m e aning that a 100 W att lam p will e m it 1700 Lum e ns. If you k now
the lam ps value in Lum e ns, divide by 17 whe n e nte ring it as watts into IR e nde r nXt.
He re is a table of som e lam p type s and with wattage , Lum e ns pe r watt, and total Lum e ns.
Lamp type Wattage Lumens Lumens per Watt

Incande sce nt 40 504 12.6
Incande sce nt 100 1750 17.5
Fluore sce nt 32 1600 50.0
Q uartz haloge n 50 1200 24.0
- 309 - Lum e ns vs W atts - 13.8

Self Glow
Self Glow
Se lf Glow
Self Glow illum inate s a surface as if it had light shining on it, without actually m ak ing it a light. For obje cts
which you want to appe ar bright, but which don't ne e d to illum inate othe r obje cts, this is m uch faste r than
m ak ing lights out of the m .
De fine s a m ate rial which glows with Self Glow, or acts as a light with Illumination.
Illuminance - the face s which contain this te x ture will act as lights.
Se t the de sire d W attage
Self Glow - the face glows, but doe s not illum inate othe r surface s. This is the be st se tting or Ne on lights.
Se t the glow pe rce ntage - 0 to 100%
Se e also: Glow
Se lf Glow - 13.9 - 310 -

Visible Light Paths - 13.10
Visible Light Paths

Visible Light Paths
Vie w spot light be am s as if shining in a hazy room .
This fe ature cre ate s a transpare nt lam p be am with a patte rn to e m ulate light passing through a sm ok y or
foggy room .
You can de fine a visible light be am on the spot-light cre ation wizard.
Settings
- 311 - Visible Light Paths - 13.10

Beam and Field angle - the se are se t to the sam e value to m ak e a tight be am of light.
Lamp Length - the le ngth of the lam p itse lf.
Beam Length - the le ngth of the lam p be am s.
This should be long e nough to pass through the wall or scre e n which re ce ive s the light paths.
No. of beams - cre ating 2 or 3 be am s will produce a m ore re alistic e ffe ct.
If you use m ultiple be am s, se e : R e fraction issue s be low.
Total sub-beam width - the pe rce ntage of the full be am angle which is divide d be twe e n m ultiple sub-be am s.
Total Transparency - this is divide d by the num be r of be am s.
Visible Light Paths - 13.10 - 312 -

Haze Patterns one or m ore patte rns can be applie d to e m ulate a haze e ffe ct. Se e : Proce dural Bum p Patte rns be low.
Procedural Bump Patterns

You m ay se le ct one or m ore patte rns to place on the light be am .
The patte rns are all cre ate d with de fault stre ngths and othe r se ttings. If you want to m odify the m , right click on the be am and
e dit its m ate rial dire ctly.
Sandpape r patte rn on light be am .

R ubble patte rn on light be am .
:W rink le d patte rn on light be am .
Marble d patte rn on light be am .

Pyram id patte rn on light be am .
All 5 patte rns on light be am .
Note : It sook 1 m inute 16 se conds to re nde r this im age with just one patte rn, and 2 m iniute s and 18 se conds to re nde r it with
all 5 patte rns.
Refraction issues

Visible Light Paths proce sse d with 6 re fractive bounce s.

The lam ps have 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 sub-be am s - from le ft to right.
The lam ps with 4 or m ore sub-be am s re quire 8, 10 and 12 re fractive
bounce s in orde r to be transpare nt.
Visible Light Paths proce sse d with 12 re fractive bounce s.

The lam ps with 4 or m ore sub-be am s are now transpare nt.
Howe ve r it too longe r

R e nde r Tab
The re is a se tting in IR e nde r nXt, R e fraction Bounce s, which de te rm ine s how m any transpare nt surface s will be proce sse d for
transpare ncy and re fraction. The de fault for this se tting is 6.
If you use 3 sub-cone s for your dom e s that m e ans that light and colors passing through a single light fix ture will ne e d 6
re fraction passe s. If the re are two light be am s - one be hind the othe r - the n the se cond light be am will be opaque whe re it
appe ars be hind the first light be am - be cause all 6 re fractions we re use d up for the first light be am . So you would want to
change this re fraction se tting to 12 to proce ss ove rlapping visible light paths.
Sim ilarly, if you we re to place 6 sub-be am s in a single light, the n 12 re fraction passe s would be re quire d to se e lights and
colors from be hind the 12 surface s.
You can incre ase re fraction bounce s on the R e nde r tab of the Se tup Dialog

Plants
Sk e tchUp m ode l with 2 AR 3 Library Plants
The re are thre e ways to place Plants in IRender nXt:
1. Download Plant C om pone nts from the 3D W are house

2. C re ate a ne w plant with the Tre e Editor
3. Load a nXt plant from the nXt Plant Library.
4. Load an AR 3 plant from the AR 3 Plant Library.
3D Warehouse Trees
A num be r of plants are be ing place d in the 3D W are house . The se plants can be place d dire ctly into your Sk e tchUp m ode l, and
will re nde r as Fractal nXt plants.
He re is the colle ction of pre m ade plants.
IR e nde r R e ady Tre e s
IR e nde r nXt Plants - 14.1 - 318 -

IRender nXt Plants - 14.1
Tree Editor
Se e : Tre e Editor for inform ation on cre ating and e diting tre e s.
Using .ArPlant Plants

Afte r cre ating an ArPlant in the Tre e Editor and saving it, you can m ap it to an IR e nde r Plant.
1. C re ate and Place an IR e nde r Plant from the AR 3 library.

2. R ight click on the Plant, and se le ct the Plant Editor
3. Use the Browse button to se le ct a .ArPlant file from the disk .
4. Se t the age if de sire d.
W he n you re nde r the ne w plant should be use d for the re nde ring.
- 319 - IR e nde r nXt Plants - 14.1

Sk e tchUp sce ne re nde re d with IR e nde r nXt and blown up to show de tail
or tre e s.
nXt Plant Library
The Plant Librarie s contain various pre -m ade R pTre e Mak e r plants
The se librarie s are store d in the nXt_Materials folde r in your Librarie s folde r.
To acce ss the se librarie s:
1. Se le ct Create Plant from the IR e nde r nXt Toolbar:

2. Se le ct Load from Library... to ope n the library of nXt Plants.
3. Turn on thum bnails if you want to se e sam ple s of e ach m ate rial as you load it.
AR3 Plant Library

1. Se le ct the Create Plant icon form the IR e nde r Plus toolbar:

2. Se le ct a plant from the nXtR e nde r librarie s.

Se t the he ight and othe r param e te rs and place the plant.
Seasons

Mapping a Fractal Plant to a Sk e tchUp Plant - Early Spring
AR 3 Plants can autom atically change appe arance to m atch the se asons. This m ak e s it e asy to m ak e clie nt pre se ntations to
show what a building site , or landscaping proje ct will look lik e in varying se asons.
Plant change s for various se asons:
Late Spring
Sum m e r
W inte r
Plant Size
Plant size s are de te rm ine d by the trunk size , so the plant can be size d to m atch the he ight or width of a com pone nt, but not
both.

W he n m apping a fractal plant to a com pone nt, you can spe cify whe the r the fractal plant will m atch the he ight or width of the
com pone nt.
Rendering Detail
Thre e le ve ls of de tail are provide d. Me dium is be st for m ost use s. You m ay want to use low to spe e d up re nde ring while you
are work ing on your sce ne . You m ay want to use high for the be st quality re nde ring for your final pre se ntation.

Create Plant - 14.2
Create Plant
Create Plant is use d to cre ate a Sk e tchUp com pone nt to re pre se nt an nXtR e nde r plant. W he n the m ode l is re nde re d the plant
is autom atically re nde re d as a fractal plant, providing m uch gre ate r de tail than that available in the Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Create Plant is a wizard in IR e nde r nXt
Sample Model
IR e nde r nXt plants in Sk e tchUp
IR e nde r nXt plants in IR e nde r nXt
- 325 - C re ate Plant - 14.2

Create Plant Components
1. Se le ct the Create Plant icon form the IR e nde r nXt toolbar:

2. Se le ct a plant from the AccuR e nde r librarie s.
Make any changes to Plant
C re ate Plant - 14.2 - 326 -

Create Plant - 14.2
Generate Plant Image and Place Plant
- 327 - C re ate Plant - 14.2

Image resolution - quality of the im age in Sk e tchUp - this doe s not e ffe ct the quality of the re nde ring.
Shadow mask Resolution -the shadow m ask will cre ate shadows in Sk e tchUp - this doe s not e ffe ct the quality of the
re nde ring.
Start or Remake C lick this button to re m ak e the im age with the ne w se ttings
Save Tree Image - save the tre e and place it in Sk e tchUp.
C re ate Plant - 14.2 - 328 -

Create Plant - 14.2
Settings on SetUp dialog
Random Rotation - random ly rotate s plants.

Random Height - random ly scale s plants.
Se e : R andom Plant Se ttings
Season - se ts the de fault se ason for all plants. (O nly applie s to AR 3 plants, not ne w nXt plants)
Advanced Settings
- 329 - C re ate Plant - 14.2

Tree Rotation - le ts you rotate the tre e in the im age .
(Use ful for angle d, or non-sym m e trical tre e s)
Camera Height - le ts you raise or lowe r the cam e ra for diffe re nt e ffe cts.
Background mode - this doe s not e ffe ct the final im age whe n save d to Sk e tchUp.
HDR i sk y m ode and be use ful to se e how the sk y e ffe cts the lighting.
Illumination factor - alte r if tre e is too light or too dark .

HDRi sky rotation - will e ffe ct how the HDR i sk y illum inate s the tre e .
Use Defaults - re se t to de fault se ttings
Create alpha clipmask for VRay - an alpha m ask is cre ate d for VR ay use rs.
C re ate Plant - 14.2 - 330 -

Tree Maker - 14.3
Tree Maker
The Tree Maker is a fe ature of IR e nde r nXt which allows you to cre ate de finitions for Fractal Tre e s, save the m in a library as
.A rPlant file s and the n use the m as plants in IR e nde r nXt.
It use s the nXt Tree Editor to cre ate custom tre e s, store s a 2D re pre se ntation of the tre e in Sk e tchUp and re nde rs it as a full,
fractal, 3D Tre e .
Mapping to IRender nXt Plant
Afte r cre ating an ArPlant in the Tre e Editor and saving it, you can m ap it to an IR e nde r plant.
1. C re ate and Place an IR e nde r Plant from the AR 3 library.

2. R ight click on the Plant, and se le ct the Plant Editor
3. Use the Browse button to se le ct a .ArPlant file from the disk .
4. Se t the age if de sire d.
W he n you re nde r the ne w plant should be use d for the re nde ring.
Tree Editor usage

Plant Type
- 331 - Tre e Mak e r - 14.3

Se t the type from the File/New m e nu at the top.
The re are four tre e type s - Standard, Conifer, Broad C rown, Palm and C om ple x
(Do not use Groundcove r with R pTre e Mak e r).
Each has diffe re nt se tting on the tabs of the tre e e ditor.
Play with the various se ttings to se e what the y do.
Tre e Mak e r - 14.3 - 332 -

Tree Maker - 14.3
Trunk Settings
C hange the Param e te rs and se e the re sults at the le ft.
Foliage and Flowers

[[Im age :Tre e -e ditor-foliage .jpg|500px ]
You can click on the le af im age to se le ct a diffe re nt im age .
Flowers/Fruit
You can also add an im age to be use d as flowe rs or fruit
Leaf and Flower Images

You can se le ct ne w le ave s, trunk , e tc. by click ing on the im age .
You can also add your own le ave s and bark to the Plant Im age folde r and use the m for your custom tre e s.
- 333 - Tre e Mak e r - 14.3

RayTrace
C lick 'Start' on the R ayTrace drop down m e nu to se e a sam ple re nde ring of the tre e with foliage .
Use the m ouse and scroll-whe e l to on the im age to se t a ne w vie w be fore starting re nde ring if de sire d.
Tre e Mak e r - 14.3 - 334 -

Tree Maker - 14.3
Rendering tips
R pTre e Mak e r tre e place d as an im age in Sk e tchUp and re nde re d with IR e nde r. Note the
quality of the fractal re nde ring and the subtle ty of the shadows.
For IR e nde r nXt use rs, the R pTre e Mak e r tre e will autom atically re -re nde r as a full, fractal, 3D tre e .
IR e nde r nXt use rs should m ak e the ir tre e im age s at the lowe st re solution to save tim e and k e e p the Sk e tchUp m ode l fast
and sm all. Afte r the tre e is re -re nde re d the original im age re solution will not e ffe ct the final im age .
The 2D Tre e s will work prope rly with Sk e tchUp, including shadows, and m ost othe r re nde ring pack age s. Use rs of re nde ring
som e othe r products have discove re d that the y ne e d to e x plode the tre e com pone nt, e x plode the im age e ntity into a face ,
and re m ak e to tre e com pone nt in orde r to ge t the tre e to re nde r prope rly.
Settings
- 335 - Tre e Mak e r - 14.3

The re is a Settings m e nu which le ts you se t:
Background mode while re nde ring (this had nothing to do with the final im age , but the HDR i se tting give s you som e
se nse of how the HDR i illum ination work s - If turn it on you will se e that the tre e is illum inate d in a fore st with the sun
shining from be hind on the le ft)
de fault Illumination of the im age . -(Sm alle r num be rs m ak e the im age brighte r)
HDRi sky rotation for illum ination. (55 de gre e s le ave s the tre e half in light and half in shadow)
Display Quality
Tre e Mak e r - 14.3 - 336 -

Tree Maker - 14.3
Note : If your alpha transpare nt im age s do not display we ll in Sk e tchUp, you can adjust the quality (vs spe e d) of Alpha Im age
display.
Se t it to 'nice r' for the be st tre e display.
Notes
The Tre e Editor allows you to choose from four type s of tre e s (m ore com ing soon.)
.ArPlant file s can be save d and loade d in the e ditor.
.ArPlant file s can be loade d into Sk e tchUp for re nde ring.
Som e Lim itations on Tre e s (still num e rous)
Shrubs m ay be difficult to do in the curre nt inte rface .

W e don’t have te m plate s for things lik e He rbace ous Plants ye t.
You can’t change anything about the tre e s at the m om e nt.
- 337 - Tre e Mak e r - 14.3

Ground Cover
Ground Cover
Ground Cover - de fine Ground C ove r for use on the ground or on topiary bushe s.
IR e nde r nXt le ts you de fine Ground Cover for use on the ground or on topiary bushe s.
In about 2 hours we will post the first te st ve rsion of Ground C ove r.
As R ich and I we re te sting it I found a be tte r way to im ple m e nt it which we will put in the ne x t ve rsion.
For now, you m ust:
A. C re ate a XXX.ArGroundC ove r file using Tre e Mak e r.
B. Save the file som e whe re
Ground C ove r - 14.6 - 338 -

Ground Cover - 14.6
C . Use the O bje ct Prope rtie s right -click on a surface to assign the Ground C ove r to It.
D. R e nde r it.
- To change it, you can load and re save the .ArGroundC ove r file with the Tre e Mak e r, and re -re nde r
- Give it a try and le t us k now if it work s.
Define Ground Cover

You MUST save a .ArGroundC ove r file be fore you can use r your Ground C ove r.)
To de fine a ground cove r, right click on a face or surface to which you want to se t ground cove r, and se le ct 'Se t O bje ct
Prope rtie s'
C lick Load editor to create file to de fine a ground cove r.
Ground C ove r se ttings
Foliage se ttings. C lick on le af to se le ct a diffe re nt le af.
- 339 - Ground C ove r - 14.6

R e nde re d Ground C ove r (in ce nte r) with a diffe re nt le af.
C lick Start from the Raytrace m e nu if you want to se e a sam ple of your foliage .
Save the ground cove r .ArGroundC ove r file on the disk som e place . (You MUST save a .ArGroundC ove r file be fore you can
use r your Ground C ove r.)
C lick O K.
Assign to surface
In the O bje ct Prope rtie s Dialog Box , click the ... browse button and se le ct the file you just cre ate d, (or a .ArGroundC ove r file
you have cre ate d pre viously.)
Se t the ve ge tation m ode - Vertical for ite m s which grow up from the ground, or Topiary for ite m s which should be m olde d to
a surface .
Notes
Ground C ove r is not fast. It cre ate s 3D ge om e try for e ach le af. It k e e ps your Sk e tchUp m ode l sm all and fast,
(be cause the re are no 3D le ave s in the Sk e tchUp m ode l), but it can tak e a lot of tim e to re nde r.
Ground C ove r - 14.6 - 340 -

RPC Objects - 14.7
RPC Objects
Mode l re nde re d with R PC O bje cts
RPC Objects
Place R PC com pone nts in your Sk e tchUp m ode l which autom atically re nde r as R PC obje cts.
Se e : RPC Objects
RPC Objects are 3D obje cts containing software and conte nt associate d with ArchVision's Im age -Base d R e nde ring (IBR )
te chnology. (R PC stands for R ich Photore alistic C onte nt. R PC is also the file e x te nsion for this im age -base d conte nt.)
The se obje cts are available for high-e nd re nde re rs such as:
IRender Plus for Sk e tchUup, and nXtR e nde r for AutoC AD.
Autode sk : VIZ, 3ds Max , Archite ctural De sk top (ADT), C ivil 3D, R e vit
SGI Pe rform e r, Inform atix 's Pirane si
C ubicspace 's rtre
Be ntle y MicroStation.
W he n you purchase R PC O bje cts you can use the m with any of the se applications.
Be cause R PC s re ly on photo im age data, the incre dible richne ss of de tail and quality of im age s far surpasse s e ve n the be st
com pute r-ge ne rate d m ode ls.
- 341 - R PC O bje cts - 14.7

Installing RPC - ArchVision Content Manager

This ArchVision C onte nt Manage r Tutorial will guide you through installation and use in your Sk e tchUp m ode l.
This Tutorial - Installing RPC - A rchVision Content Manager will guide you through the ste ps of installing the ArchVision
C onte nt Manage r ne ce ssary to place R PC obje cts in your Sk e tchUp m ode l and re nde r the m .
Step 1 - Download RPC Content Manager
If you click the R PC icon ( ) in IR e nde r nXt toolbar and if the R PC conte nt m anage r is not loade d ye t, this dialog will
appe ar.
(If the conte nt m anage r is alre ady installe d, the icon will jum p to Ste p 4 be low.)
You can also jum p dire ctly to the ArchVision C onte nt Manage r download he re : A rchVision Content Manager
Follow this proce ss to download the ArchVision C onte nt Manage r:
Installing R PC - ArchVision C onte nt Manage r - 14.8 - 342 -

Installing RPC - ArchVision Content Manager - 14.8
C lick Install a Free A CM to continue .
You m ay ge t a m e ssage lik e this:
If so, C lick 'Save File or O pe n.
Step 2 - ArchVision Content Manager Installation

C lick Next for e ach ste p of the installation:
- 343 - Installing R PC - ArchVision C onte nt Manage r - 14.8



Step 3 - Configuring the Content Manager

Afte r installation, the ArchVision C onte nt Manage r C onfiguration Dialog m ay appe ar autom atically, or you m ay ne e d to run it
from the Program Manage r, or you m ay launch it the ne x t tim e you click the R PC icon in IR e nde r nXt.

Se le ct a de fault location for your R PC file s. and click Configure
C lick Ok on the ne x t dialog box .
If this dialog appe ars, C lick the X in the uppe r right corne r to tak e it down.
Step 4 - Select and Place an RPC Object

The ne x t tim e you click the R PC icon in Sk e tchUp, this dialog should appe ar.
Se le ct a .R PC file and click Ok.
This dialog should appe ar to le t you place the com pone nt ge ne rate d from the R PC file into Sk e tchUp.
Se e : RPC for m ore inform ation on using R PC C onte nt.


ArchVision
R PC ve hicle s, pe ople and plants
A rchVision is the le ade r in the de ve lopm e nt of im age -base d conte nt cre ation, m anage m e nt and de live ry solutions. In
addition to its R PC (R ich Photore alistic C onte nt) Plug-in te chnology, ArchVision's products include a growing library of R PC
conte nt ranging from pe ople , tre e s and shrubs to im age -base d autom obile s and othe r popular obje cts.
For m ore inform ation, visit: www.archvision.com .

IR e nde r Plus has a W izard to cre ate Sk e tchUp com pone nts from R PC O bje cts. The se do not have the im age s applie d to the m
in Sk e tchUp. You ne e d to re nde r the Sk e tchUp m ode l in IR e nde r to vie w the quality obje cts.
3 sam ple R PC obje cts, (include d with IR e nde r), place d in

Sk e tchUp.
ArchVision - 14.9 - 350 -

ArchVision - 14.9
3 sam ple R PC obje cts, re nde re d with IR e nde r
- 351 - ArchVision - 14.9

Additional Functions
A dditional Functions ( ) loads a dialog of functions to he lp vie w and trace m ate rial se ttings.
Note
You can assign re fle ction or glow to a face by right click ing on the face . If the face has a m ate rial, you can also use this
m e thod to assign the re fle ction or glow to all face s with the sam e m ate rial. This is usually m uch e asie r the n using the se
functions. The se functions are provide d for case s whe re the m ate rial you want to se t is burie d inside of com pone nts and/or
groups and it would be difficult to acce ss the face dire ctly to m odify it.
Usage
To invok e the se functions, use the Plus Sign icon on the IR e nde r Toolbar ( ).
Display Attributes for:

The se functions are use d to vie w attribute s store d by IR e nde r on your Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Entity
Material
Model
Reflection and Glow Settings

Show A ll - displays all m ate rial ove rride s store d in the m ode l.
Delete A ll - re m ove s all m ate rial ove rride s store d in the m ode l.
Purge Unused - re m ove s all m ate rial ove rride s which are not be ing use d.
Selected Reflection
Define - Displays a list of m ate rials in the m ode l and le ts you assign a re fle ction to the m .
Edit - Displays a lost of m ate rials int the m ode l which alre ady have a re fe ction and le ts you change the re fle ction.
Selected Glow
Define - Displays a list of m ate rials in the m ode l and le ts you assign a glow to the m .
Edit - Displays a lost of m ate rials int the m ode l which alre ady have a glow and le ts you change the glow.
If there are entities selected in the model, these functions only display materials for the selected entities. Otherwise they display
Additional Functions - 14.10 - 352 -

Additional Functions - 14.10
display materials for all entities in the model.
Images
Create Bump Map Images - C re ate s a Bum p Map from the ge om e try in a Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Se e : C re ate Bum p Map
Image Functions - Loads a dialog to display, se le ct and re m ove im age s from a Sk e tchUp m ode l..
Se e : Im age Functions
- 353 - Additional Functions - 14.10

Advanced Techniques
A dvanced Techniques for use with IR e nde r nXt
Anim ation
Edge Highlighting
HDR i Sk ie s
R PC 3D O bje cts from ArchVision
C hapte r 15 - Advance d Te chnique s - 354 -

Alpha Images - 15.1
Alpha Images
IRender A lpha Images
IR e nde r can save its re nde rings as alpha channe l im age s with the back ground transpare nt. This le ts you e asily place the
im age ove r a back ground.
Ste p 1: R e nde r im age in IR e nde r with a back ground color (no sk y or ground plane unle ss you want the m in the alpha
im age )
Mode l from 3D W are house - HEMI V8 by C ustom C ar Garage (C C G)
Ste p 2: C lick the Save icon to save the re nde re d im age .

Ste p 3: C hoose Transparent PNG Files as the de sire d file type
Save As type
Ste p 4: C lick Save to save the im age

Ste p 4: load the im age in front of a back ground.
- 355 - Alpha Im age s - 15.1

This e x am ple was loade d into Sk e tchUp as an Im age
Notes
Note : The alpha transparency is anti-aliased at the edges of the item which makes it smoother when placed in front of a
background image.
Note : In a future version you will be able to specify an image to use as a background while rendering. However the alpha
transparency will often be better because you can position the rendering on the background after the rendering is completed.
Alpha Ground Plane

IR e nde r nXt has a fe ature calle d Alpha Ground Plane . This re nde rs the ground as invisible , and save s the ground as an
Alpha C hanne l whe n you save the re nde ring as an Alpha Im age . Howe ve r, the shadows on the ground are still visible . So you
can paste the re nde re d im age and shadows on top of a back ground im age using a paint program .
Se e : Alpha Transpare nt Ground Plane
Alpha Objects
You can also m ark obje cts as Alpha C hanne l, and the y will appe ar invisible but shadows cast on the m will appe ar. This can be
use d to le t your m ode l cast shadows on walls or ne arby buildings, and the n paste the re nde re d im age and the shadows on
top of a photographic back ground.
Se e : O bje ct Prope rtie s
Alpha Im age s - 15.1 - 356 -

Antialiasing - 15.2
Antialiasing
Sim ple Sk e tchUp m ode l re nde re d with no Antialiasing.

Each of the se e x am ple s shows the im age at norm al size
on the le ft and blown up 2 to 1 on the right to
de m onstrate how Antialiasing is pe rform e d.
Sam e m ode l e x porte d with Anti-alias option.
Sam e m ode l e x porte d at 4X the de sire d re solution and

the n re duce d in an im age e diting program .
Antialiasing option in Sk e tchUp Ex port.
A ntialiasing re fe rs to the proce ss of m ak ing e dge line s look sm oothe r by ble nding in the colors at the e dge s. Sk e tchUp
provide s an option for anti-aliasing whe n saving a Sk e tchUp m ode l as a 2D im age using " Ex port 2d Graphic ".
Tips and Tricks

1. Sk e tchUp anti-aliasing provide s a slight im prove m e nt, but you will achie ve a m uch be tte r re sult if you save the im age
at 4X the de sire d size from Sk e tchUp, and the n use an im age e diting program to re duce its size and pe rform the anti-
aliasing.
2. To C re ate High R e solution im age s from Sk e tchUp, use a re nde ring e ngine such as IR e nde r nXt and choose the
re solution de sire d. Se e Sk e tchUp High R e solution Im age s .
- 357 - Antialiasing - 15.2

Edge Highlighting
Edge Highlighting
Edge Highlighting displays the e dge s of face s while re nde ring . This is e spe cially valuable with sce ne s which
contain cabine ts or furniture whe re e dge highlighting is ne ce ssary to bring out the de tail of the
com pone nts.
In IR e nde r nXt e dge highlighting is turne d on in the Advance d Se ttings dialog.
Edge Line s Vide o
Im age re nde re d with e dge line s to show de tail. Note how the se "re nde re d" e dge line s are re fle cte d
in the counte rtop as we ll.
Edge Highlighting - 15.3 - 358 -

Edge Highlighting - 15.3
Im age re nde re d without e dge line s. Note how the de tails are ‘washe d’ out..
Edge Line Highlighting displays the e dge s of face s whe n re nde re d. This is e spe cially valuable with sce ne s which contain
cabine ts or furniture whe re e dge line highlighting is ne ce ssary to bring out the de tail of the com pone nts.
W hat Edge Line Highlighting m e ans to you...
Visualize de tail e le m e nts of m ode ls.

Achie ve a ne w re nde ring style with the addition of e dge line s.
Able to pick which type of e dge line s to show as we ll as the style and size of the m .
Edge line s will be visible in re fle ctions on othe r obje cts in the m ode l.
O ne button click to re nde r e dge line s.
Settings
Se ttings are available on the Spe cial O ptions tab of the se tup dialog.
- 359 - Edge Highlighting - 15.3

Width - se ts the approx im ate width of the e dge s in pix e ls.
No Edge Lines - Do not include e dge line s
A ll Edges - include all e dge line s
Orphans Only - this displays only e dge s which are not attache d to face s. (Som e plant com pone nts use orphan e dge s
to re pre se nt branche s and twigs.)
A ll with material set - will only include e dge s with a m ate rial se t. This can be use d whe n you want only som e e dge s -
such as a ce iling grid - to re nde r. Put a m ate rial on the e dge in Sk e tchUp and che ck this option.
Edge Line s as Ge om e try.

Note re fle ctions of e dge s in othe r surface s.
He re is the sam e sce ne re nde re d without e dge line s. You can se e how the e dge line s can be im portant for de tail.
Edge Highlighting - 15.3 - 360 -

Edge Highlighting - 15.3
Post Processing
This im age was photoshope d. Use d a re nde re d im age wihtout e dge

line s (lik e im age #2) and ble nde d it with anothe r im age of only e dge
line s. Note: The e dge line s are not re fle cte d.
This im age had Sk e tchy Edge s place d on top using the Fore ground
fe ature in IR e nde r nXt
You can also add e dge line s afte r re nde ring, using PhotoShop, or the IR e nde r nXt Fore ground Im age fe ature .
Save a hidde n line drawing from Sk e tchUp and paste it on top of the re nde re d im age .
Se e : IR e nde r Fore ground Tab
Video Tutorial
R e nde ring with Edge Line s - Vide o Tutorial
- 361 - Edge Highlighting - 15.3

Auto Image
Image Tab
A uto Image
A uto Image is a fe ature in IR e nde r nXt which will autom atically save an im age of your re nde ring whe n it is com ple te .
This is use ful, be cause it you start a re nde ring in the back ground, and inadve rte ntly close Sk e tchUp without re alizing
that the re nde ring is com ple te , the n the re nde ring will be lost. A uto Image can be use d to autom atically save the
im age on disk whe n it is com ple te d.
Settings
Use A uto Image - turns on the use of Auto Im age

Prompt before Rendering - loads a dialog be fore re nde ring to re vie w and change se ttings
A utosave Image e ve ry XXX passe s - if XXX is gre ate r than 0, the n a copy of your re nde ring will be save d afte r
e ach XXX passe s. (The im age is save d in the folde r use d in the Im age nam e be low. The de fault is "My
Docm e nts\IR e nde r")
Image name - Spe cifie s the nam e to use for the im age .
If you che ck Auto Im age , the n an im age is autom atically save d whe ne ve r you com ple te a re nde ring.
You can choose to:
always use (and ove rwrite ) the sam e im age nam e ,

always use (and ove rwrite ) a nam e base d on the nam e of your m ode l
cre ate a unique nam e e ach tim e you re nde r.
Auto Im age - 15.4 - 362 -

Auto Image - 15.4
A utomatically name image by drawing - Use s the curre nt drawing nam e for the im age nam e .
Make Unique - If the im age nam e alre ady e x ists, this se tting will cre ate a ne w unique nam e for the im age . This
allows you to e nable auto-im age and have copie s of all your re nde rings autom atically save d on the disk .
Notify when done - Loads a dialog whe n the re nde ring is com ple te .
Launch when done - Launche s the im age in a paint program whe n done .
Close Window - C lose the re nde ring application whe n done .
JPEG images
Quality - se t quality for JPEG im age s (vs com pre ssion)

Move ve ry close to the right for be st re sults.
R e com m e nd the highe st quality se tting (de fault).
Se e : JPEG Q uality
A lways add comments after saving image
You will be prom pte d for com m e nts to save with the JPEG im age .
Edit/Query - load a JPEG im age to vie w or e dit pre cious com m e nts.
- 363 - Auto Im age - 15.4

Background Image
Background Image
Background Images are spe cial im age s which you can place be hind your m ode l.
Simple Background - you can use any im age as a sim ple back ground for sk ie s or othe r prupose s
HDRi Skies - for full illum ination and re fle ction of a back ground im age , you will ne e d to use an
HDR i Sk y
Image Layer WIzard - back grounds can e asily be positione d using the Im age Laye r W izard.
Se e : HDR i Sk ie s
Vide o: Background Wizard Video
IR e nde r can place a Background Image be hind your m ode l.
Use the Back ground Tab or the Back ground W izard and se le ct an im age to use as the back ground.
Background Wizard
The ne w Back ground W izard , introduce d in Ve rsion 4.0, m ak e it e asy to position your re nde re d m ode l in a back ground, and
to re m e m be r the se ttings for future re nde rings.
To invok e the ne w Back ground W izard se le ct Preview/Position from the Back ground Tab.
Fe ature s:
Back ground Im age - 15.5 - 364 -

Background Image - 15.5
Back ground Positioning - slide or re size back ground im age .
Distortion - distort back ground im age to adjust for Pe rspe ctive or rotations.
Save or C opy - save or copy the re sultant im age dire ctly from the re nde ring without re -re nde ring.
Watch the Video: Back ground W izard Vide o
Se e : Back ground W izard
Background Tab
The Back ground Tab is use d to de fine back ground im age and also for Ground Plane m ate rials.
Background Image
C lick Browse to se le ct an im age to use for the back ground.

C lick Clear to cle ar the back ground im age .
Background Visibility
Visible - im age is visible (will ove rride any sk y se ttings)

Reflected - im age is re fle cte d in windows.
- 365 - Back ground Im age - 15.5

Background Projection
This de te rm ine s how the im age is proje cte d onto the sk y of back ground.
Flat
Cylindrical
Spherical
Create Planar HDR i Image
C onve rts a norm al im age to a HDR i back ground im age .

Se e : Planar HDR i Back grounds
Clear
C le ar out Back ground Im age
Browse
Se le ct HDR i Im age from disk
Positioning
Offsets and Scales
Use the Im age Laye r W izard to size and position the back ground im age and se t the se value s.
Rotation
for C ylindrical and Sphe rical Proje ctions.
if this is not che ck e d, the back ground im age is stre tche d to fill the scre e n.
Se e : Horizon
Reset
R e se ts O ffse ts, Scale s and R otation.
Preview/Position
Loads the Back ground W izard to e asily position and scale the back ground im age .
Se e : Back ground Im age for e x am ple s.
Ground Plane Settings
On - turns on the Ground Plane

A lpha Channel - m ak e s the ground plane transpare nt, but shows the shadows on the ground.
Se e : Alpha C hanne l
Elevation - se t the e le vation of the ground plane .
Se e : Ground Plane
Ground Plane Material
From the Back ground Tab you can de fine and e dit m ate rials for the Ground Plane .
Se e : Back ground Tab
A lpha Transparent Ground Plane
W ith an Alpha Transpare nt Ground Plane , you can save the re nde ring as an Alpha Transpare nt im age , and the ground

plane will be transpare nt. Howe ve r, shadows on the ground will be visible . This can be use d to place the ground plane
im age on top of a back ground im age and still se e whe re the shadows would appe ar. (O f course this work s be st if you
are placing he im age on a flat surface .)
Visible and Reflected

This shows sam ple s of the 4 possibilitie s for Back ground visible , and Back ground re fle cte d.
A non-sk y im age has be e n use d for the back ground, be cause it m ak e it e asie r to we e whe n it is visible and whe n it is
re fle cte d.
Visible and R e fle cte d back ground - visible on, re fle cte d on
This is norm al, but the re m ay be tim e s whe n you want to se e the back ground, but not
re fle ct it in windows.

Visible but not R e fle cte d back ground. - visible on, re fle cte d off
The back ground is visible - but not re fle cte d in the dom e .
Not Visible , butR e fle cte d back ground - visible off, re fle cte d on
This could ne use d to re fle ct dram atic clouds without showing clouds in the sk y.

No back ground im age use d - visible off, re fle cte d off
Background Projections
The se de te rm ine how the im age is proje cte d onto the sk y of back ground.
He re are som e e x am ple s using the sam e sk y back ground and 3 diffe re nt proje ctions.
Notice that the cylindrical and sphe rical proje ctions stre tch out the im age m ore to fill the e ntire back ground. This m ay work
prope rly with norm al sk y im age s, or you m ay ne e d a 360 de gre e im age to stre tch around the cylinde r or sphe re .
Flat
Im age fills re nde r are a. Se e Scale s and O ffse ts be low.

Cylindrical
Im age wraps around 360 de gre e cylinde r.
Spherical
Im age wraps around 360 de gre e sphe re .
Scales and Offsets

He re are som e e x am ple s of scale and offse t for Back grounds.

0% offse t, 100% scale .
50% X offse t - 100% scale .

Notice it m ove s the im age 50% to the le ft and re pe ats.
0% X offse t - 150% scale (X and Y).

50% X offse t - 150% scale (X and Y).

The X O ffse t se e m s to be e ffe cte d by the scale .
Horizon
If you che ck A djust Center Line to Horizon, the n the im age will be scale d and offse t so that the ve rtical ce nte rline of the
im age m atche s the horizon of the curre nt pe rspe ctive vie w. If you have cre ate d your back ground im age with the horizon in the
ce nte r, the n this provide s a m ore re alistic vie w - e spe cially whe n se e n through windows.
Back ground Im age with horizon at ce nte r of im age . (You can place the horizon
at the ce nte r by e nlarging the im age in a Paint Program , shifting the im age so
that the horizon is in the ce nte r, and adding additional color above or be low the
im age to com ple te it.

re nde re d sce ne without back ground im age to show the location of the horizon.
Not that the horizon is not in the ce nte r of the re nde re d are a.
R e nde re d im age with back ground adjuste d to m atch the horizon.
Planar HDRi backgrounds

Planar HDR i Back grounds
You can use a, (non panoram ic), HDR i im age as a back ground.
Image A djustments
If you use a Planar HDR i back ground with the Path Trace r , you can adjust its brightne ss as an additional
lighting channe l afte r re nde ring. (This is not work ing with the standard re nde re r ye t)
Se e : [[]]
You can use a, (non panoram ic), HDR i im age as a back ground.
To use this fe ature , se le ct Browse on the Back ground tab and choose a .HDR file .
You can cre ate a Planar HDR i from a norm al im age using the Convert Image to HDRi background button on the Back ground
Se tup Tab.
Settings for Inverse Tone Mapping
Tone m apping, (conve rting from HDR i to norm al im age s), tak e s lum inance and cre ate s R GB colors for display or saving in an
im age . Inve rse tone m apping re ve rse s that e quation. nXt's tone ope rator re quire s two othe r pie ce s of inform ation in orde r to
inve rt it prope rly-- the ave rage lum inance and the m ax im um lum inance of a sce ne . The way it work s at the m om e nt is that
you se le ct Daylight, Nighttim e to ge t de fault value s, and the n adjust the custom se ttings for Ave rage and Max im um
illum ination in the im age .
Lumens and Default Values
Afte r se le cting a norm al, ("Tone Mappe d"), im age , you can se t the Ave rage Lum e ns and m ax im um Lum e ns which control how
bright the im age will appe ar.
Daylight 5,000 and 20,000

Nighttime 1 and 500
Load this image as a Planar HDRi Background
Afte r conve rting your im age , you can load it as a HDR i back ground for re nde ring.
Image A djustments

Adjusting Back ground im age in the nXt Im age Editor
If you use a Planar HDR i back ground with the Path Trace r , you can adjust its brightne ss as an additional lighting channe l
afte r re nde ring.
HDR i Im age Adjustm e nt are not work ing with the standard re nde re r ye t from the R e nde ring W indow. Howe ve r, you can save
the re nde re d im age in Native Im age form at and use the HDR i back ground channe l (8) in the nXt Im age Editor .

nXtRender Batch
nXtRender Batch
Batch Rendering is a re nde ring m ode which e x ports the m ode l to a file , and the n re nde rs the file in a
se parate proce ss.
It has 3 m ain use s and be ne fits.
1. Large Models - Mode ls which are too large to re nde r dire ctly from Sk e tchUp can be re nde re d in
batch m ode .
2. A nimation - Batch m ode is use d for anim ation, be cause anim ations ne e d to load and re load the
m ode l whe n the re are laye r change s, and be cause anim ations typically tak e a long tim e to re nde r.
3. Network Rendering - The e ntire folde r containing the re nde ring inform ation and file s can be
acce sse d across a ne twork , or copie d to a thum b drive or anothe r m achine and use d to re nde r the
m ode l.
nXtRender Batch Rendering e x ports the m ode l to a file , and the n re nde rs the file in a se parate proce ss.
It has 3 m ain use s and be ne fits.
1. Large Models - Mode ls which are too large to re nde r dire ctly from Sk e tchUp can be re nde re d in batch m ode . Batch
R e nde ring can proce ss m ode ls which are 2 to 5 tim e s large r than Dire ct R e nde ring.
2. A nimation - Batch m ode is use d for anim ation, be cause anim ations ne e d to load and re load the m ode l whe n the re
are laye r change s, and be cause anim ations typically tak e a long tim e to re nde r.
3. Network Rendering - The e ntire folde r containing the re nde ring inform ation and file s can be acce sse d across a
ne twork , or copie d to a thum b drive or anothe r m achine and use d to re nde r the m ode l.
nXtRender Toolbar Functions
These are the functions for each of the buttons on the Render Dialog Toolbar:
- Load the A bout dialog
- Im age Filte rs and Tone O pe rator - Adjust Im age Brightne ss, C ontrast, Burn, and Saturation or apply othe r
filte rs.
- Brightness Control - Adjust the brightne ss without loading the Tone O pe rator
dialog
Batch R e nde ring - 15.6 - 376 -

Batch Rendering - 15.6
- Save the re nde re d im age to a JPEG or PNG file . Se e : Saving R e nde re d Im age
- C opy re nde re d im age to clipboard
- Zoom All - This button will toggle the re nde r display be twe e n showing the actual pix e ls and filling the
curre nt window.
- Vie w R otate - C hange Vie w and re -re nde r.
- R e nde r Se tup Dialog - C hange Se tup O ptions be fore re starting the re nde re r.
- R e nde r Mate rial Dialog - C hange Mate rials be fore re starting the re nde re r.
Afte r changing Se tup O ptions or Mate rials, use the Start R e nde r button to se e the change s.
- Lighting C hanne ls - adjust the inte nsity of sun, sk y or groups of lights dire ctly.
- Im age Effe cts - Switch to nXtIm age Form at for spe cial e ffe cts - R e al Tim e Haze , De pth Blur and Glare
- R e sum e R e nde ring - Use the R e sum e button to add m ore passe s to a re nde ring which has be e n
com ple te d. Se e : R e sum e R e nde ring .
- Start R e nde ring - This button is re d while the re nde re r is proce ssing. It will turn gre e n whe n the re nde ring
in finishe d. C lick on the re d button to stop the re nde ring. C lick on the gre e n button to re start the re nde ring.
- 377 - Batch R e nde ring - 15.6

Settings
C lick Batch Rendering Settings pn the R e nde r Se tup W izard to change the de fault folde r or be havior.

Folder to Use
Batch R e nde ring store s e ve rything ne e de d to re nde r the drawing in a folde r on your disk . This le ts you re nde r the drawing
from a ne twork m achine , or re nde r it late r if de sire d.
Standard - the standard folde r is store d in your W indows te m porary folde r. It is re use d e ve ry tim e you start a Batch
R e nde ring. The folde r is nXt_Batch.
Model Name - the Batch R e nde ring folde r nam e is base d on the nam e of the curre nt Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Custom - you can e nte r your own nam e and location for the Batch R e nde ring folde r.
For Batch Rendering on a Network Computer, se le ct Custom and save the re nde ring inform ation on a drive on your com pute r
which is acce ssible by the ne twork com pute r, or save it dire ctly onto the ne twork com pute r.
Action to tak when batch data complete

The se cond two options cause a pause in the re nde ring proce ss so that you can start the re nde ring on a se parate ne twork
m achine , or de lay the start of the re nde ring, if de sire d.
Start batch rendering - the re nde ring is autom atically starte d afte r the data is e x tracte d from your Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Load this dialog before rendering - this dialog is re -loade d be fore re nde ring so that you can se t the Batch R e nde ring
folde r.
Notify me that data is ready - A m e ssage box is loade d to show that the data is re ady.
Import option changes from Batch Rendering Window

W he n you m ak e change s to your re nde ring se ttings, m ate rials, e tc. from the R e nde ring window, the se can be re loade d back
into Sk e tchUp. (Assum ing you are still work ing on the sam e m ode l in Sk e tchUp).
Load dialog to ask - Sk e tchup will load a dialog ask ing if you want to im port any change s m ade while re nde rings.
A lways load changes - Always load the change s into the Sk e tchUp m ode l without ask ing first.
Never Load changes - Do not load the dialog and do not load any change s back into Sk e tchUp.
Network Rendering

This m e ssage will appe ar if you che ck : Notify me that data is ready on the Batch
R e nde ring Se tup Dialog.
R e m ote R e nde ring
External Rendering e x ports the m ode l to a file , and the n re nde rs the file in a se parate proce ss.
This allows you to m ak e change s to the Sk e tchUp m ode l wihtout having to wait for the re nde ring to
com ple te
Afte r e x tracting the data from the Sk e tchUp m ode l, you can acce ss the e ntire folde r containing the re nde ring inform ation and
file s across a ne twork , or copy the folde r to a thum b drive or anothe r m achine and use it to re nde r the m ode l.
If you che ck : Notify me that data is ready on the Batch R e nde ring Se tup Dialog you will be prom pte d whe n the batch data is
re ad, and you can start the re nde ring on the re m ote m achine . a DO S .BAT file is cre ate d in the batch re nde ring folde r which
will start the re nde ring for you.
Installations
nXtRender: You must install nXtRender in the same location on a network machine if you want to render from the network
machine. You do not need to install SketchUp and you do not need to authorize nXtRender for the batch rendering network
machine.
SketchUp: You do not need to install SketchUp on the remote machine.
RPC:: If you are using RPC objects, you will need to install the ArchVision Content Manager on the network machine.
Licensing
nXtRender: You do not need to license nXtRender of the Remote Machine.
Batch Rendering Editor

You can e dit m ate rials or options in the Batch R e nde re r, and re -re nde r the m ode l without re turning to Sk e tchUp and the n
re load the change s back into Sk e tchUp.
Se e : Batch R e nde ring Editor
Licensing for Batch Rendering

You do not ne e d a lice nse for a Batch R e nde ring m achine .
You ne e d a lice nse for e ach m achine which is running the 3D Mode lle r and wants to acce ss nXtR e nde r from within the 3D

Mode l.
You do not ne e d a lice nse for m achine s which are use d only to pe rform the re nde rings using the Batch R e nde ring proce ss. As
long as the se m achine s do not ne e d to acce ss nXtR e nde r from within AutoC AD, Sk e tchUp or R e vit - the y do not ne e d a
lice nse .
Render Farms
A R e nde r Farm consists of a group of ne twork e d com pute rs work ing toge the r to com ple te large re nde ring task s. R e nde r farm s
proce e d sile ntly, without graphically displaying the re nde rings as the y progre ss, or you can run the R e nde r Farm Display tool
to display parts of the im age as the y are com ple te d. Using the R e nde r Farm allows you to use m ore com pute powe r for
le ngthy task s at the e x pe nse of som e inte ractivity.
Se e : R e nde r Farm

nXtRender Batch - Tutorial

The Batch re nde r com pone nt of IR e nde r Nx t has two distinct advantage s ove r re nde ring in the standard re nde r window. Firstly
, the im age is re nde re d outside of the Sk e tchUp program e nve lope and the re fore the am ount of ram utilize d to re nde r is not
re stricte d to the 1.8GB of ram use d by Sk e tchUp. In large r\com ple x m ode ls this re sults in m uch faste r re nde r tim e s. The
se cond and e qually use ful advantage is that it will produce an inde pe nde nt batch file (.bat) that can be starte d outside of
Sk e tchUp at anytim e or on any com pute r (as long as the appropriate IR e nde r NXT file s are installe d on the host m achine ).
Although I ve ry rare ly 'farm 're nde rs to othe r m achine s I re gularly use the batch re nde r facility to cre ate m ultiple re nde rs
ove rnight using W indows Task Sche dule r.
This quick tutorial de scribe s how to cre ate batch file s in IR e nde r NXT and the n use windows task sche dule r to tim e the
start\save of re nde rs without continual use r input.
Step 1 - Preparing Batch Files

1. Afte r saving Sk e tchUp file , ope n IR e nde r nXt and se le ct 're nde r' tab
2. O pe n 'Se ttings' dialog.
3. Se le ct whe re you would lik e batch file to be place d. I usually use 'Mode l Nam e ' - this will produce the batch file s in a
folde r of the sam e nam e as file in the sub-folde r IR e nde r in docum e nts. Alte rnative ly you can pre ss the browse tab
and se le ct your own folde r. For the purpose s of the tutorial I will k e e p to the sam e nam e as m ode l.
1. O n the im age tab m ak e sure the 'Use Auto Im age ' and 'C lose window' is che ck e d. You ne e d both the se ite m s to m ak e
sure that at the e nd of e ach batch re nde r the im age is save d and that afte r the im age is save d - the re nde r window is
close d to allow the ne x t sche dule d re nde r to ope n. Mak e sure the 'Prom pt be fore R e nde ring' and 'Notify' are
unche ck e d - we do not want the whole proce ss to grind to a halt by the re nde r dialog appe aring in the m iddle of the
night and waiting for you to re spond. You can se le ct whe re the im age should be save d. Although not liste d in file type
Batch Tutorial - 15.7 - 382 -

Batch Tutorial - 15.7
I ofte n use uncom pre sse d bitm ap as pre fe rre d choice of file type in addition to the de fault JPEG and PNG-the file
should save autom atically if give n the corre ct file e x te nsion (.jpe g , .png , .bm p).
2. Afte r de ciding on all othe r re nde r options pre ss gre e n re nde r button to start batch re nde r.
3. You also ne e d to cle ar the 'Show End R e nde r Dialog afte r R e nde ring' che ck box on the 'More ' tab.
Im age :Show e nd re nde r.jpg
- 383 - Batch Tutorial - 15.7

Step 2 - Complete Batch files
1. Afte r com ple ting the batch proce ss the following dialog should appe ar (unlik e the standard re nde re r a re nde r window
will not appe ar at this stage ).
Step 3 - Repeat Process for all files

1. R e pe at ste p 1 with all the file s\m ode ls you wish to re nde r - re m e m be r - if you wish to produce diffe re nt vie ws of the
sam e m ode l - save the vie ws as se parate file s - if you re re nde r the sam e file with a ne w vie w the original batch file of
the sam e nam e will be ove rwritte n - loosing the original vie w.
If you wish to cre ate autom ate d m ultiple vie ws of the sam e m ode l try the following tip ''O ne trick , to re nde r e ach sce ne is a
m ode l, is do do an anim ation, and turn off page transitions. This cre ate s one re nde ring pe r sce ne , and the n you can se t it to
save the re nde re d sce ne as a .JPG or .PNG '' - Al Hart

Step 4 - Check Batch Files Folder

1.Using the standard 'Mode l Nam e ' se tting - the batch re nde re r should have produce d se ve ral folde rs containing the batch
file s in the \Docum e nts\IR e nde r\file nam e folde r as pe r im age be low.

Step 5 - Open Windows Task Scheduler

O pe n W indows Task Sche dule r - afte r pre ssing program s click on acce ssorie s > Syste m Tools > Task Sche dule r

In W indows 7, you can click the Start Icon, and type in sche dule r to locate it m ore e asily.
Step 6 - Create Basic Task

1. C lick on 'C re ate Basic Task ' in first window

Step 7 - Set Parameters

1. Provide a nam e and de scription to sche dule d task . The nam e s can be anything - the y are m ore for pe rsonal re fe re nce if
cre ating lots of task s.
2.O n the ne x t scre e n se le ct 'one tim e '
3.Se le ct tim e and date of task . Tim e is im portant whe n cre ating m ultiple re nde rs - you m ust (at the m om e nt anyway)
approx im ate how long e ach re nde r will be (usually by e x pe rie nce ) and allow e nough tim e be twe e n re nde r.(se e note s at e nd of
tutorial) The batch re nde r proce ss will only work one at a tim e - if the re is any ove rlap the se cond re nde r task will not ope n.
4.Se le ct 'Start a Program ' option and m ove to ne x t window.

Step 8 - Select batch File and File Address

1.Pre ss the browse button and se le ct the batch file (.bat) in m ode l folde r in IR e nde r subfolde r.
2.C opy and paste the addre ss into the 'Start in (optional) window - this is im portant - I have found task sche dule r (ce rtainly in
Vista)will not find file without and he nce not work . O nly include file addre ss - do not paste the file nam e itse lf or again the
task will not com ple te .

Step 9 - Check Task Summary and Properties

1.W he n you have com ple te d all dialogs - the sum m ary window will appe ar showing re le vant se ttings.
2.R e pe at proce ss for all the file s you wish to re nde r - *again m ak e sure you allow e nough tim e be twe e n task s for re nde r to
com ple te .
3.You can che ck status of e ach individual task and e dit accordingly by double click ing on 'Task Sche dule r Library'.
4. C he ck in task library to se e if the re are any othe r com pe ting\conflicting task s that m ay prioritize m e m ory and m ak e
IR e nde r C rash - i.e . virus scan.
Checklist
1. C he ck 'm ode l nam e ' and 'notify whe n re ady' in re nde r se ttings
2. C he ck 'auto im age ' and 'close window' in im age se ttings
3. Unche ck 'Prom pt be fore R e nde ring' in im age se ttings
4. C he ck 'autom atically nam e im age ' or give it a file nam e and e x te nsion.
5. C re ate individual save d m ode ls for e ach vie w.
6. Mak e sure you allow e nough tim e in windows task sche dule r be twe e n re nde rs
7. Mak e sure optional addre ss of batch file is include d within se ttings
8. C he ck in task library to se e if the re are any othe r com pe ting task .
Testing
The first tim e you try this, you m ight cre ate a sm all m ode l, with a short tim e re nde ring and:
1. Go to the batch folde r, and run the .bat file from a DO S Prom pt to m ak e sure it work s prope rly.
2. Se t up the sche dule r to run the proce ss in just a fe w m inute s to se e if it work s.
Running several batch renderings in a single batch file

You can cre ate se ve ral batch folde rs and the n run the m from a ne w, single .bat file .
This allows you to start the m all at once (one at a tim e ), or to use the W indows sche dule r to start all the batch file s at once .

1. C re ate the batch folde rs as in the re st of this tutorial
e .g. C re ate Batch folde rs calle d: c:\tm p\batch1 and c:\tm p\batch2.
2. C re ate a ne w .bat file . It should look lik e this.
cd c:\tm p\batch1 call start_ire nde r_batch.bat
cd c:\tm p\batch2 call start_ire nde r_batch.bat
3. The n start the ne w batch file .

Note : Your se tting for e ach batch file m ust not re quire use rs input to com ple te proce ssing.
Creating .bat files

A .bat file is sim ply a plain te x t file with the file e x te nsion change d from .tx t to .bat
You can use note pad, or any othe r W indows te x t e ditor to cre ate or e dit the m .
e .g.: note pad run_all.bat
Notes
1. If your are re nde ring ove rnight - m ak e sure your scre e n save r is switche d off (som e of the ne we r vista save rs are
re ally powe r hungry and will crash IR e nde r e ve ry tim e ).If you are using a LC D m onitor turn it off ove rnight to save
scre e n burn.
2. It is som e tim e s hard to asse ss re nde r tim e s for e ach individual m ode l at pre se nt - the be st way is to run the batch
re nde r m anually by double click ing on batch file and se e ing how long one pass tak e s the n m ultiplying by the num be r
of passe s and adding som e tole rance . Hope fully in the future we m ay be provide d with an indication of re nde r tim e or
e ve n our own task \batch re nde r inte rface .
3. O n m y Inte l Q uad base d m achine I find a fairly com ple x m ode l of be twe e n 10 - 20 MB,3000x 1600 will tak e
approx im ate ly 2-3 hours at 40 passe s with 20-30 lights .I the re fore usually le ave about 4 hours be twe e n sche dule d
re nde rs.
4. The m ajority of the tim e I only will re nde r a couple of visuals ove rnight - I would the re fore sim plify the proce ss by
m anually starting first batch re nde r by double -click ing on batch file and the n only se tting the se cond re nde r in task
sche dule r for late r on in the e ve ning.
I se e this tutorial as a stop gap until the de ve lope rs furthe r e nhance the Batch R e nde r proce ss - in the short te rm it m ay save
som e sle e ple ss nights!
Boothy

Caustics
Caustics
produce s focuse d light and shadow e ffe cts from light passing through a transpare nt obje ct.
Caustics re fe rs to the be nding and re fraction of light whe n passing through transpare nt m ate rials.
C austics can be se t for a transpare nt m ate rial on the Mate rial W izard , or using O bje ct Prope rtie s - in IR e nde r Plus m ode .
Caustic Refraction
C austic im age afte r 20 passe s
C austics - 15.8 - 392 -

Caustics - 15.8
C austic im age afte r 100 passe s
A caustic is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of
rays on another surface.
The C austic e ffe ct produce s focuse d light and shadow e ffe cts from a point light.
This is a glass bowl of apple s, (with a pyram id proce dural bum p e ffe ct), and a glass cone , re nde re d with transpare ncy and
re fraction, and with C austic e ffe cts. (R e fle ction 0.90, re fraction 1.15).
The se sce ne is illum inate d with a spotlight.
Note : C austic doe s not curre ntly work with the Sun for illum ination. This sce ne was illum inate d with a spotlight.
Normal Refraction
- 393 - C austics - 15.8

This is the sam e m ode l but no C austic e ffe cts.
Note that with the Norm al se tting, obje cts which are highly transpare nt do not cast appre ciable shadows.
C austics - 15.8 - 394 -

Clay Rendering - 15.9
Clay Rendering
C lay m ode - no te x ture s - all color is white - color saturation doe s not apply
Clay Rendering is use d to show the de tails of your m ode l without adding colors or te x ture s.
It le ts you highlight the quality of your m ode l with:
Simple, monochrome surfaces - which do not distract from the m ode l.

Subtle lighting effects - which bring out the de tail in the m ode l
A ll with a single button click in IRender nXt
You will also ge t C lay R e nde ring m ode if you re nde r from Sk e tchUp in Hidden Line Face Mode .
- 395 - C lay R e nde ring - 15.9

Depth of Field
Depth of Field
Depth of Field and Focal Distance se ttings cre ate re nde rings with are as in sharp focus and are as out of
focus.
De pth Blur can also be de fine d as a Post-Proce ssing te chnique in the nXt Im age Editor .
Se e also: De pth Blur
R e nde r nXt has two diffe re nt ways to se t focus.
The Focal-Distance/Depth-of-Field se ttings on the R e nde r Se tUp tab can be use d to se t focus be fore re nde ring.
Depth of Field is se t be fore re nde ring and save d in the Sk e tchUp m ode l.
The Post-Processing Depth Blur fe ature from the FX icon afte r re nde ring can be use d to se t de pth blur afte r
re nde ring.
Depth Blur is pe rform e d as a Post-Proce ssing e dit, afte r the re nde ring is com ple te d, in the nXt Image Editor .
Depth Blur
De pth of Fie ld - 15.10 - 396 -

Depth of Field - 15.10
Strength - am ount of Blur to apply

Focus - the distance in m e te rs of obje cts in focus. Use the < button to se le ct a point in the im age to be in focus.
In Focus Zone - m e asure d in m e te rs-- it controls the transition zone as we ll.
Blur - you can blur the fore ground (re nde re d im age ), back ground, or both.
Depth of Field
De pth of Fie ld is se t on the Render Setup Tab as Focal Distance and Depth of Field
DO F of 0.0 has all the im age in focus, as the DO F rise s, the im age ge ts m ore and m ore out of focus - e x ce pt for obje cts ne ar
the Focal Distance which stay in focus.
- 397 - De pth of Fie ld - 15.10

DO F 1.0 - Focal Distance 100'
DO F 3.0 - Focal Distance 100'
Another Example
He re I dre w a construction line from the cylinde r 40' in the de sire d dire ction of the cam e ra and place d the n place d the cam e ra
at the e nd of the line . That way I k ne w that a Focal Distance of 40' would work we ll. (I be lie ve the re are som e ruby scripts
som e whe re to le t you m e asure the distance from the cam e ra to a de sire d focal point. If not we will ne e d to write one .)
The n I re nde re d 3 im age s with DO F of 0.30, 1.00 and 2.00 to e nsure that the colum n was in focus and that the De pth of Fie ld
e ffe cte d the loss of focus.
De pth of Fie ld - 15.10 - 398 -

Depth of Field - 15.10
DO F 0.3 - Focal Distance 40'. Focus is fairly sharp.
DO F 1.0 - Focal Distance 40'. Focus on wall is le ss sharp.
DO F 2.0 - Focal Distance 40'. Focus on wall is blurre d.
- 399 - De pth of Fie ld - 15.10

Fog
Sk e tchUp has adde d a nice Fog fe ature in SU 6. IR e nde r now re ads the se se ttings and cre ate s sim ilar fog e ffe cts.
Fog sam ple in Sk e tchUp and IR e nde r.

(O ne of the se crosse s is blue and has a long arm , be cause I wante d to be able to se e whe re the fog was suppose d to stop.)
Note : SU has a "start fog" se tting which we are not able to e m ulate in IR e nde r.
Note : Su doe s not apply fog to shadows, but IR e nde r is able to do that.
Fog - 15.12 - 400 -

Foreground Images - 15.13
Foreground Tab
Foreground Image
Foreground Images are spe cial im age s which you can place in front of your m ode l. The y can be use d for
logos and patte rn m ask s, as we ll as ste ncils place d in front of the re nde ring.
W ate rm ark s
W ate rm ark s - are use d to place logos, fore grounds im age s, or te x ture m aps in front of your re nde ring.
Foreground Tab
You can add Foreground Images to IR e nde r nXt re nde rings using the Fore ground Tab of the O ptions Dialog
Usage --- The re are 4 basic m ode s:
Foreground Image - paste d in front of re nde ring.

Logo Watermark on im age
Pattern Masks
Overlay SketchUp Edges
- 401 - Fore ground Im age s - 15.13

R e nde r Plus wate rm ark add in 90% transpare nt, m ask e d

m ode at lowe r right.
Patte rn m ask adde d to im age . 85% transpare nt - m ask

m ode . Note : In m ask m ode the patte rn is applie d only to the
ge om e try and not to the back ground. 50% ble nd.
Fore ground Im age s - 15.13 - 402 -

Settings
Foreground Image - Se le ct an im age for the fore ground.
Browse' - se le ct an im age
Clear - cle ar curre nt im age
Use Foreground Image - unche ck this to turn off the fore ground im age without changing any othe r se ttings.
Use Edge lines for foreground (Sk e tchUp only) - use s the Sk e tchUp e dge line s as a fore ground ove rlay.
Use Multiple Mode - m e rge im age s using Multiply Mode
Treat White as Transparent - any white in the im age is tre ate d as fully transpare nt.
Stretch to fill screen - the fore ground im age will fill the e ntire scre e n\*
Tiled - the fore ground im age will be tile d across scre e n. This is good for m ask ing patte rns.
Image Position - UL, UR , LL, LR - the fore ground im age is place d in a corne r of the re nde re d im age - use ful for logos.
Lock A spect ratio - W he n stre tching the fore ground im age , it will not be distorte d. (And if m ay not fill the e ntire
scre e n).
Use as mask - the inte nsitie s in the fore ground im age will change the inte nsity - but not the color - of the re nde re d
im age . In m ask m ode the patte rn is applie d only to the ge om e try and not to the back ground.
Scale - for tile d and ce nte re d, allows you to m ak e the im age large r of sm alle r.
Blend Foreground into rendering - m ak e s the fore ground im age partially transpare nt. Le ss = m ore transpare nt. More
= Le ss transpare nt.
A pply - re displays the re nde re d im age with any change s you have m ade .
Notes
Use .PNG file s whe n possible . C om pre ssion artifacts in .JPG im age s m ay e ffe ct transpare ncy.

Use with Edge Lines
This im age had Sk e tchy Edge s place d on top using the Fore ground
fe ature in IR e nde r nXt
Sk e tchy Hidde n Line from Sk e tchUp
By saving an im age of your Sk e tchUp m ode l in Hidde n line or with Sk e tchy Edge s, you can use the line im age as a fore gorund
im age , which will add the e dge s to the re nde re d im age .
Multiply Mode According to Photoshop he lp...
Look s at the color inform ation in e ach channe l and m ultiplie s the base color by the ble nd color. The re sult color is
always a dark e r color. Multiplying any color with black produce s black . Multiplying any color with white le ave s the color
unchange d. W he n you’re painting with a color othe r than black or white , succe ssive strok e s with a painting tool produce
progre ssive ly dark e r colors. The e ffe ct is sim ilar to drawing on the im age with m ultiple m agic m ark e rs.
Fore ground Im age s - 15.13 - 404 -

Paw print m e rge d with im age using

m ultiply m ode

Ground Plane
The Ground Plane is an autom atic display of plane whe re the ground would be .
SketchUp Settings
Ground Plane on the Sk e tchUp Style s W izard
IR e nde r nXt use s the color and transpare ncy of the Sk e tchUp ground plane to cre ate a ground plane in your re nde ring.
Ground Plane Materials

From the Back ground Tab you can de fine and e dit m ate rials for the Ground Plane .
Se e : Back ground Tab
Opaque Ground Plane

C he ck ing O paque will ignore the transpare ncy se tting of the Sk e tchUp ground plane and cre ate a solid ground plane m ate rial.
Alpha Transparent Ground Plane
Ground Plane - 15.15 - 406 -

Ground Plane - 15.15
The re is a se tting on the Sun/Sk y se tup tab which le ts you de fine an A lpha Transparent Ground Plane. W ith an Alpha
Transpare nt Ground Plane , you can save the re nde ring as an Alpha Transpare nt im age , and the ground plane will be
transpare nt. Howe ve r, shadows on the ground will be visible . This can be use d to place the ground plane im age on top of a
back ground im age and still se e whe re the shadows would appe ar. (O f course this work s be st if you are placing he im age on a
flat surface .)
Note:If you don't have a paint program which supports transparent images, you can load images into SketchUp and the transparent alpha
channel will be recognized.
- 407 - Ground Plane - 15.15

Sim ple m ode l with shadow cast on Ground Plane
Ground Plane - 15.15 - 408 -

Ground Plane - 15.15
Transpare nt im age place d in front of a back ground im age in Sk e tchUp. It is e asy in

Sk e tchUp to size and m ove the alpha-transpare nt im age .
- 409 - Ground Plane - 15.15

Real Time Haze

Real Time Haze
Post Proce ssing to se t haze and fog e ffe cts.
The se e ffe cts can be m odifie d afte r the re nde ring is com ple te d.
Real Time Haze' is a fe ature of the nXt Im age Editor to le t you apply haze or fog to your re nde ring as a post-proce ss afte r the
re nde ring is com ple te d.
Strength - se t the Stre ngth of the Haze

Near de fine s a distance in Me te rs in front of which no haze will appe ar. Use the < button to se le ct the distance of a
point in the re nde ring.
Far de fine s a distance in Me te rs be hind which full stre ngth haze will appe ar. Use the < button to se le ct the distance of
a point in the re nde ring.
Color use the < button to se le ct a color for the haze .
Haze - 15.16 - 410 -

Image Editor - 15.17
NXt Image Editor

nXt Image Editor
The nXt Image Editor is use d for Post-Proce ssing im age s afte r the re nde ring has be e n com ple te d.
The nXt Image Editor is a spe cial post-proce ssing ste p for IR e nde r nXt.
Using the nXt Image Editor, you can provide re al tim e adjustm e nts of:
1. Brightne ss, Burn, and Saturation of the im age

2. C re ate a Vigne tte e ffe ct
3. Add re al-tim e Haze e ffe cts
4. Add re al-tim e De pth Blur
5. Adjust the inte nsity of lights with Lighting C hanne ls
6. Save ,EPX file s for use with Pirane si
7. Save .HDR or .EXR im age s for use a lighting or back grounds.
Loading nXt Image Editor
1. Afte r your re nde ring is com ple te , click the "Save As" icon ( )
2. Se le ct .nXtIm age as the Save As type at the bottom of the dialog.
3. Ente r a file nam e
4. Afte r the file is save d click Open File to load the nXt m ate rial e ditor.
(If you are loading a nXt Im age for the first tim e you m ay ne e d to browse for nXtIm age Editor.e x e to he lp the Batch
R e nde re r find it)
Real Time Haze
- 411 - Im age Editor - 15.17

R e al Tim e Haze applie d to m ode l.
Se e : R e al Tim e Haze
Depth Blur
Im age Editor - 15.17 - 412 -

Image Editor - 15.17
R e al tim e adjustm e nt of De pth Blur
Se e : De pth Blur
Lighting Channels
- 413 - Im age Editor - 15.17

Use of Lighting C hanne ls to adjust the inte nsity of the le ft hand spotlight.
Se e : Lighting C hanne ls
Im age Editor - 15.17 - 414 -

Image Functions - 15.18
Image Functions
Image Functions
Display Image Information - displays the nam e and size of im age s in the m ode l.
Select A ll Images - se le cts all im age s in the m ode l. (Top le ve l only - not im age s store d in com pone nts or groups.)
Delete all images - re m ove s all im age s in the m ode l. (Top le ve l only - not im age s store d in com pone nts or groups.)
- 415 - Im age Functions - 15.18

Invisible
Invisible is an O bje ct Prope rty which m ak e s a group, com pone nt, or face invisible whe n re nde ring with IR e nde r .
It can be use d to m ark ge om e try which is visible in Sk e tchUp as invisible whe n re nde ring with IR e nde r.
Lights
O ne use if if you want to m ak e a lam p or light fix ture which illum inate s the sce ne but which is not invisible .
In this e x am ple , the floor lam p is invisible , but still illum inate s the re ar wall.
Invisible lam p illum inate s back wall.
Shadows
Note : Invisible obje cts do cast shadows. (which m ak e s the m use ful for caniste rs around lights which ne e d to block the light.)
For e x am ple , he re the table is invisible but still casts a shadow.
Invisible - 15.19 - 416 -

Invisible - 15.19
Invisible table still casts shadows.
He re is an e x am ple of using an alpha-transpare nt m ate rial on an invisible face to cast shadows on the sce ne .
- 417 - Invisible - 15.19

Shadows from an invisible wall.
Invisible - 15.19 - 418 -

Object Properties - 15.20
Object Properties
Object Properties
se t spe cial lighting, transpare ncy and re nde ring prope rtie s of groups, com pone nts and face s.
O bje ct Prope rtie s can be use d to m ak e any face or obje ct act as a light source , or to se t othe r spe cial
prope rtie s.
Object Properties are prope rtie s place d dire ctly on m ode l e ntitie s to spe cify re nde ring prope rtie s of the e ntitie s.
Se ttings which are be tte r se t on a m ate rial, are de fine d using the Mate rial W izard
To se t obje ct prope rtie s, right click on a face , group, or com pone nts and se le ct IRender Object Properties. The re are two
classe s of O bje ct Prope rtie s - Lighting and O the r O bje ct Prope rtie s.
Lighting
C ause s this e ntity to act as a light.
Light Type
None - do not tre at this obje ct as a light.

Diffuse / One Sided - all light goe s in one dire ction. This should be use d for ce iling lights and othe r are a lights.
Omni-Directional or Isotropic (all dire ctions)
Spotlight - should only be use d for the le ns of a spotlight.
Light direction (C om pone nt or Group)
Spotlight and Diffuse light ne e ds to have a dire ction.

For lights assigne d to face s the dire ction will always be a pe rpe ndicular from the front side of the face .
For com pone nts and groups, you can assign the dire ction base d on the ax e s of the com pone nt, or the transform ation
of the group. If you cre ate a spot light which points down (in the ne gative blue ax is of the com pone nt, the n se le ct -
Blue for the Light dire ction.
Intensity - In watts or lum e ns
Spot Lamp Settings
Beam A ngle - For Spot lights - se e Be am Angle

Field A ngle - For Spot lights - se e Fie ld Angle
The color of the light will be de te rm ine d by the color of the Sk e tchUp e ntity.
Other Object Properties

Se t the value s de sire d:
Daylight Portal - Produce s re alistic sun and daylight e ffe cts from windows.
Se e : Daylight Portal
Caustics - C re ate s caustic re fraction of light for a transpare nt obje ct.
Se e C austic Illum ination
Thick - Mark s glass as cre ate d from m ore than just a single face .
Se e Thin - Thick
Invisible - the obje ct will be se nt to the re nde re r, but m ark e d as invisible .
Se e : Invisible
- 419 - O bje ct Prope rtie s - 15.20

A lpha - You can m ark obje cts as Alpha C hanne l, and the y will appe ar invisible but shadows cast on the m will appe ar.
This can be use d to le t your m ode l cast shadows on walls or ne arby buildings, and the n paste the re nde re d im age and
the shadows on top of a photographic back ground.
Se e : IR e nde r Alpha Im age s
Ground Cover
Se e : Ground C ove r for de fining and assigning Ground C ove r foliage to a surface .
Object Properties vs Material Settings

Som e obje ct prope rtie s - such as thin/thick glass can be se t e ithe r on a m ate rial, or dire ctly on an obje ct.
The advantage of se tting the prope rty on the m ate rial, is that you can cre ate a m ate rial - e .g. ThinGlass - and place it on all
thin glass obje cts.
The advantage of se tting the prope rty dire ctly on the face of the glass, is that you can the n se t an Sk e tchUp m ate rial on the
glass and it will re nde r as thin glass without having to m ak e a ne w (thin) m ate rial for e ach color of glass which you want to
use .
O bje ct Prope rtie s - 15.20 - 420 -

No Light Source Reflections - 15.21
No Light Source Reflections
No Light Source Reflections is a se tting on the Material Wizard to cre ate d m ate rials which to not re fle ct light.
It can be use d to solve proble m s, whe re you are ge tting strange re fle ctions from lights and want to e lim inate the m , or whe re
you are cre ating light fix ture s, and don't want som e of the ge om e try to re fle ct the light itse lf.
The dom e on the le ft is re fle ctive , and re fle cts the light on the right wall.
- 421 - No Light Source R e fle ctions - 15.21

Guidelines
This is usually applie d to surface s with blurry re fle ctions -- surface s with sharp re fle ctions should always se e the light
source s.
This is usually not ne ce ssary for surface s m ark e d glossy - be cause the y alre ady blur the light re fle ctions.
If you are ge tting too m uch highlighting from the sun, you can turn it off e ve rywhe re . Se e : Sun Highlight
No Light Source R e fle ctions - 15.21 - 422 -

Render Selection - 15.22
Render Selection
To re nde r just se le cte d ite m s, right click on the se le ction and se le ct IRender: Render Selection.
- 423 - R e nde r Se le ction - 15.22

Saving Defaults
'Saving Defaults le ts you save your own value s to be use d as the de fault value s whe n you start a ne w m ode l.
This is available on the More Tab
More Tab
Save Options Values
Save s the de faults from the Se tup W izard as User Defaults - to be use d for ne w m ode ls, or in a File which you can m anually
load into othe r m ode ls.
Load Options Values
User Defaults - re load the last use r de fault you save d.

File - re load save d de faults from a file
JPG File - load de faults from a JPG file of a pre vious re nde ring
Batch - load de faults from a Batch Folde r
Load Factory Defaults - re loads all de faults and othe r value s to the ir original se tting.
Change Default Settings - change s to de faults for sm all, m e dium and large re nde ring size .
Other Functions
Check for Updates - load the download page to se e if a ne w ve rsion is available .

Customize Toolbar - de fine the icons you want to display on the Toolbar. Se e : IR e nde r Toolbar Se tup
License - load the Lice nse and Authorization dialog.
Support - load a spe cial dialog of additional se ttings. - Use if you have be e n re que ste d to try spe cial se ttings by
Saving De faults - 15.23 - 424 -

Saving Defaults - 15.23
C ustom e r Support.
A bout - load the About dialog. - inform ation about the IR e nde r ve rsion
Other Settings
A utomatically load IRender toolbar and function to autom atically load the IR e nde r toolbar and application whe ne ve r
you start a Sk e tchUp se ssion.
If you do not autom atically load the application, the n you ne e d to se le ct IRender: Load from the Sk e tchUp
plugins m e nu.
If you have turne d off the toolbars during a pre vious, you ne e d to turn the m back on from the Sk e tchUp
View/Toolbars m e nu.
Number of Threads
You can se t the m ax im um num be r of thre ads to be use d for re nde ring.
The de fault is to se t the num be r of thre ads to m atch the num be r of core s available .
Se tting a num be r gre ate r than the num be r of core s m ay provide faste r re nde rings.
Se tting a num be r le ss than the num be r of core s will re nde r slowe r, but m ay spe e d up othe r functions on your
com pute r.
- 425 - Saving De faults - 15.23

Section Planes
Section Planes
You can use Sk e tchUp Section Planes to cut se ctions through your IR e nde r nXt m ode l.
You can use Sk e tchUp Section Planes to cut se ctions e nabling you to vie w ge om e try within your m ode l.
W hat Section Planes m e ans to you...
Allows for be tte r acce ss to the inte rior of a m ode l.

IR e nde r nXt is able to use all se ction plane s whe n re nde re d.
W he n re nde re d with IR e nde r nXt, corre ct illum ination calculations are proce sse d which m e ans the room will re nde r
accurate ly.
Se ction Plane s - 15.24 - 426 -

Section Planes - 15.24
Section Plane Settings
IR e nde r nXt cannot te ll which se ction plane s are e nable d or disable d. O rdinarily, only the first se ction plane which is visible is
use d to clip the re nde ring.
This can be change d on the nXt Tab to allow proce ssing of all se ction plane s and proce ssing of hidde n se ction plane s.
Note: SketchUp only supports 1 active Section Plane at the main model level. IRender nXt can support multiple section planes.
Note: Section Planes in groups or components are not supported.
- 427 - Se ction Plane s - 15.24

Advantages of section planes
See entire room with using a wide angle lens
No se ction plane . C am e ra place d inside of the room and the fie ld of vie w was incre ase d
to se e the e ntire room . Howe ve r the im age ge ts distorte d and has a fish-e ye look .
O ption 1 ofte n produce s a distorte d im age .
Espe cially if you want to se e de tail on the le ft and right walls.
Remove geometry which blocks the view without altering the scene
W all re m ove d and cam e ra place d outside of room . This cre ate s a good pe rspe ctive .
Howe ve r light is le t in the room due to the m issing wall.
R e m oving ge om e try is a proble m for photore alistic re nde re rs.
Espe cially if the re is sun and sk y lighting to be proce sse d through windows, be cause you have e ffe ctive ly re m ove d an e ntire
wall which m e ans that light from the outside is now able to filte r in causing im prope r illum ination.
Section Planes provide the best result
Se ction Plane s - 15.24 - 428 -

Section Planes - 15.24
Se ction Plane cut through building. The ge om e try se ctione d out is still use d for lighting
and re fle ctions.
You ge t the be st of both worlds. The wall is re m ove d, allowing for be tte r cam e ra positioning, but the wall is still use d for
shadows, illum ination and re fle ction which m e ans the room will be lit accurate ly.
- 429 - Se ction Plane s - 15.24

Rendering Question - White Walls

W hite W alls and W hite Back grounds are ofte n a challe nge . He re are som e tips.
R e ce ntly on our Forum , we re ce ive d this que ry:
How can I make Walls or other surfaces whiter?
W e ofte n ge t re que sts for inform ation on how to m ak e walls, ce ilings, or obje cts be ing re nde re d look "Whiter". W hite W alls
and W hite Back grounds are ofte n a challe nge , be cause illum inate d ite m s in the re al world are alm ost ne ve r pure white .
W he re as "pure white " is use d ofte n in com pute r im age s.
He re are som e tips.
White that we see in computer images isn't always realistic.
Som e walls in the re al world are n't as "W hite " as we think the y are . For instance , if we stood in front of the white wall with a
ve ry bright flashlight, would the be am of the flashlight be e ve n "white r". If so, the n the wall wasn't re ally "white ", but rathe r we
pe rce ive d it as white r than it was.
He re is a typical re nde ring of a room with white walls, illum inate d by artificial lights.
W hite walls which appe ar gray be cause the y do not re ce ive e nough light.
It is actually fairly re alistic, but ofte n we fe e l that the walls are just not white e nough.
You can m ak e walls white r in IR e nde r nXt using a com bination of Se lf Glow and the Brightne ss Slide r .
(Mathe m atically, we can't m ak e a surface any white r the n pure white (R GB 255,255,255). - So if a wall s not 100% fully
illum inate d, the n we have to m ak e it a little le ss white (gray) in orde r to allow m ore white for othe r obje cts. This is what
m ak e s som e sce ne s too gre y.
He re I have use a Paint Program to m ak e the walls com ple te ly white .
This is not re ally the e ffe ct we want e ithe r - since both walls are pure white the natural dark e ning ne ar the corne r is washe d
W hite W alls - 15.25 - 430 -

White Walls - 15.25
out.
W alls m ade 100% white
Brightness Slider
He re I incre ase d ove rall brightne ss by 10%.
That m ade the walls "white r", but if I ran brightne ss all the way up, the re st of the sce ne would wash out.
- 431 - W hite W alls - 15.25

Brightne ss slide r incre ase d by 10%
Self Glow
Anothe r way to m ak e a single obje ct brighte r is to apply se lf glow to the m ate rial on the surface . He re I place d a face on the
wall with the sam e white m ate rial, but gave it a 20% se lf glow. This m ak e the re ctangle m ore white , as if it had m ore light
shining on it. (Se lf glow is available on the glow tab of the m ate rial e ditor. Note : Se lf glow m ak e s the surface brighte r, but
doe s not tre at it a s light source )
W hite W alls - 15.25 - 432 -

White Walls - 15.25
Pane l on wall with Se lf Glow
He re I applie d a 15% se lf glow to both walls. This m ade the walls lighte r, but the autom atic "photom e tric" lighting adjuste r
dark e ne d the re st of the sce ne to com pe nsate for the bright walls. (This can be turne d off by lock ing the Autom atic
Lum inance .)
- 433 - W hite W alls - 15.25

Se lf Glow on Both W alls
So finally, I adjuste d the brightne ss slide r at the top of the scre e n to m ak e the whole im age brighte r:
I think that with a com bination of se lf glow and the brightne ss slide r you m ay be able to ge t close to the e ffe ct you are
look ing for.
W hite W alls - 15.25 - 434 -

White Walls - 15.25
Se lf Glow and Brightne ss
Lighting Channels
Note : Lighting channe ls will m ak e this e asie r - the ir is one lighting channe l which adjusts the se lf glow with a slide r bar, so you
can adjust se lf glow and ove rall brightne ss afte r the re nde ring is com ple te .
Se e also: Lighting C hanne ls
Material/Color Channels
Boothy pointe d out that you can also m ak e quick adjustm e nts to walls using the Mate rial/C olor channe ls fe ature .
He re is a re nde ring of a house which we use d for our first W e binar;
- 435 - W hite W alls - 15.25

By click ing on the m ate rial in the back wall, you can se le ct C hange C olor
This brings up a W izard which le ts you m ak e change s to the color of a m ate rial afte r re nde ring.
He re I change d it to HSL (rathe r than R GB) m ode , which le ts you se t the lum inance of the color dire ctly. And use d the slide r
bar to m ove it m ore towards white .
W hite W alls - 15.25 - 436 -

White Walls - 15.25
Note Mate rial C hanne ls doe s not re -re nde r the m ode l, so if you change the color too m uch, any anti-aliasing at the e dge of
the color will not be change d prope rly, and also any re fle ctions of a color will not be change d. But it can be a good ide a for
W alls.
Se e : Mate rial C hanne ls
- 437 - W hite W alls - 15.25

Panoramic Views
Panoramic Views
C re ate a full 360 de gre e panoram ic im age which can be turne d into a m ovie and e m be dde d in a we b
page .
A Panoram ic im age is cre ate d by rotation the cam e ra while re nde ring to cre ate a full 360 x 360 de gre e
im age .
W he n trying to show an e ntire proje ct to a clie nt, you ofte n use se ve ral re nde re d im age s, or an anim ate d m ovie . Anothe r
option which work s we ll for som e m ode ls, is to cre ate an inte ractive , 360 de gre e panoram ic vie w. This can the n be turne d into
a m ovie , or e m be dde d with a vie w in a we b page .
A Panoram ic im age is cre ate d by rotating the cam e ra while re nde ring to cre ate a full 360 x 360 de gre e im age . It work s be st
with large inte riors, or with e x te riors which have a ce ntral point which le t you vie w the full m ode l.
You can cre ate Panoramic Views by che ck the make Panoramic View che ck box on the R e nde r Se tup Tab dialog.
Most software to proce ss Panoram ic Vie ws re quire s that the aspe ct ratio be 2:1 (e .g. 2000 x 1000) pix e ls. So the re nde ring
re solution will autom atically be se t to a ratio of 2 to 1.
You can vie w the flash m ovie m ade from the Panoram ic im age he re : View Panoramic Image in Viewer
Panoram ic Vie ws - 16.2 - 438 -

Panoramic Views - 16.2
Panoram a vie we d in a we b page . You can spin, zoom , look up and look down on the
e ntire sce ne .
- 439 - Panoram ic Vie ws - 16.2

Tutorial - Animation
A nimation is the film ing a se que nce of drawings or positions of m ode ls to cre ate an illusion of m ove m e nt. It is an optical
illusion of m otion due to the phe nom e non of pe rsiste nce of vision.
High quality anim ations of Sk e tchUp m ode ls can be m ade with IRender nXt . In IR e nde r nXt anim ation is cre ate d by
re nde ring sce ne s, m oving the cam e ra, and re nde ring the ne x t fram e . W e pass the re nde re d sce ne s to Q uick Tim e to cre ate a
.AVI m ovie . (O r as an option, you can cre ate a .JPG im age for e ach fram e and asse m ble the m into a m ovie late r.)
The tim e s and de lays spe cifie d for e ach page in Sk e tchUp are use d to tim e the anim ation. You spe cify the num be r of fram e s
pe r se cond and the im age size whe n you cre ate the m ovie .
Animation is not available in IRender Lite . See the Feature Comparison chart for a full list of IRender nXt and Irender Lite features.
Batch Mode
Anim ations are cre ate d by a proce ss se parate from Sk e tchUp.
This allows you to e x it Sk e tchUp and the anim ation will continue .
You can also se t the Batch Mode to de lay starting the anim ation, which would allow you to start the anim ation in a diffe re nt
com pute r.
Se e : Batch R e nde ring
Tutorial
It will be be st to le arn anim ation with a sm all m ode l, and 2 vie w page s with about 20 anim ation fram e s be twe e n e ach page .
Step 1 - Set up view pages in SketchUp

Se t up your vie w page s and anim ation options using Sk e tchUp Anim ation
Anim ation Vie w Page s
Anim ation - Tutorial - 16.3 - 440 -

Animation - Tutorial - 16.3
Anim ation Se ttings. The se value s from

Sk e tchUp are not use d by IR e nde r nXt
anim ation. You will have to e nte r the m again
on the IR e nde r nXt Anim ation W izard. (This
allows you to spe cify diffe re nt value s for the
IR e nde r nXt Anim ation.
Scene Manager
In Sk e tchUp you can spe cify that various ite m s, such a laye rs, are store d with e ach sce ne .
IR e nde r nXt proce sse s C am e ra Location and Visible Laye r change s be twe e n sce ne s. It curre ntly doe s not proce ss sun position
change s, or se ction plane change s.
Step 2 - Animation settings in IRender nXt
C lick the A nimation icon on the IR e nde r nXt tool bar ( ) to load the Anim ation W izard.
Remember: Animations can take a very long time to perform, so you may want to test them first with fewer frames per second or at a
- 441 - Anim ation - Tutorial - 16.3

lower image quality before creating the final animation.
General
Render and Settings - the se are se t on the R e nde r and Se ttings tabs. This is a quick re vie w of the le ngth and size of
the final anim ation.
A nimation file to create - choose a folde r and file nam e .
C hoose .avi for m ovie s
C hoose .jpg or .png to cre ate a se t of slide s - one pe r fram e . The nam e e nte re d will be use d as a base , with a num be r
adde d for e ach fram e .
Don't prompt for file overwrite - if this is che ck e d, the n you will be not warne d if you are ove rwriting an e x isting
m ovie .
Play when finished - will launch you m ovie whe n it is cre ate d.
Render

Render Window Size - se t the de sire d size for the re nde r window.
Note : The anim ation size is diffe re nt than the size for norm al re nde ring so that you can re m e m be r you de sire d
size for cre ating anim ations.
Stop rendering after - You should do a sam ple re nde ring first and de cide how m any re nde ring passe s you want for
e ach fram e of the anim ation.
Modify Batch Settings - Anim ation and ge ne ral re nde ring use the sam e options for batch file s. Use this button to
re vie w or change the options. Se e : Batch R e nde ring Se ttings

Timing
Page Transitions and Delay - Although sim ilar to the se ttings store d in Sk e tchUp, the anim ation value s are se parate .
This is done so that if you se t a longe r transition tim e for anim ations, Sk e tchUp can still use a shorte r transition tim e
whe n switching be twe e n anim ation page s.
Frame Rate - de te rm ine s the am ount of tim e be twe e n sce ne s.
(You can also use flightpath.rb to custom ize the tim e be twe e n page s.)

Pages to include - le ts you cre ate anim ations of only ce rtain page s.
Note: The Reset button is not working properly. You will have to sepcify the first and last scenes manually, (with the drop down
arrows).
Loop back to starting page - will cre ate an e x tra transition to re turn to the starting page .
Settings
Compression Quality - The de fault is 85, 100 is m ax . Lowe r quality produce s sm alle r m ovie file s.
Frames before restarting compression - The de fault is 10, which will com pre ss se que ntially for 10 fram e s, and the n
re start. A highe r num be r will m ak e sm alle r AVI file s, but m ay re duce quality.
Make separate movie for each key frame - This can be use d to save m ultiple m ovie s from a single Sk e tchUp m ode l.
Save PNG file for each frame - This can be use d to cre ate the anim ation late r with anothe r program .
Generate separate batch file for each key frame - (not work ing ye t) - W he n this is work ing you will be able to
ge ne rate se parate batch file s for k e y fram e s and proce ss the m on se parate m achine s, and the n com bine all the
im age s into a single m ovie whe n done .
Close rendering window when done - will close the re nde ring window. This can be use d to proce ss m ultiple anim ations
se que ntially from a DO S .bat file . W he n e ach anim ation com ple te s, the ne x t will start.
Step 3 - click OK to start the animation

It m ay tak e se ve ral m inute s, or longe r to cre ate the anim ation.
Notes
The de fault location for the anim ation is the IRender sub-folde r in your My Documents folde r.
IR e nde r nXt Anim ation can be use d to cre ate .AVI m ovie s of fly throughs of your m ode l, or autom atically cre ate still
re nde rings and im age s of e ach of the Sk e tchUp vie w page s.
If you have change d laye rs be twe e n page s, the laye rs will be proce ss prope rly..

C lick this link for an anim ation loade d to YouTube .

Chapter 17 - Appendix
Appendix
This appe ndix contains inform ation about:
Sk e tchUp Ve rsions
IR e nde r R e ady C onte nt
Error Me ssage s
Support Dialog
- 447 - C hapte r 17 - Appe ndix

SketchUp Versions
SketchUp Versions
W he n Sk e tchUp re le ase s a ne w ve rsion, you will ne e d to re install your R e nde r Plus Applications to use the ne w ve rsion. (O r
you can copy som e file s from the old Sk e tchUp plugins folde r to the ne w folde r.)
SketchUp 8
Sk e tchUp 8 incorporate d a ne w ve rsion of R uby which re quire s that you will ne e d to install ne w ve rsions of m ost R e nde r Plus
applications. You can download the late st ve rsion from : Downloads Page
Reinstalling
The cle ane st way to do this is to:
1. Uninstall the application. This will re m ove it from the old ve rsion of Sk e tchUp.
2. R e -install it se le cting the ne w Sk e tchUp location.
If you uninstall and re install, the n whe n you install late r upgrade s, the y will install into the prope r ve rsion of Sk e tchUp.
Copying Files
C opying file s is m uch e asie r. Howe ve r if you e ve r install a ne w ve rsion of Sk e tchUp it will continue to install any plugins folde rs
into the old Sk e tchUp location. The ne w Sk e tchUp Plugins folde r will be in a path som e thing lik e :
C :\Program File s (x 86)\Google \Google Sk e tchUp 8\Plugins

(The re m ay be no ' (x 86)' if you do not have a 64-bit m achine .
The path m ay be diffe re nt de pe nding on whe re you installe d Sk e tchUp.
The old Sk e tchUp Plugins folde r will be in a path som e thing lik e :
C :\Program File s (x 86)\Google \Google Sk e tchUp 7\Plugins
The file you want to copy are :
Note : Do not worry if you do not have som e of the _loade r.rb file s.
The one s you have will de pe nd on which R e nde r Plus applications you have installe d.
Note : The W in32API.so file is ve ry im portant. Be sure to copy it.
Note : R e nde r Plus is a folde r. C opy the e ntire folde r if you have it.
IR e nde r_Nx t_Be ta_loade r.rb

IR e nde r_Nx t_loade r.rb
NprTools_loade r.rb
Proje ctSk e tch_loade r.rb
R pTools_loade r.rb
R pTre e Mak e r_loade r.rb
R pW allMak e r_loade r.rb
Space De sign_loade r.rb
W in32API.so
Using multiple versions of SketchUp

If you want to run R e nde r Plus applications in m ore than one ve rsion of Sk e tchUp, the n you should uninstall/re install the
application into the late st ve rsion of Sk e tchUp, and the n copy the file s to the olde r ve rsion.
Sk e tchUp Ve rsions - 17.1 - 448 -

Error Messages - 17.2
Error Messages
If you re ce ive an e rror m e ssage in a R e nde r Plus application, it will look som e thing lik e this:
If you click m ore , you will ge t an e x pande d e rror m e ssage , which contains inform ation to he lp the de ve lope rs ide ntify what
cause d the e rror.
C lick Email on this dialog and the e rror inform ation will be place d in an e m ail which you can se nd to R e nde r plus. O r you can
click Copy and paste the e rror inform ation into an e m ail of your own.
- 449 - Error Me ssage s - 17.2

Error Me ssage s - 17.2 - 450 -

Support Dialog - 17.3
Support Dialog
The IR e nde r Support Dialog is use d to m ak e spe cial se ttings or to he lp R e nde r Plus custom e r support in ce rtain situations.
The dialog is available from the Sk e tchUp Plugins m e nu, unde r "IR e nde r...", or from the "More " tab of the IR e nde r nXt
O ptions Dialog.
Folder for nXtRender Libraries

This se ts the folde r whe re the nXtR e nde r plant and m ate rial librarie s are store d.
Norm ally this is se tup prope rly for you during the application and the library installation.
Howe ve r in ce rtain case s, such as trying to te st a ne w ve rsion while the old ve rsion is still active , you m ay want to ove rride it.
Developer Tools
You m ay be ask e d to che ck one of the se if R e nde r Plus custom e r support is trying to he lp you with a proble m .
Se e : De bug File
- 451 - Support Dialog - 17.3

Index
-- A --
About, 5.8, 15.23

IRender nXt, 3.7
Additional Functions, 14.10
HDRI Skies, 12.7
Adjust Center Line Horizon, 3.14
intensity other groups lights, 2.6
Advanced IRender nXt Features, 2.4
Material Editor, 6.5
Techniques, Chapter 15
after Stop rendering, 3.4, 5.2
Aim Lamp, 13.1
All Delete, 14.10
Edges, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
material set, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Reset, 4.1
Show, 14.10
single button click inIRender nXt, 15.9
Alpha, 15.20
Channel, 5.5, 15.5
Images, 15.1
Transparent Ground Plane, 5.5, 15.5
Always load changes, 15.6
Ambient Light, 11.3
Angles Beam and Field, 13.2
Animation, 3.16, 15.6, 16.1
- Tutorial, 16.3
and Views, Chapter 16
Antialiasing, 15.2
Appendix, Chapter 17
Apply, 15.13
single surface only:, 6.3
ArchVision, 14.9
Arroway Textures, 7.2
Artificial Lighting, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Lights, Chapter 13
ask Load dialog, 15.6
Attenuation, 3.13, 6.4
Attenuation., 6.5
Auto Bump, 3.13, 6.4, 8.2
Image, 5.7, 15.4
Automatic Bump Maps, 8.1
Automatically Expand Proxy Components, 5.6
load IRender toolbar and function, 5.8, 15.23
name image by drawing, 5.7, 15.4
Autosave, 5.2
Image, 5.7, 15.4
-- B --
Background Image, 5.5, 15.5

mode, 14.2, 14.3
Positioning, 3.14
Projection, 5.5, 15.5
Setup, 5.5
Show Full, 3.14
Simple, 15.5
Visibility, 5.5, 15.5
Wizard, 3.14
Balance Light, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Balanced, 10.4
Basic Lighting and Reflection, 1.5
Basics Interior Lighting, 2.5
The, Chapter 3
Batch, 5.8, 15.23
Rendering, 15.6
Tutorial, 15.7
Beam and Field Angles, 13.2
Blend Foreground into rendering, 15.13
Inde x - 452 -
Index
Blur, 3.9, 15.10
Blurry, Chapter 10, 10.2, 10.3, 10.8
Bounces Reflective, 5.2
Refractive, 5.2
Brightness, 3.6, 4.2
Slider, 3.5
Bulbs Show Light, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Bump Auto, 3.13, 6.4, 8.2
Maps, Chapter 8
Maps - Additional Information, 8.5
Bumps Procedural, 3.13, 6.4
Burn, 3.6, 4.2
-- C --
Camera Height, 14.2

Light, 11.6
Carlo Monte, 3.13, 6.4, 10.4
Caustic, 3.13, 6.4
Caustics, 15.8, 15.20
Ceiling Lights, 2.5
Change Default Settings, 5.8, 15.23
View, 4.4
changes Always load, 15.6
Never Load, 15.6
Channel Alpha, 5.5, 15.5
Channels Lighting, 2.6, 4.5, 5.3, 11.2, 11.8, 12.2
Set Lighting, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Check for Updates, 5.8, 15.23
Clay Rendering, 15.9
Close Window, 5.7, 15.4
Color, 3.9, 15.16
Render Mode, 5.9
Complete Rendering, 3.4
Use Auto image when, 3.4
Components and Lamps, 13.3, 13.4
Automatically Expand Proxy, 5.6
Lights, Mirrors and, 3.11
Content IRender Ready, 14.5
Contrast, 3.6, 4.2
Convert Material, 6.8
Cove Lighting, 11.7
Cover Ground, 14.6
Create alpha clipmask for VRay, 14.2
and place mirror, 2.8
and Render Basic Room, 1.3
Bump Map Images, 14.10
Lamp, 13.3, 13.4
Light Fixture, 13.4
Material, 3.3
Materials from Layer Names, 5.9
Mirror, 3.12
Plant, 14.2
your own lamp, 2.5
Custom, 15.6
Customize Toolbar, 5.8, 15.23
Cylindrical, 5.5, 15.5
-- D --
Daylight, 3.13, 6.4, 15.5

Portal, 9.6, 12.5, 15.20
Defaults Lighting, 11.1
Load Factory, 5.8, 15.23
Saving, 15.23
Use, 14.2
User, 5.8, 15.23
Define, 14.10
Defining materials, 3.3
Delete All, 14.10
all images, 15.18
Depth Field, 15.10
Dialog Render Setup, 3.10
- 453 - Inde x
Support, 17.3
direction Light, 15.20
Dispersion, 3.13, 6.4
Dispersion., 6.5
Display Image Information, 15.18
Distortion, 3.14
Done, 3.4
Launch when, 5.7, 15.4
Notify when, 5.7, 15.4
Double Up, 3.4
Download and Installation, 1.2
Problems, Chapter 1, 1.1
Draft Quick, 5.2
drawing Automatically name image by, 5.7, 15.4
Dynamic High, 3.2, 11.3
Studio or High, 3.2, 11.1
-- E --
Edge Highlighting, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14

Lines, 5.6
Edges All, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Overlay SketchUp, 15.13
Edit, 14.10
image in nXtImage Editor, 3.4
Lamp, 13.5
Material, 6.1
Editor Advanced Material, 6.5
Edit image in nXtImage, 3.4
Image, 15.17
Effects Image, 3.9
Subtle lighting, 15.9
Elevation, 5.5, 15.5
Engine, 5.2
Entity, 14.10
Entourage, Chapter 14
Error Messages, 17.2
etc. Intensity, Metallic, Glossy,, 2.8
Exterior, 3.2, 11.1, 11.3
mode, 3.2
-- F --
faces Process 2 sided, 5.6

factor Illumination, 14.2
Far, 3.9, 15.16
Farm Render, 4.6
Features Advanced IRender nXt, 2.4
IRender nXt, 2.3
Field Depth, 15.10
File, 5.8, 15.23
JPG, 5.8, 15.23
Save, 3.4
Filters Image, 4.1
Remember, 4.1
First Exterior Rendering, 2.1
Fixture Create Light, 13.4
Flat, 5.5, 15.5
Floor Lamp, 2.5
Focus, 3.9, 15.10
Fog, 15.12
Foreground Image, 15.13
Images, 15.13
Use Edge lines for, 15.13
Fresnel Reflection, 10.5
function Automatically load IRender toolbar and, 5.8, 15.23
Functions Additional, 14.10
Image, 14.10, 15.18
-- G --
Inde x - 454 -
Index
Gather, 3.13, 6.4

Getting Started, Chapter 1
Started IRender nxt, 1.1
Glass Stained, 9.5
Thin - Thick, 9.7
Thin or Thick, 3.13, 6.4
Transparency, 2.9
Glossy, Chapter 10, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.8
Reflection, 10.6
Glow, 3.13, 6.4, 6.7, 13.6
Self, 3.13, 6.4, 13.9
Glow., 6.5
Ground Cover, 14.6
Plane, 15.15
Plane Settings, 5.5, 15.5
Guidelines Reflection, 10.4
-- H --
Haze, 15.16
HDRi Intensity, 5.4
Planar, 5.5, 15.5
Rotation, 5.4
Skies, 12.6, 15.5
Sky, 3.2, 11.1
Sky Image, 5.4
sky rotation, 14.2, 14.3
Sky Setup, 5.4
Height Camera, 14.2
Random, 5.9, 14.2
High, 5.2
Dynamic, 3.2, 11.3
Dynamic Lighting, 12.8
Highlighting, 11.4
Edge, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Horizon Adjust Center Line, 3.14
How choose renderer, 2.11
-- I --
Illuminance, 3.13, 6.4, 13.9

Illumination factor, 14.2
Image Auto, 5.7, 15.4
Autosave, 5.7, 15.4
Background, 5.5, 15.5
Editor, 15.17
Effects, 3.9
Filters, 4.1
Foreground, 15.13
Functions, 14.10, 15.18
HDRI Sky, 5.4
Layer WIzard, 15.5
name, 5.7, 15.4
Position, 15.13
Processing, 5.6
Save, 3.4
Save and Copy Rendered, 4.3
Setup, 5.7
Use Auto, 5.7, 15.4
Use Foreground, 15.13
View, 3.4
Images Alpha, 15.1
Create Bump Map, 14.10
Delete all, 15.18
Foreground, 15.13
JPEG, 5.7, 15.4
Select All, 15.18
In Focus Zone, 3.9, 15.10
Index Refraction, 9.4
Indirect lighting, 3.2, 13.7
Information Bump Maps - Additional, 8.5
- 455 - Inde x
Display Image, 15.18
Installation, Chapter 1, 1.1
Download and, 1.2
Installing RPC - ArchVision Content Manager, 14.8
Intensity, 15.20
HDRi, 5.4
Override, 11.5
Intensity, Metallic, Glossy, etc., 2.8
Intensity., 6.5
Interior - no Sun, 3.2
daylight mode, 3.2
Lighting Basics, 2.5
no Sun, 3.2, 11.1, 11.3
Sun, 3.2, 11.1
w/sun, 11.3
Invisible, 15.19, 15.20
IOR., 6.5
IRender nXt About, 3.7
All single button click i, 15.9
Features, 2.3
Plants, 14.1, 14.4
IRender Plus, 14.7
Ready Content, 14.5
-- J --
JPEG images, 5.7, 15.4

JPG File, 5.8, 15.23
-- L --
Lamp Aim, 13.1

Create, 13.3, 13.4
Create your own, 2.5
Edit, 13.5
Floor, 2.5
Lamps Components and, 13.3, 13.4
SketchUp, 13.3, 13.4
Large Models, 15.6
Launch when done, 5.7, 15.4
layers Process light bulbs on invisible, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Library Materials, Chapter 6
License, 5.8, 15.23
Light Ambient, 11.3
Balance, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Camera, 11.6
direction, 15.20
Setup, 11.8
Type, 15.20
Lighting, Chapter 11
Artificial, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Channels, 2.6, 4.5, 5.3, 11.2, 11.8, 12.2
Cove, 11.7
Defaults, 11.1
High Dynamic, 12.8
Indirect, 3.2, 13.7
Presets, 3.2
Setup, 5.3
Use Indirect, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
lights Adjust intensity other groups, 2.6
Artificial, Chapter 13
Ceiling, 2.5
per Pass, 5.2
Query, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Lights, Mirrors and Components, 3.11
Limit No, 5.2
Lines Edge, 5.6
No Edge, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Rendering Edge, 2.7
Load dialog ask, 15.6
Factory Defaults, 5.8, 15.23
Options Values, 5.8, 15.23
this dialog before rendering, 15.6
Inde x - 456 -
Index
Lock Aspect ratio, 15.13
Logo Watermark, 15.13
Lumens vs Watts, 13.8
-- M --
Maintain Aspect Ratio, 3.14

Make Unique, 5.7, 15.4
Maker Tree, 14.3
Manager Installing RPC - ArchVision Content, 14.8
Manual, 4.6
Mapping Texture, 7.4
Maps Automatic Bump, 8.1
Bump, Chapter 8
Procedural Bump, 8.4
Standard Bump, 8.3
mask Use as, 15.13
Masks Pattern, 15.13
Material, 14.10
Convert, 6.8
Create, 3.3
Edit, 6.1
Place, 6.3
Placement, 6.6
Select, 6.2
Settings - Reflection, 10.1
Wizard, 3.13, 6.4
Materials, Chapter 6
Defining, 3.3
Library, Chapter 6
Selecting, 3.3
Set reflection setting on, 2.8
SketchUp, Chapter 6
Solid, 7.1
User, Chapter 6
Water, 7.3
Max. Texture Size, 5.6
Maximum Tasks Farm Out, 4.6
Messages Error, 17.2
Metal, 3.13, 6.4
Metallic, Chapter 10, 10.2, 10.3, 10.8
Reflection, 10.7
Mirror, 3.13, 6.4
Create, 3.12
Create and place, 2.8
mode Background, 14.2, 14.3
Color Render, 5.9
exterior, 3.2
Interior daylight, 3.2
Use Multiple, 15.13
Model, 14.10
Name, 15.6
Quickly get desired lighting effects without having change and re-render, 2.6
Models Large, 15.6
Sample, 3.15
Monte Carlo, 3.13, 6.4, 10.4
More Setup, 5.8
Multipass Rendering, 2.10
-- N --
name Image, 5.7, 15.4

Model, 15.6
Names Create Materials from Layer, 5.9
Near, 3.9, 15.16
Network Rendering, 15.6
Never Load changes, 15.6
Nighttime, 15.5
No Daylight Portal., 6.5
Edge Lines, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Light Source Reflections, 10.4, 15.21
Limit, 5.2
Notify me that data is ready, 15.6
- 457 - Inde x
when done, 5.7, 15.4
Now Start, 4.6
Number Threads, 5.8, 15.23
nxt Getting Started IRender, 1.1
Setup, 5.9
nXtRender Batch Settings, 5.2
-- O --
Object Properties, 15.20

Simple Rendering, 2.2
Objects RPC, 14.7
On, 5.5, 15.5
Only Orphans, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
only: Apply single surface, 6.3
Operator Tone, 3.6, 4.2
Options Setup, 5.1
Special, 5.9
Wizard, Chapter 5
Orphans Only, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Other Problems, Chapter 1, 1.1
Out Maximum Tasks Farm, 4.6
Overlay SketchUp Edges, 15.13
Override Intensity, 11.5
Overview Rendering, 1.4
-- P --
Panoramic Views, 16.2

Pass Lights per, 5.2
passes Rendered, 3.4
Paths Visible Light, 13.10
Pattern Masks, 15.13
Pick:, 6.3
Pixel Width, 5.6
Place Material, 6.3
Place:, 6.3
Placement Material, 6.6
Planar HDRi, 5.5, 15.5
Plane Alpha Transparent Ground, 5.5, 15.5
Ground, 15.15
Planes Section, 5.9, 15.24
Plant Create, 14.2
Plants IRender nXt, 14.1, 14.4
Plastic, 3.13, 6.4
Plus IRender, 14.7
Polished, Chapter 10, 10.2, 10.3, 10.8
Portal Daylight, 9.6, 12.5, 15.20
Portal. No Daylight, 6.5
Position Image, 15.13
Positioning Background, 3.14
Presets Lighting, 3.2
Problems Download, Chapter 1, 1.1
Other, Chapter 1, 1.1
Procedural Bump Maps, 8.4
Bumps, 3.13, 6.4
Process 2 sided faces, 5.6
light bulbs on invisible layers, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Processing Image, 5.6
Projection Background, 5.5, 15.5
Prompt before Rendering, 5.7, 15.4
Properties Object, 15.20
Purge Unused, 14.10
-- Q --
Quality Render, 5.2

Query Lights, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Quick Draft, 5.2
Inde x - 458 -
Index
Quickly get desired lighting effects without having change and re-render model, 2.6
-- R --
Random Height, 5.9, 14.2

Rotation, 5.9, 14.2
ratio Lock Aspect, 15.13
Maintain Aspect, 3.14
ready Notify me that data is, 15.6
Redo Undo /, 4.1
Reference Reflection, 10.3
Reflected, 5.5, 15.5
Reflection, Chapter 10, 10.2
Basic Lighting and, 1.5
Fresnel, 10.5
Glossy, 10.6
Guidelines, 10.4
Material Settings -, 10.1
Metallic, 10.7
Reference, 10.3
Settings, 2.8
Specular, 10.8
Reflections No Light Source, 10.4, 15.21
Window, 10.9
Reflective, 3.13, 6.4
Bounces, 5.2
Refraction, 3.13, 6.4, 9.4
Index, 9.4
Refractive Bounces, 5.2
Remember Filters, 4.1
Render Farm, 4.6
Image Size, 5.2
Quality, 5.2
Selection, 15.22
Setup Dialog, 3.10
Tab, 5.2
Rendered passes, 3.4
renderer How choose, 2.11
Rendering, 3.1
Batch, 15.6
Blend Foreground into, 15.13
Clay, 15.9
Complete, 3.4
Edge Lines, 2.7
First Exterior, 2.1
Load this dialog before, 15.6
Multipass, 2.10
Network, 15.6
Overview, 1.4
Prompt before, 5.7, 15.4
Restart, 3.1, 3.8
Resume, 3.1, 3.4, 3.8
Setup, 5.2
Show Settings before, 5.2
Show this dialog after, 3.4
Start, 3.8
Start batch, 15.6
Toolbar, Chapter 4
Use camera lights when, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Reset, 3.14, 4.1
All, 4.1
Resolution Texture, 7.5
Restart Rendering, 3.1, 3.8
Resume Rendering, 3.1, 3.4, 3.8
Room Create and Render Basic, 1.3
Rotation HDRi, 5.4
HDRi sky, 14.2, 14.3
Random, 5.9, 14.2
Tree, 14.2
RPC Objects, 14.7
-- S --
- 459 - Inde x
Sample Models, 3.15
Saturation, 3.6, 3.13, 4.2, 6.4
Saturation., 6.5
Save and Copy Rendered Image, 4.3
file, 3.4
Image, 3.4
Options Values, 5.8, 15.23
Saving Defaults, 15.23
Scale, 15.13
screen Stretch fill, 15.13
Season, 5.9, 14.2
Section Planes, 5.9, 15.24
Select All Images, 15.18
Material, 6.2
Selecting materials, 3.3
Selection Render, 15.22
Self Glow, 3.13, 6.4, 13.9
set All material, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
intensity "self-glow" panels on wall, 2.6
Lighting Channels, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
reflection setting on materials, 2.8
Settings Change Default, 5.8, 15.23
Ground Plane, 5.5, 15.5
nXtRender Batch, 5.2
Reflection, 2.8
Spot Lamp, 15.20
Sun, 12.2
Transparent, 9.3
Setup Background, 5.5
HDRI Sky, 5.4
Image, 5.7
Light, 11.8
Lighting, 5.3
More, 5.8
nXT, 5.9
Options, 5.1
Rendering, 5.2
Special, 5.6
Shade, 3.13, 6.4
Shadows, 12.3
Soft, 12.4
Show All, 14.10
Full Background, 3.14
Light Bulbs, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Settings before rendering, 5.2
this dialog after rendering, 3.4
Simple Background, 15.5
Rendering Object, 2.2
Simple, monochrome surfaces, 15.9
Size Max. Texture, 5.6
Render Image, 5.2
SketchUp lamps, 13.3, 13.4
Toolbar, Chapter 1, 1.1
Versions, 17.1
Skies Additional HDRI, 12.7
HDRI, 12.6, 15.5
Sky HDRi, 3.2, 11.1
Sun and, Chapter 12
Slider Brightness, 3.5
Soft Shadows, 12.4
Solid Materials, 7.1
Special Options, 5.9
Setup, 5.6
Specular Reflection, 10.8
Spherical, 5.5, 15.5
Spot Lamp Settings, 15.20
Stained Glass, 9.5
Standard, 15.6
Bump Maps, 8.3
Start batch rendering, 15.6
Now, 4.6
Rendering, 3.8
Started Getting, Chapter 1
Stop rendering after, 3.4, 5.2
Strength, 3.9, 15.10, 15.16
Stretch fill screen, 15.13
Studio or High Dynamic, 3.2, 11.1
Subtle lighting effects, 15.9
Inde x - 460 -
Index
Sun, 12.1
and sky, Chapter 12
Interior - no, 3.2
Interior, 3.2, 11.1
Interior no, 3.2, 11.1, 11.3
Settings, 12.2
Support, 5.8, 15.23
Dialog, 17.3
surfaces Simple, monochrome, 15.9
-- T --
Tab Render, 5.2

Techniques Advanced, Chapter 15
Texture Mapping, 7.4
Resolution, 7.5
Textures, Chapter 7
Arroway, 7.2
The Basics, Chapter 3
Thick, 3.13, 6.4, 15.20
Thin - Thick Glass, 9.7
or Thick Glass, 3.13, 6.4
Threads Number, 5.8, 15.23
Threshold, 3.9
Tiled, 15.13
Tone Operator, 3.6, 4.2
Toolbar Customize, 5.8, 15.23
Rendering, Chapter 4
SketchUp, Chapter 1, 1.1
Translucency, 3.13, 6.4, 9.2
Translucency., 6.5
Transparency, Chapter 9, 3.13, 6.4, 9.1
Glass, 2.9
Transparent Settings, 9.3
Treat White as, 15.13
Treat White as Transparent, 15.13
Tree Maker, 14.3
Rotation, 14.2
Trial Version, Chapter 1, 1.1
Tutorial Animation -, 16.3
Batch, 15.7
Tutorials and Videos, Chapter 2
Type Light, 15.20
-- U --
Undo / Redo, 4.1

Unique Make, 5.7, 15.4
Unused Purge, 14.10
Up Double, 3.4
Updates Check for, 5.8, 15.23
Use as mask, 15.13
Auto Image, 5.7, 15.4
Auto image when complete, 3.4
camera lights when rendering, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Defaults, 14.2
Edge lines for foreground, 15.13
Foreground Image, 15.13
Indirect Lighting, 5.3, 11.8, 12.2
Multiple Mode, 15.13
User Defaults, 5.8, 15.23
-- V --
Values Load Options, 5.8, 15.23

Save Options, 5.8, 15.23
Version Trial, Chapter 1, 1.1
Versions SketchUp, 17.1
- 461 - Inde x
Videos Tutorials and, Chapter 2
View Change, 4.4
Image, 3.4
Views Animation and, Chapter 16
Panoramic, 16.2
Visibility Background, 5.5, 15.5
Visible, 5.5, 15.5
Light Paths, 13.10
VRay Create alpha clipmask for, 14.2
-- W --
w/sun Interior, 11.3

wall Set intensity "self-glow" panels on, 2.6
Walls White, 15.25
Water Materials, 7.3
Watermark Logo, 15.13
Watts Lumens vs, 13.8
White Walls, 15.25
Width, 15.3, 15.11, 15.14
Pixel, 5.6
Window Close, 5.7, 15.4
Reflections, 10.9
Wizard Background, 3.14
Image Layer, 15.5
Material, 3.13, 6.4
Options, Chapter 5
-- Z --
Zone In Focus, 3.9, 15.10
Inde x - 462 -

Rendering With SketchUp Using IRender NX - Albert Hart PDF

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R e nde ring with Sk e tchUp using IR e nde r nXt

Rendering with SketchUp using IRender nXt

Sala 020612 by Jorge Javie r Lara Dom inque z

Downloading & installing.

C hapte r 1 - Ge tting Starte d - 6 -

[[Im age :Le ts ge t starte d.gif]

Videos and Tutorials

First Ex te rior R e nde ring

Problems - Contact Us - Don't Give Up

Drawing a sim ple room ]]

- 7 - C hapte r 1 - Ge tting Starte d

How to Download and Install

Download from Site

Go to www.re nde rplus.com . The n click on the

O r click on this UR L: Downloads Page

Fill out the form and se le ct the download de sire d.

click on the ‘R e que st Download Link ’.

Download and Installation - 1.2 - 8 -

Just click on ‘Download’ unde r the nam e of the

Download the file to som e place on your com pute r

Se le ct tje product to download.

Step 2: Locate the Downloaded File

Check the browser's download location

Inte rne t Ex plore r (W indows): C :\...[use r nam e ]\My Docum e nts\Downloads

Check the Downloads window (Firefox, Safari, Chrome)

Open Downloaded File

- 9 - Download and Installation - 1.2

5. The n double click on the file to ope n it. The n

click on ‘C lick he re to install".

Follow Steps to Install

6.Ne x t, just follow the ste ps to install the software

Step 4: Load Plugin in SketchUp

Start Product from Plugins Tab

Download and Installation - 1.2 - 10 -

Also, che ck that the Toolbar is e nable d unde f Vie w/Toolbars.

If you don’t still don't se e the product, re install it.

click on ‘plugins’ to ope n software .

SketchUp Extensions and Toolbar Visibility

Sk e tchUp Ex te nsions W izard. Sk e tchUp Toolbars.

- 11 - Download and Installation - 1.2

- Create and Render a Basic Room

Downloads and Installation

Se e : How to Download and Install

C lick "IR e nde r_nXt load" from the Plugins m e nu.

The IR e nde r_nXt should appe ar:

Render - starts a ne w ray trace of your curre nt m ode l and se ttings.

This will load the R e nde ring Se ttings dialog.

C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3 - 12 -

For now, ignore the se ttings and click Start Rendering

This should cre ate a re nde ring of your drawing.

Step 1 - Get Basic Room

- 13 - C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3

Eithe r cre ate a sim ple room , or

C lick Render ( ) to re nde r the room .

Step 2: Make the floor reflective

C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3 - 14 -

1. R ight click on the floor and se le ct Edit Material .

Step 3 - Adding a mirror

1. Se le ct the C re ate Mirror C om pone nt icon: ( )

C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3 - 16 -

Add m irrors to the drawing

R ay Trace im age with m irrors

- 17 - C re ate and R e nde r a Basic R oom - 1.3