By ProjectMatrix
Rendering with the Sun and Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Table of Contents:
3…….About This Guide
4…….Before You Begin
5…….Rendering with Sun Light
13…..Adding “Sky” to your Sun Light
16…..Lighting Channels
25…..Self Glow
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By ProjectMatrix
About This Guide
This guide will help you:
•Understand what ProjectRender does.
•Installation of ProjectRender and Material Libraries.
•What you need to start.
•How to map materials.
•Creating your environment.
All the images in this guide were created using Windows 8.1 in AutoCAD 2015 and
ProjectRender version PB16. The look of the images compared to the ones on your
computer may be slightly different.
Technical Support
You can reach technical support in the following ways:
Website: www.projectmatrix.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 513.554.1665
Minimum System Requirements
Operating System:Windows 7, 8.1, 10
Software: AutoCAD 2013-2016
CPU: i5 or greater
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 500 MB (free space depending on materials installed.
Resolution: 1280 x 1024 display resolution with true color
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By ProjectMatrix
Before You Begin
AutoCAD and ProjectSymbols must be installed and ran at least once prior to installing
ProjectRender. It must then be closed before running any installations.
What is ProjectRender?
ProjectRender is an add-on tool to ProjectSymbols for AutoCAD. It allows any 3D symbol
or environment to be rendered with materials using a fast, modern rendering engine which
produces professional results with a minimum of effort.
Understanding Terminology
ProjectSymbols and ProjectRender is made up of two parts. You must download and
install both parts.
Part 1: ProjectSymbols, also known as PSPlace. has the user interface to access the
symbol libraries. You will use ProjectSymbols to create the 2D and then 3D of the furniture
to render.
Part 2: ProjectRender. This is the rendering engine that sits within PSPlace in AutoCAD.
PSPlace automatically installs the menus and toolbars for ProjectRender.
Authorization Code
You must call ProjectMatrix at 513.554.1665 to get your ProjectRender authorization code.
This authorization code will be valid for one year. 30 days prior to your authorization code
expiring you will get a warning that your authorization code is going to expire.
You will have to enter your authorization code the 1st time you run the program.
4
Rendering with Sunlight
By ProjectMatrix
1. You can enable the sun light through the “Lighting Settings” in the
Render Settings Dialog box. (We’ll discuss the “Include Sky” on
page 13.
To see more options on this dialog, please see Appendix C
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Rendering with Sunlight
2.
By ProjectMatrix
The settings are based on the X and Y coordinates of the drawing.
Imagine that the beige square is your rendering target. The blue lines represent
the walls. The Camera would be your point of view, and the orange arrows are
the direction of the X,Y coordinates.
Left Wall
Right Wall
Y
X
Camera
6
Rendering with Sunlight
3.
By ProjectMatrix
Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the left wall
at a 0 degree angle and down at a 75 degree slope.
0º
Altitude=75
Angle=0
90º
Left Wall
Right Wall
90º
45º
Y
X
Camera
0º
7
Rendering with Sunlight
By ProjectMatrix
4. Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the left
wall at a 45 degrees angle and down at a 60 degree slope.
0º
Angle=45
Altitude=60
90º
Left Wall
Right Wall
90º
45º
Y
X
Camera
0º
8
Rendering with Sunlight
By ProjectMatrix
5. Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the left wall
at a -35 degrees angle and down at a 50 degree slope.
0º
Altitude=50
Angle=-35
90º
Left Wall
Right Wall
90º
45º
Y
X
Camera
0º
9
Rendering with Sunlight
By ProjectMatrix
6. Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the left wall at a 35 degrees angle and down at a 50 degree slope. This is the same as the previous
only adding both sets of windows.
0º
Angle=-35
Altitude=50
90º
Left Wall
Right Wall
90º
45º
Y
X
Camer
a
0º
10
Rendering with Sunlight
By ProjectMatrix
7. Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the right wall at
a 25 degrees angle and down at a 50 degree slope.
90º
Altitude=50
Angle=25
Left Wall
Right Wall
90º
0º
45º
Y
X
Camera
11
0º
Rendering with Sunlight
7.
By ProjectMatrix
Based on the settings below, the Sun Light would be coming through the
right wall at a 25 degrees angle and down at a 50 degree slope.
***NOTICE THE X&Y are reversed!
Angle=25
Altitude=50
Camera
90º
90º
Left Wall
45º
Right Wall
X
Y
0º
0º
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Rendering with Sunlight
and Sky Settings
By ProjectMatrix
To add “SKY” or not to add “SKY”. That is the question!
Let’s start with no Sun or Sky Settings:
Notice there is no additional light except for the overhead lights.
13
Rendering with Sunlight
and Sky Settings
By ProjectMatrix
Next, let’s turn on the Sun, but not the Sky:
This time we see the overhead lighting plus the Sun beams through the window at the specified angle and
Altitude.
14
Rendering with Sunlight
and Sky Settings
By ProjectMatrix
Next, let’s turn on the Sun and the Sky:
This time we see the overhead lighting plus the Sun beams through the window at the specified angle
and Altitude. In addition to that we also see the ambient light cast on the wall due to the Sky reflecting
the sun.
15
Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel Surfing
Let’s look at some advanced options for managing the lighting in the render:
There are 6 channels numbered 0-5. In the renderings to follow we’ll narrow down each channel one by
one.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
This shows a render with all channels turned on using the Sun with the Sky setting.
Channel 3: Ceiling
Channel 5: Decals
Channel 4: Self Glow
Channel 0: Sun & Sky
Channel 2: Other
Each of these channels can be turned on/off or finely tuned with how much light is being generated. Next
we will turn them all off, and on one at a time.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
This shows a render with all channels turned on using the Sun only. (The sky was not enabled)
Channel 3: Ceiling
Channel 5: Decals
Channel 4: Self Glow
Channel 0: Sun
Channel 2: Other
Each of these channels can be turned on/off or finely tuned with how much light is being generated. Next
we will turn them all off, and on one at a time.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 0
Sun and Sky Only
This shows a render with all only the Sun with the Sky setting.
Channel 0: Sun & Sky
In this image, all the other channels have been turned off, leaving only the Sun and Sky channel turned
on.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 0
Sun Only
This shows a render with only the Sun channel. (The sky was not enabled)
Channel 0: Sun
In this image, all the other channels have been turned off, leaving only the Sun channel turned on.
20
Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 2
Other
Channel 2: Other
In this image, all the other channels have been turned off, leaving only the “Other” channel turned on.
OTHER: is additional lights. All lights added from the ProjectSymbols Accessories library come with an
“Other” lighting source. You can also add your own by editing any layer name to end with “-RPS-LIGHT60” For example taking a layer named A-FURN-3-TSKLIGHT and making it A-FURN-3-TSKLIGHT-RPSLIGHT-60 will make that layer a light source. The 60 is the similar to a wattage, so you could make it 40
for less light or 100 for more light. You can also tune it in the lighting channels box.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 3
Ceiling
Channel 3: Ceiling
This is your typical default rendering. If you don’t add the Sun/Sky, addition lights, decals, or self-glow
channels, this is what you would normally see.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 4
Self Glow
Channel 4: Self Glow
Self Glow is created by editing a material and applying a self glow. One of the main reasons you may
want to do this is to brighten lighter colors like whites and light grays to prevent them from becoming too
dark. See the last section to learn more about self glow and see some examples.
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Lighting Channels
By ProjectMatrix
Channel 5
Decals
Channel 5: Decals
Instead of applying a material, you can apply a Decal to a layer. This could be something like above with
a computer monitor, or picture in a frame. A decal will not “tile” or repeat the texture, but will only show a
single instance of the image. A glow can be added to the decal when applying it. For things like
computer monitors, it gives it the illusion that the monitor is actually on and creating it’s own light source.
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Self Glow
By ProjectMatrix
Self Glow is created by editing a material and applying a self glow. One of the main reasons you
may want to do this is to brighten lighter colors like whites and light grays to prevent them from
becoming too dark. See the last section to learn more about self glow and see some examples.
First, select your material, and then click the “Edit Material” button.
Then, add a Self Glow Percentage. I
recommend keeping it between 5-10 here.
We can always change it in the channel
settings later.
25
Self Glow
By ProjectMatrix
In the below examples, I have no Sun or Sky, just Ceiling lights with the Self Glow applied to the
material used on the storage unit.
The PCT glow was set to 5 on the material, and the adjustments to each render were set in the
Lighting Channel by changing the values there.
Value=0 (OFF)
Value=1
Value=5
Value=10
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