Rendering with ArchiCAD and Artlantis | Part 1: Lightworks Overview

This article has been moved to our archives, as it is no longer up to date and/or valid.

Here at Emu Architects, we use Archicad as our BIM drafting software. While the Lightworks rendering engine in Archicad is excellent, we are hoping to use it in combination with Artlantis to speed up efficiency of rendering time. Since there are only two of us in the office, creating beautiful presentations in a minimal amount of time is very important. We have found that Artlantis has a much more simple interface and can render images in a much smaller amount of time. That being said, I need to spend some time exploring all of the possibilities of both softwares in order to understand how best to mix and match our uses of them.

I’m relatively new to Archicad, so I decided to do a few tutorials to speed up my learning curve when it comes to rendering. I realize these are probably really basic tips, but I’m very interested in how to increase the efficiency of rendering. Sometimes this can happen with only small changes in work environment or the organization of views.

For my Lightworks learning, I will be using tutorials from the M3D Masters Series. Today I covered the introductory chapters, and I’ve listed below some tips that I learned about professional rendering with Lightworks in Archicad:

1. Natural light sources make a huge difference on the quality of the render, as well as the speed. While you’re getting all the camera angles and materials set up, leave the light resolutions and intensities for the sky object, the sun object, and any window lights off or low. Then, once you want the final render, reset the values to create a balance of natural light on your model.

2. Use fog and/or depth cue to help make the landscape or mesh blend in with the boackground. This also helps your model stand out more.

3. Depending on where your project is based, don’t forget to do a winter view with snow activated. It can be a bit cheesy, but it could also add an otherwise ignored view.

4. It’s easier to set up your views as you would if you walked around a physical project snapping photos. Once you have a bunch of camera angles, you can create a layout with the most successful views. Then, instead of rendering each view to check for quality, you can render the entire layout and see the whole project from different final views at once.

When I learn more tips, I’ll post them.