This tutorial will show you how to view, navigate, and render stunning images in 3D. Specifically you'll learn about:
How to Place and Use Cameras
Moving Through your Project in 3D
What is a 3DTrueView?
Adding Lights to your Project
Setting the scene for a 3DTrueView
Producing a 3DTrueView
3DTrueView Settings
Creating a Nighttime Scene
The 3D views of your projects in 3D Home Architect are created by virtual cameras that you can position in your project. There are two cameras created for you initially. 3D Perspective provides a standard 3D view. Use this as your starting camera and move it with your navigation tools to get any angle on your plan that you wish. 3D Overview is an overhead view, without perspective - a "dollhouse" type view that you can look down onto
To view the angle from any camera, click the 3D button, then select the camera you want. You can also add as many cameras as you like and switch between them easily to jump to many different angles on your project.
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place a new camera: 1. It's easiest to position cameras in 2D Plan view. If you're not in that view, click on the 2D icon.  |
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2. Click the
3D View icon from the bottom of the screen. |
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| 7. Set the target by moving the cursor away from the camera and clicking when you reach the desired target location. The target is important because it sets the point the camera will fly around. | |
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move the camera or target manually: 1. Make sure your camera is visible. 2. Click on the camera for the view you want to change. A selection handle will appear. 3. Hover over the selection handle. When the Move cursor is displayed, drag the Camera or Target to a new position. Release the mouse button to complete the move.  -OR-Right-click and select Move Camera or Move Target. The Move cursor will appear. Click and drag on the handle to move the camera or target to the new spot. 4. To look through the camera in its new position, right-click and select Look Through. |
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| Note: if you don't see the camera icons in your 2D or 3D view, you may need to zoom out a bit. Or, you may need to ensure that Camera On/Off toggle is set to on. To check this, click the Camera On/Off toggle and choose Cameras On/Off from the fly-out menu. |  |
Setting your Camera
Properties
Like other elements, cameras have a properties dialog where you can change
their name, set their position, and more.
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To access
camera properties: |
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3. Edit the properties as you wish and click OK to save your changes. Here are some of the things you might want to edit in the camera's properties dialog:
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Moving Through Your Project in 3D
To set the angle of your cameras, or to move around the virtual space of your project, 3D Home Architect has an array of tools to help you get to almost any angle. These Navigation tools work by moving the camera that's creating the angle you're seeing. Using these tools will make you feel like you're really inside the space you've created.
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Walk
Around
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Fly
Around
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Look
Around
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Walk Around - moves your camera through your project as if you were walking with it. |
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Fly Around - revolves the camera around its target, allowing you to "fly" with the camera. |
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Look Around - rotates your camera, allowing you to look around your project without moving. |
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Slide - moves the camera up, down, left, or right without changing the camera's angle. |
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Reset Camera - reverts the camera angle and position to it's initial placement. |
3DTrueView is a photo-realistic
rendering of your project that utilizes one of the most powerful 3D rendering
engines available, the Helios Renderer. 3DTrueView determines the sources
of light in your drawing and applies a complex formula of calculations
to simulate how that light is reflected or absorbed by all the surfaces
it encounters. A detailed, photo-realistic image is created from the outcome
of these calculations. This image is not like other views that you can
move around in; it is more like a snapshot or still image.
Note: 3DTrueView is not available
in all versions of 3D Home Architect.
In creating your 3DTrueView, you have two options for lighting, daylight and artificial light. If you choose to enable daylight, the program will light your project using light from a "virtual" sun as well as any lighting elements you place in your project. If you choose not to enable daylight, the program will use only the lighting elements in your project.
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use daylight to light your project: 1. Make sure you are viewing your project in 3D. 2. Click the View menu. Select 3DTrueView and click on 3DTrueView Options. |
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3. Click on the Rendering tab. 4. Click the checkbox next to Enable Daylight When Rendering. |
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Note: To light your project with artificial light only, uncheck this box.
If you're not using daylight as your light source, you will need to add lighting objects to your project to illuminate your project. There are fixtures to light your house under the Interiors tab and landscape lights under the Landscape tab. Lighting elements are special, because they include information that allows them to accurately depict different bulb types and wattages.
To add lights to
your project:
1. Click on the Lighting icon on the Building or Landscape toolbar. 
or 
2. Choose a lighting fixture to insert. A preview of the fixture is shown
in the window at the bottom of the Catalog panel.
3. Click the spot in your drawing where you want to insert the fixture.
4. Continue to add this light elsewhere in your project, select another
fixture from the catalog, or right-click and select Finish when
you're done with Lights.
Note: Some fixtures, like wall sconces and ceiling lights, are dependent on another structure. Before inserting them in your drawing, make sure you have a wall or ceiling where you can attach them.
Once lights are inserted, you can render interiors in your project. In general, apply common sense, but remember that all lights in your project are "on" by default. So, if you've created a living room with four ceiling lights, two table lamps, and three floor lamps, your 3DTrueView might be too bright. You can adjust the level of light in your project by adding or deleting lighting fixtures, by removing the light sources from the fixtures, or by changing the light element's type and wattage. For more details on how to edit light sources, see the program's Help guide or manual.
If you've chosen to render your 3DTrueView using daylight, you should specify the setting or locale of your project. Using the information you enter, the program will determine the correct angle, direction, and intensity of the sunlight.
To define the setting
of your project:
1. Make sure you are viewing your project in 3D.
2. Click the View menu. Select 3DTrueView and click on 3DTrueView
Options.
3. Click on the Global Settings tab.
4. Edit to match your desired time, date, and location.
5. Click OK.
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Geographic
Location (Country and City) Date Orientation Time |
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The rendering of daylight is highly dependant on what time you choose, so you may want to try different times of day.
With
your setting and options chosen, and your lighting in place, you're ready
to render! The first step in rendering is to be viewing your project in
3D from the angle that you want to render.
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render a 3DTrueView: 1. Set your view to the 3D camera you want to render. 2. Click the View menu. 2. Select 3DTrueView and click on Render 3DTrueView. 3. The program will begin doing the calculations to create the 3DTrueView. |
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The Rendering Process
The rendering process has two stages. In the first stage, the program
calculates all the light sources and determines how they will be reflected
or absorbed off the various surfaces in your project. Your view may turn
dark at first. As the render continues, light will be added and continue
to even out. The status bar will indicate the progress. You can stop this
stage of rendering at any time and finish your 3DTrueView by clicking
the Stop button.
After this stage is complete, or when you click the Stop button, the program puts a final polish on the image by applying surface properties - such as reflectance or glow - and any other effects you may have applied, such as anti-aliasing to smooth edges.
When rendering a 3DTrueView of your project, be patient. Depending on the complexity of your project, the speed of your computer, and the rendering options chosen, creating a 3DTrueView can take some time.
The program has rendering settings that control the way the program creates the 3DTrueView. You can adjust these settings to change the speed and quality of the rendering process.
To adjust your
render settings:
1. Make sure you are viewing your project in 3D.
2. Click the View menu. Select 3DTrueView and click on 3DTrueView
Options.
3. Adjust the settings as desired.
4. Click OK.
The 3DTrueView Render Options Dialog
Click on any part of the dialog to jump to a description of what that feature does.
Quality
Level
You have 5 level choices
from lowest to highest quality. Lower qaulity renders take less time to
produce than higher quality renders, but the time involved also depends
on the speed of your computer and the complexity of your project.
Change Display Steps
This setting allows you to choose how often you want your display to show
the progress of your 3DTrueView render. Choosing a smaller number will
allow you to see more steps in the rendering process, but will make the
rendering time longer. Choosing a larger number won't allow you to see
as many intermediate steps in the process, but will make the rendering
time shorter. For a higher quality render, you may want to set Display
Steps as high as 100 or more.
Enable
Daylight
Checking this box uses a virtual sun to light your project. If you uncheck
this box, the only light in your project will come from inserted Lighting
elements.
Enable Ambient Lighting
Each step or calculation in the rendering process takes the total light
available and makes the various surfaces in your project either absorb
or reflect that light. The goal is to have 100% of the light eventually
absorbed to get the most accurate image. However, depending on your settings
and the complexity of your project, you might not make it all the way
to 100% light absorbtion. Choosing the Ambient Lighting option takes all
the light left at the final step of rendering and applies that remaining
amount to all the surfaces equally. This can "even out" the
lighting overall. If you choose this option, you may notice that the final
step of the rendering process takes longer than previous steps.
Image
Brightness
You can make your 3DTrueView lighter or darker by adjusting the image
brightness up or down. The scale is roughly equivalent to f-stops in photography.
Click the up arrow for each quarter f-stop you want the image to be brighter
or click the down arrow for each quarter f-stop you want the image to
be darker.
Antialiasing
Antialiasing smooths out the jagged edges in your view, giving you a very
clean image. You can set antialising from 1 to 4, but generally 2 is adequate.
Choosing this option will make the second, or polishing, stage of the
rendering take a bit longer.
Special
Effects
Check the box to apply special atmospheric
effects to your 3DTrueView. Select either Fog or Smoke, and set the density
or percentage you want the effect to be applied. Choosing
this option will make the second, or polishing, stage of the rendering
take a bit longer.
Output
to File
Check the box to save your image to a
file every time a 3DTrueView is completed. If you don't check this option,
you will have to take a screenshot (by clicking your Print Screen key)
in order to save your 3DTrueView. Outputting to a file has no affect on
the speed of the rendering process.
Image
Size
The pulldown determines the size of the
3DTrueView you create. The default is the size of your drawing space,
but you can set it to another standard size or your own custom size. The
larger the size you choose, the longer the second, or polishing, stage
of the rendering will take.
For more detail on how the other rendering option settings affect your 3DTrueView, see the program's Help guide or manual.
Creating
a Nighttime Scene
You can create a night
time rendering of your project, either to show an interior of your home
at night, or an exterior light by landscape lighting (available in Landscape
Design or Design Suite). To do this, you should simply turn off Daylight
in your 3DTrueView Settings as described above. However, you'll also want
to change your background so you're not looking at a bright blue sky.
Even if you don't plan on rendering a 3DTrueView, you might want a night
time background for your regular 3D views.
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To change
your background for a night time scene: Tip: To choose a different background for either day or night scene, click on the preview image and select an alternative from the backgrounds folder. |
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