Nemetschek RENDERWORKS GETTING STARTED GUIDE
2011 Getting Started Guide
The contents of this guide and accompanying
exerciseV were originally created for Nemetschek
Vectorworks, Inc. by Daniel Jansenson.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 1
© 2011 Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, faxing, emailing, posting online or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of
the publisher. Published in the United States.
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the United States and other countries.
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of
this book, neither the author nor Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage
caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book or by the computer software described in it.
For additional Vectorworks training information, or to purchase copies of this book, please call us, in the United States at (410) 290-5114 or
visit Vectorworks.net/training online.
2 | Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................................5
Section 1: Exterior Building View............................................................................7
Task 1: Place Renderworks Cameras............................................................................ 9
A. Select the Renderworks Camera Tool .................................................................9
B.Placetherstcamera ..........................................................................................9
C. Adjust the camera’s height ................................................................................10
D. Save the view .................................................................................................... 11
E. Place the second camera. ................................................................................. 11
F. Adjust the second camera’s height ...................................................................11
Task 2: Lighting & Light Quality Settings ....................................................................12
A. Place a Directional light (sunlight) .....................................................................12
B. Adjust the Directional light’s orientation .............................................................13
C. Adjust the light quality settings ..........................................................................13
1. Ambient lighting .........................................................................................14
2. Indirect lighting ..........................................................................................15
D. Add light from the sky ........................................................................................17
1. Set a HDRI background as a light source .................................................17
2. Select the desired HDRI background ........................................................17
Task 3: Apply Textures ..................................................................................................18
1. Landscaping. ......................................................................................................18
2. Hardscaping .......................................................................................................20
3. Building Walls .....................................................................................................24
4. Glass ..................................................................................................................29
Task 4: Add Sky .............................................................................................................32
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 3
Task 5: Add Entourage ..................................................................................................32
1. Create and place image props ...........................................................................32
2. Place additional, premade image props .............................................................36
3. Place 3D symbols ..............................................................................................37
Task 6: Render and Export an Image ...........................................................................38
1. Render the scene. ..............................................................................................38
2. Render a viewport ..............................................................................................40
3. Export the image. ...............................................................................................42
Section 2: Day-Time Interior View .........................................................................45
Task 1: Place a Directional Light Representing the Sun ............................................46
Task 2: Lighting: Add Light from the Sky ....................................................................47
Task 3: Lighting: Set Lighting Options ........................................................................47
Task 4: Add a Graphic Sky Background ......................................................................48
Task 5: Create and Apply Textures ..............................................................................48
1. Rear wall ...........................................................................................................48
2. Mesh partition ....................................................................................................50
3. Wood paneling ...................................................................................................52
Task 6: Render using Custom Renderworks ..............................................................55
Section 3: Night-Time Interior View ......................................................................57
Task 1, Lighting: Place and Adjust Lights ...................................................................58
A.Rectangularuorescents ...................................................................................58
B.Round,surface-mountxtures ..........................................................................59
C. Pendant lights at reception counter ...................................................................61
D. Fluorescent pendant light over conference table ..............................................62
E. Rear signage at the mesh partition (in front of the stairs) ..................................63
1. Create the texture .....................................................................................64
2. Apply the new neon light texture to the 3-D model of the neon tubing ......65
Task 2: Lighting: Set the Appropriate Light Quality Settings ....................................65
Task 3: Render using Custom Renderworks ..............................................................66
Task 4: Adjust Custom Renderworks Settings to Control Brightness .....................67
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Introduction
Basic information about Renderworks can be found in a variety of places. These include
third-party sources such as Jonathan Pickup’s Archoncad, this author’s own Remarkable
Renderworks book, and a large repository of resources in Nemetschek Vectorworks’ own
materials–including much excellent information in other Getting Started guides.
Kevin Lee Allen’s Spotlight Getting Started Guide has much valuable information about
Renderworks. And Tamsin Slatter has prepared an excellent Renderworks 2011 Migration Hints
and Tips guide that is a small manual in itself.
Familiarity with basic Renderworks techniques is one thing. Incorporating these basic skills into
anoverallrenderingworkowisthenextstep,andisthebasisofthematerialinthisguide.
This book uses three case studies as the underpinning for detailed, step-by-step tutorials. There
is no discussion of theory or high principles. Instead, the material uses an organized and logical
methodtodevelopeachrenderingexercise,fromopeningtheleatthebeginning,toexporting
an image at the end. The intent is to convey the fundamental methods of texturing, lighting and
rendering by describing the sequence of steps necessary to complete each rendering.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 5
Each section is divided into tasks, which are the organizing stepping stones of the process.
Each task contains a number of sub-steps covering the details of texturing, lighting and
rendering.Acarefulandmethodicalapproachtothesestepsandtaskssimpliestheprocessof
preparing Renderworks renderings, and makes it easier to make adjustments and changes.
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Section 1:
Exterior Building View
A Vectorworks model is prepared for rendering using a three-step process. The sequential
F/L/R workow–File Prep/Lighting/Rendering–can consistently yield good-quality results when
followed carefully and methodically. Note that the settings for lighting quality are completely
separate from those of rendering quality, even
though they are closely linked. The workow
need not be completed in a specic order of
tasks, necessarily (except for the last step),
but it is important to view each step as a
separate action–a stepping-stone, as it were,
on the road to the nal rendering.
This exercise will describe six basic sequential
tasks, each adding a level of completion to the
rendering:
1. Place Renderworks cameras.
2. Arrange lights and light quality settings.
3. Apply textures.
4. Add a sky background.
5. Add entourage.
6. Render and export.
Open the le: building-new.vwx from the
Exterior Building View folder. Take a quick
rst look.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 7
Make sure the entire model ts on the screen:
-click on the Fit To Objects button in the View
Bar. The view is in wireframe:
-Make a quick rst rendering using OpenGL:
View>Rendering>OpenGL. The white
building in the middle of the screen is the
subject of this rendering exercise. The large
gray buildings around it are massing models
intended for background purposes.
-Switch to Top/Plan view:
View>Standard Views>Top/Plan.
-Change layer visibility to display the lower
layer: View>Layer Options>Show/Snap
Others.
The layer Entourage Locations is now
visible. Zoom in and take note of the
information shown on this layer.
Note: This exercise will create and use a
variety of scene accessories–image props
and cameras that will need to be placed in
certain places on the drawing. The Entourage
Locations layer displays those spots as a
kind of map, showing the exact locations of
the image props and cameras. When the
information is no longer needed, we will make
this layer invisible.
Note: OpenGL is a suitable rendering method
when fast results are needed. Renderworks
can provide higher-quality renderings, and will
be discussed later in this chapter.
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Task 1: Place Renderworks
Cameras.
This exercise will use two Renderworks
cameras to generate views that will be used in
the renderings. One camera will show an
overall view of the building’s front. The other
camera will be oriented to display the building
at an angle, and from a closer distance.
We will place the cameras in the layer Site
With Buildings, which is currently active.
Before proceeding, zoom in to the area
marked in the diagram. The two camera
locations are in this area and can be seen
more clearly from a closer distance.
B. Place the rst camera.
-With the tool selected, click once in the
center of the marker called Camera 1. Then
drag the cursor in the direction of the marker’s
arrow to set a direction, and click again to
complete the action.
Zoom to here
A. Select the Renderworks Camera
Tool.
-In the Visualization Toolset, select the
Renderworks Camera tool.
The Object Properties dialog box appears.
Click OK.
To see what the camera sees, leave the
camera object selected, go to the Object Info
palette (under the Shape tab) and click on the
Display Camera View button. The scene will
swtich to a perspective view as seen by the
camera. Can’t see the perspective view? Click
on the Fit to Objects button in the View Bar.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 9
Note: the Entourage Locations layer is still
visible. Make it invisible by changing the
Layer Options to Active Only: View>Layer
Options>Active Only.
C. Adjust the camera’s height.
-In the Object Info palette, click on the Fine
Tune Camera View button. The Perspective
View Controls dialog box opens. The rst
slider at the top is the Camera Height control.
In the white data eld, enter the height: 6’-0”
[1830mm].
Is the image too small on the sheet? Is it
off-center on the screen?
To make the image bigger on the sheet, go to
the Object Info palette. With the camera
object selected, go to the Clip Frame Scale
% data box and enter 200. Then update the
view: select the Auto Update 3D View
checkbox near the bottom of the palette.
The camera is now tilting down slightly. To
correct this, go to the Look To Height slider,
and in the white data box enter the height:
6’-0” [1830mm]. Click OK.The camera’s
actual height, and the direction in which it
looks are now both the same, so the camera’s
view is perfectly horizontal.
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To center the image on the screen, select the
Auto Center 3D View checkbox.
Before saving this view, make sure the
Entourage Locations layer is invisible:
View>Layer Options>Active Layer Only.
D. Save the view.
-View>Save View. The Save View dialog box
opens. Give this view a name: View 1. Click OK.
E. Place the second camera.
First make the Entourage Locations layer
visible: View>Layer Options>Show/Snap
Others.
-Switch to Top/Plan view and zoom in again
to the area shown earlier. Note the location of
the marker called Camera 2. In the
Visualization palette, select the
Renderworks Camera tool, and place a new
camera in the center of the Camera 2 marker.
Point, drag and click to nish as described
earlier.
Info palette and click on the Fine Tune
Camera View button. The Perspective View
Controls dialog box opens. Change the
Camera Height and Look To settings to 6’-0”
[1830mm]. Click OK.
Make the Entourage Locations layer
invisible (View>Layer Options>Active Only
or change visibilities in the Organization
dialog box), and then save this view as well,
with the name View 2.
Note: We can access this camera’s view at
any time by selecting it in the Saved Views
drop-down box or double-clicking on the view
in the Visualization palette. We can also
access this camera’s view by going to Top/
Plan view and double-clicking on the camera
object itself, or by going to the Visualization
palette and double-clicking on the camera
there (click on the Cameras tab of the palette
to display the cameras in the le).
Note: The Object Properties dialog box didn’t
open this time; it only opens the rst time the
Renderworks Camera tool is used in a le.
F. Adjust the second camera’s height.
-With the camera selected, go to the Object
Congratulations! We’ve completed the rst
task: placing cameras and saving views.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 11
Task 2: Lighting & Light Quality
Settings
This task will demonstrate a variety of lighting
settings and propose a suitable combination
for this exercise le.
In the Saved Views drop-down box, select
View 2. The image on the screen will be in
wireframe (not rendered).
First a quick rst rendering in Renderworks:
-View>Rendering>Fast Renderworks.
by the program, mainly for working purposes.
Once lights are placed in the scene (including
a Directional light representing the sun), the
original default lighting is disabled and lights
can be adjusted as desired, resulting in a
better quality rendering.
Note: Does the scene look a little rough and
unnished? The Fast Renderworks setting
is useful for on-going work, rather than nal
quality renderings, which can take a long time
to complete. With this Renderworks setting,
low-level accuracy, quality and resolution
settings make for a speedy rendering, albeit at
the expense of image quality. More on
adjusting these settings later.
What light sources will we use?
The nal lighting in this exterior scene will
come from two sources:
• a directional light representing the sun;
• a High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI)
background representing overall light
coming from the sky.
Wait a few seconds until the scene nishes
rendering. Notice that the scene is lit, even
though there are no actual light objects in the
le. This is due to the default lighting provided
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A. Place a Directional light (sunlight).
Now add the rst of two light sources used in
this exercise: sunlight. The light of the sun is
represented by a specic kind of light object: a
Directional light.
-View>Lighting>Set Sun Position. The Set
Sun Position dialog box opens. Leave
everything as it is, and click OK to place a
directional light–representing the sun–in the
scene. We will adjust the Directional light’s
height and direction in the next step.
B. Adjust the Directional light’s
orientation.
-In the Object Info palette, set the light’s
Azimuth and Elevation settings:
Azimuth: 50°
Elevation: 28°
Make sure the remaining settings are as
shown below.
The Directional light now has the desired
height (Elevation) and direction (Azimuth) for
this exercise. With the sunlight in place, we
will make adjustments to the light settings in
order to improve the quality of the rendering.
C. Adjust the light quality settings.
The scene’s light quality settings can
dramatically affect the length of time required
to complete a rendering. In this exercise we
will rst use light quality settings that yield
quick renderings, using Ambient lighting.
Then we will improve the light quality settings
by adding Indirect lighting, but at the expense
of longer renderings.
Before proceeding, open the Lighting
Options dialog box (View>Lighting>Set
Lighting Options) and take a look at the
various components of the dialog box:
• The Indirect Lighting drop-down box
controls lighting that bounces from one
surface onto another. This is a feature
that provides great realism. The greater
the number of bounces, the more
realistic the image–and the longer the
rendering takes to complete.
• Ambient Info controls Ambient lighting,
its brightness and color. Ambient
lighting is general, sourceless lighting
that affects all surfaces equally. This
lighting can be used by itself, for general
lighting purposes, or in combination with
other light sources (such as light
objects). It can also be used as a
method of adding general light to a
scene that has already been lit using
other methods.
• Emitter Options sets the brightness
and color temperature of light objects
that have been set to Use Emitter (none
of those are included in this exercise
le).
• Environment Lighting (HDRI) provides
access to Renderworks backgrounds
that can be used for lighting purposes,
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 13
as well as graphic representations of the
sky. More on this later. Click OK to close
the dialog box.
1. Ambient lighting
a. For the rst example, use only the
illumination produced by the Directional light
placed earlier–without Ambient lighting:
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options.
The Lighting Options dialog box opens.
From top to bottom, arrange the settings as
shown in the image below and click OK.
-Now render in Fast Renderworks:
View>Rendering>Fast Renderworks.
Note that the shadows are dark and lacking in
detail. We can improve on this by adding
Ambient lighting and changing the default
settings.
b. Add and adjust Ambient lighting:
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options. The
Lighting Options dialog box opens.
-Under Ambient Info, click On.
-Make sure the Brightness (%) box
shows 35.
-Click OK and render in Fast Renderworks:
View>Rendering>Fast Renderworks.
c. For a smoother rendering, try rendering in
Final Quality Renderworks.
14 | Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide
2. Indirect Lighting
In the second example, we will modify the
light settings to include Indirect lighting. This
is a feature that provides much-improved
realism by displaying lighting that bounces
from one surface onto another. We will also
turn off Ambient lighting in order to enhance
the image’s quality.
a. Add Indirect lighting:
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options. The
Lighting Options dialog box opens.
-Click on the Indirect Lighting drop-down
box and select Exterior, 1 Bounce. Click OK.
The image can be much improved by
switching Ambient lighting off.
b. Remove Ambient lighting.
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options. The
Lighting Options dialog box opens.
-Under Ambient Info, click Off.
-Click OK.
To see the full impact of the change, render in
Final Quality Renderworks.
Now render in Fast Renderworks:
View>Rendering>Fast Renderworks.
What is rst noticeable is the increased
rendering time, compared to the previous light
settings. More importantly, the effect of
Indirect lighting can be seen clearly in places
such as the left side of the entry area and the
joint between the main building and the
angled portion to the right.
Note that with Ambient lighting turned off,
the building’s entry area is now a bit dark. We
can improve the rendering by increasing the
number of Indirect Lighting bounces. This
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 15
will increase the quality and realism of
rendered surfaces that bounce light from one
to the next, including the area near the
building’s entrance. Increasing the number of
light bounces there will represent the bounced
lighting more accurately.
c. Increase the number of Indirect Lighting
bounces:
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options. The
Lighting Options dialog box opens.
-Click on the Indirect Lighting drop-down
box and select Normal, 2 Bounces. Click
OK.
The le will automatically rerender in Final
Quality Renderworks. Note that this new
quality setting will result in a longer render,
requiring a wait before nal results can be
seen. If the wait is acceptable, we can obtain
even better results by selecting Interior, 4
bounces in the Indirect Lighting drop-down
box, but this will result in a much lengthier
render, and the results may not justify the
increased rendering time:
16 | Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide
To recap: We rst rendered the le using a
Directional light representing the sun. Then,
to ll in the shadows, we added Ambient
lighting. Finally, in order to improve the quality
of the nal rendered image, we switched off
Ambient lighting, turned on Indirect lighting
and then increased the number of bounces. In
each case the rendering was better, but at the
expense of longer completion times.
We will now improve the quality of the
rendering even further by adding one more
source of light: the sky.
Before proceeding, render the le in
Wireframe: View>Rendering>Wireframe.
D. Add light from the sky.
In the real world the sun is not the only source
of daytime exterior lighting. The atmosphere–
or sky– itself is another. Think of the sky as a
kind of dome covering the model, with a bright
light placed outside the dome. The glow of the
skydome is diffused throughout the le,
illuminating the model itself and casting
shadows that are softer than those from the
sun. To represent this sky-light, Renderworks
uses a special layer background that emits
light and helps illuminate the entire exterior
scene.
-Under Environment Lighting (HDRI), click
on From Selected Background.
2. Select the desired HDRI background.
-Click on the Renderworks Background
drop-down box and select: HDRI Day.
This High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI)
background has a dual function: it can be
used as a source of light and also as a great
background image, graphically representing
the appearance of the sky itself. Each of these
functions can be used separately, if desired.
In this exercise le we will split those
functions, using one HDRI background as a
light source and a separate one for its graphic
image of the sky.
1. Set a HDRI background as a light
source.
-View>Lighting>Set Lighting Options.
The Lighting Options dialog box opens.
-Click OK.
-With the HDRI background selected, render
the scene: View>Rendering>Fast
Renderworks.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 17
The scene may appear excessively bright.
This effect will moderate once textures are
applied, image props cast shadows, and a sky
image is used.
Make sure to try other HDRI backgrounds
supplied with Renderworks, as sources of
light. Several backgrounds provide interesting
and, indeed, beautiful lighting effects that
might be especially suitable for particular
projects. It is also possible to edit HDRI
backgrounds, once they are accessible in the
Resource Browser, by modifying their
brightness and other features.
Until now we have been working with a
simplied model of the building, containing no
textures or site accessories. In the next task
we will add those things to the scene, seeing
a dramatic improvement in the appearance of
the building and its surroundings.
Task 3: Apply Textures.
Note: For best visibility, switch to Top/Plan
view (View>Standard Views>Top/Plan), then
to Right Isometric view (View>Standard
Views>Right Isometric). Zoom in for a clear
view, as in the following wireframe image.
Render in OpenGL (View>Rendering>OpenGL).
As textures are applied, the scene will
automatically re-render.
In this le textures will be applied to objects in
four categories: landscaping, hardscape
objects (including street paving), building
walls and glass objects (windows, doors and
window walls).
1. Landscaping.
In this model the ve rectangular landscaped
areas are represented by simple rectangular
extrusions, each receiving a grass texture.
The grass texture is made from an imported
image, and has already been included in this
exercise le. It is available through the
Resource Browser.
18 | Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide
a. Select the rst landscape element and
apply the grass texture:
-Click once on the rst landscape element.
-In the Object Info palette, click on the
Render tab.
-Make sure that the Part drop-down box is set
to Overall (None).
-Click on the Texture drop-down box and
select grass.
b. Select the remaining landscape
elements and apply the grass texture:
-Hold the Shift key down, and select each of
the remaining four landscape elements. All of
the remaining four elements should now be
selected.
-Render the scene in OpenGL, and the rst
landscape element will display the grass
texture.
-In the Object Info palette’s Render tab, click
on the Texture drop-down box and select
grass. The scene will rerender, and all the
remaining landscape elements will now
display the grass texture.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 19
c. Curious about the grass texture?
Analyze the grass texture to understand its
composition:
-With the landscape elements still selected,
go to the Render tab of the Object Info
palette.
-Click on the Texture edit button, and then
select Edit grass Resource.
The Edit grass dialog box opens.
-Click on the various shaders that make up
this texture in order to observe the settings:
• The Color setting identies the image
that was used for this texture. Click on
the edit button next to Color to display
(or change) the image.
• The Bump shader shows the noise
shader used. Click on the edit button
next to Bump to display the noise
settings.
Click OK and then OK again, to exit the dialog
boxes.
2. Hardscaping.
The overall hardscaping around the building
consists of low walls, concrete sidewalk
paving, asphalt street paving and pebble
stone trim arranged in long horizontal lines
near the building. The textures have already
been imported into the exercise le and are
available via the Resource Browser.
a. Concrete sidewalk paving.
The concrete sidewalk paving is a simple 3D
extrusion/subtraction object with a texture
applied.
-Still in Right Isometric view, select the 3D
object representing the concrete sidewalk
paving.
20 | Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide
Note: the Object Info palette reports this
object as a Solid Subtraction.
-Click on the Render tab of the Object Info
palette.
-Click on the Texture drop-down box and
select the texture Conc Lighter Small.
Render in OpenGL to conrm that the texture
has been applied.
apply the asphalt texture to the appropriate
class. Then we will set the NURBS surface to
accept a texture by class.
First apply the asphalt texture to the
appropriate class:
-Open the Organization dialog box:
Tools>Organization.
-Select the Details option at the top right, and
then click on the Classes tab to view the le’s
classes.
b. Street Paving.
The street is represented by a NURBS
surface assigned to the class street paving.
The street object will receive an asphalt
paving texture applied by class. First we’ll
-Select the class street paving, and then click
on the Edit button.
The Edit Class(es) dialog box opens.
Renderworks 2011 Get ting Starte d Guide | 21
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