Preparing the model for rendering in 3ds Max

00:03

Welcome to Communicate the Design Intent Using Revit for Rendering and Animation.

00:09

I am Judy Staicer.

00:13

Today, we're going to focus on preparing the Revit model for rendering in 3ds Max.

00:19

Specifically, I will show you how to create a 3ds Max view, including making sure materials are assigned to all elements,

00:26

setting up the lighting and environment for the rendering, purging the model, and exporting the model to FBX.

00:36

Let's open the Medical Center model and create a view to be used for a rendering of the building exterior.

00:42

We'll start by opening the Site Plan View.

00:50

From the View tab, open the 3D flyout and choose "Camera".

00:55

Place the Camera near the bottom of the model and drag to set the direction of view and far clip plane.

01:02

This creates a new Perspective View for our rendering.

01:05

We'll name it 3ds Max View in the Properties Dialog.

01:19

Adjust the view crop as desired by selecting the crop outline and dragging the blue dots.

01:31

Once you're happy with the view, lock it.

01:34

On the View Control bar at the bottom, click the "Lock" icon and choose "Save Orientation and Lock View".

01:43

In the View Visibility Graphics dialogue,

01:45

turn off any model categories that maybe in the model but that won't appear in the rendering, such as Cable Trays and Conduits and so forth.

01:56

All elements need to be assigned a material in order to render properly.

02:00

In the Visual Style selector in the View Control bar, let's change the View Style to Realistic to see if any materials appear to be missing.

02:10

I’ll type ZA to Zoom All for a closer look.

02:16

The signage on the building is gray, so let's select it to see if it has a material.

02:22

In the Properties dialog, we see that the default material is assigned, so let's choose an appropriate material.

02:29

We'll use exterior signage.

02:46

Next, we'll set the lighting and environment for the scene, as these settings will carry over into 3ds Max.

02:55

In View Properties, click the "Edit" button next to Graphic Display Options.

02:59

Make sure the View Style is set to Realistic.

03:03

Click the arrow next to Shadows and put a check in Cast Shadows.

03:07

You may also check "Ambient Shadows" if you wish.

03:12

Click the arrow next to lighting and choose "Exterior Sun and Artificial" for this rendering.

03:18

For Sun setting, you can leave the defaults or change the angle of the sun as desired.

03:23

Here, I've changed the altitude to 25 degrees.

03:35

Click Artificial Lights and choose which lights you want to render.

03:39

Turn off lights that won't be used in the rendering.

03:42

In this case, I'm turning off the Second Floor Lights.

03:48

Click the arrow next to Background and choose the desired background.

03:52

We'll you Sky for this project. But you might enjoy using an interesting image or colored radiant as a background.

03:60

At this point, you may want to do a test rendering in Revit to see if you want to make any changes.

04:06

Your View is now ready to go, and there are just two steps to go before you start working in 3ds Max.

04:13

First, go to the Manage tab and purge the model three times, or until there is nothing left to purge.

04:29

Make sure you save your file.

04:31

And finally, from the File menu, choose "Export to FBX".

04:38

Thank you for joining me today and happy rendering.