Getting Started with Lumion 3D Create a professional architectural visualization in minutes using Lumion 3D Ciro Cardoso BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI Getting Started with Lumion 3D Copyright © 2013 Packt Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews. Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book. Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. First published: December 2013 Production Reference: 1171213 Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. Livery Place 35 Livery Street Birmingham B3 2PB, UK. ISBN 978-1-84969-949-5 www.packtpub.com Cover Image by Ciro Cardoso ([email protected]) Credits Author Project Coordinator Ciro Cardoso Sherin Padayatty Reviewer Proofreaders Mirivano Carrig Ameesha Green Simran Bhogal Acquisition Editor Neha Nagwekar Indexer Tejal Soni Commissioning Editor Amit Ghodake Production Coordinator Saiprasad Kadam Technical Editors Aparna Chand Cover Work Aparna Kumari Saiprasad Kadam Copy Editors Roshni Banerjee Sarang Chari Karuna Narayanan Shambhavi Pai Alfida Paiva About the Author Ciro Cardoso is a Portuguese 3D artist who has successfully used Lumion for multimillion-dollar projects. He was bit by the AutoCAD bug in 2000 and has been producing 3D graphics for professional organizations and companies since 2005. His list of personal clients covers countries such as the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Africa with numerous projects ranging from graphic design work to 3D visualizations. Besides his work as a 3D artist, he also does voluntary work teaching SketchUp and CAD to youngsters. He can be reached through his website at http://www.cirocardoso.net. I would like to thank my dear wife, Miriam, for her unfailing support during the writing of this book. I would particularly like to acknowledge Neha Nagwekar for being very supportive throughout this project. About the Reviewer Mirivano Carrig spent five years studying civil engineering at AIT in Ireland. Along with having a keen interest in it, he also shares a great passion for architecture and art. Over the years, he has received numerous awards for his work related to civil engineering. In 2012, he set up a blog/website called Vano Engineering, which can be viewed at http://vanoengineering.wordpress.com, and in its first year, it gained over 15,000 views and has been growing ever since. He is most noted for his thinking outside the box approach when it comes to designs, both architectural and engineering; combining his experience in drawing and art with his flair and understanding of structures. I would like to thank my father for all his support, motivation, kind words, and words of wisdom, but most of all for always being there! Thank you. www.PacktPub.com Support files, eBooks, discount offers and more You might want to visit www.PacktPub.com for support files and downloads related to your book. Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us at [email protected] for more details. 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Table of Contents Preface 1 Chapter 1: What is Lumion? 5 Lumion background 6 Why use Lumion? 6 What can we get from Lumion? 7 Differences between the several versions of Lumion 8 Importing our 3D models 9 Workstation specifications 10 Lumion's 3D interface 11 A look into the New tab 11 Exploring the Home tab 12 The Examples tab 13 The Load scene and Save scene tabs 13 The Import full scene and Export full scene tabs 14 Quick start 14 Importing the model 17 Working with Layers 19 Applying materials 19 Controlling the weather 23 Changing the landscape 23 Adding objects 25 The Photo mode 28 The Movie mode 29 Saving your scene 33 Summary 34 Table of Contents Chapter 2: Preparing the Scene 35 Need help with modeling? 36 Modeling for visualization 36 Preparing CAD drawings 37 Modeling with SketchUp, 3ds Max, and Maya 38 The importance of detailing 39 Adding detailing using bevel edges 39 Adding detailing 44 Using additional models 45 The importance of materials 46 Common issues 47 Summary 49 Chapter 3: Creating Materials 51 Lumion materials 52 The Properties menu 52 Placing the texture 55 The Textures and Advanced options menus 55 The Custom menu 56 The Invisible material 56 The Landscape material 57 Creating materials in Lumion 58 Summary 61 Chapter 4: Working with Lumion 63 What is COLLADA? 64 Exporting from SketchUp 65 Exporting from 3ds Max 66 Exporting animations 67 Exporting from other 3D software 68 Working with Lumion 68 Summary 71 Chapter 5: Building the Environment 73 Modeling the landscape 73 Sculpting the landscape 74 Modifying the terrain 75 Creating a heightmap 76 Changing the landscape's material 78 Adding a water plane 79 Creating an ocean 80 [ ii ] Table of Contents Setting up the weather 81 Populating your scene 81 Adding trees, people, and other models 82 Using sounds 87 Special effects 87 Summary 88 Chapter 6: Preparing the Render 89 The key aspects of composition 90 The importance of framing 91 The rule of thirds 92 Exporting an image with the Photo mode 93 Creating a video with the Movie mode 95 Summary 97 Chapter 7: Post Production 99 Post production 100 Working with an image 100 Working with layers 103 Using different blending modes 103 Adding the specular map 104 Accurate selection with material ID 105 Adding contrast using a lighting map 106 The sky alpha map 107 The importance of adjustment layers 107 Working with Curves 108 Applying lens effects 109 Chromatic aberration with Photoshop 109 A little bit of sharpness 110 Depth of field 110 Final touch with noise and vignette 111 Summary 113 Index 115 [ iii ]