Light Balancer - Tutorial
iRender nXt renderings can be saved in a variety of image formats including JPEG, PNG, High Dynamic Range image (HDRi), EXR, and Native nXt Image. This tutorial is in two parts. Part I will focus on Native nXt Image and the ability to modify lighting with the iRender nXt Lighting Channels interface. In Part II a light is added to the model and assigned to a lighting channel.
lightChannels.nXtImage
Contents
- 1 For this tutorial you will need:
- 2 PART I - Lighting Channels
- 3 Open lightChannels.nXtImage
- 4 Save Rendering
- 5 Display Image Filters Dialog
- 6 Lighting Channels
- 7 Change a Color
- 8 Summary of PART I
- 9 PART II
- 10 Add a Light to the Model
- 11 Summary of PART II and the Rendering
- 12 More About Lighting Channels
- 13 See also
For this tutorial you will need:
To complete PART I of this tutorial, download the lightChannels.nXtImage file: lightChannels and store it somewhere convenient on your computer. Once the download is finished, extract the file from the .zip archive.
PART II of this tutorial guides you through selecting a light fixture, assigning a light channel, and adding the fixture to the model. To complete PART II, download the model from our warehouse: The Model
PART I - Lighting Channels
Open lightChannels.nXtImage
If you have downloaded the file lightChannels.zip and have extracted the .nXtImage file from the archive,
Do This: CLICK the IRender nXt Edit nXt Image button, and browse to the lightChannels.nXtImage location on your computer to open the file
iRender nXt menu
When the image opens the first thing that you will notice is that it is quite dark. The original rendering displayed at the top of this page was modified using the IRender nXt Lighting Channels dialog to create a night time image. The Sky has been turned off, the lights dimmed, and the TV brightened. The Lighting Channels feature can be used to create several presentation images from one rendering effort.
Similarly there are occasions when a completed rendering can be improved with small adjustments to lighting. The adjustments can be accomplished without requiring you to return to to the model, modify modify settings, and create a new rendering. The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce IRender nXt features that can be used to fine tune completed renderings which can usually be done in considerably less time than processing a new rendering.
Save Rendering
Completed renderings can be saved in a variety of file formats. To save a completed rendering
Do This: CLICK Save
Save your completed rendering
In addition to saving an image for your presentation, you might also save a native nXtImage file. The nXtImage stores additional information about the rendering including Lighting Channels, which helps us with this tutorial.
Save native nXtImage
When a nXtImage is opened there are additional IRender nXt features that can be used to enhance the image. One of the more interesting is the ability to modify Lighting Channels.
lightChannels.nXtImage file display
Display Image Filters Dialog
The Image Filters dialog displays when you
Do This: CLICK Image Filters
nXt Image Editor
Our approach involves adjusting a previously completed rendering using a "general to specific" approach. The first thing we might do for example is increase the Brightness and Saturation of the rendering.
Image Filters
The Rendering Brightness is set to 40.
Image Filters Brightness
The Rendering Saturation is set to 70.
Image Filters Saturation
Increase Brightness to 50 and Saturation to 100.
Image Filters
To remove the Image Filters Dialog
Do This: CLICK Close
Remove Image Filters Dialog
Adjusting the Brightness and Saturation are the first two steps needed to create a daytime rendering from the nighttime rendering.
Rendering Variation - Daytime Image
Lighting Channels
The iRender nXt Lighting Channels dialog displays when you
Do This: CLICK Lighting Channels
Display Lighting Channels Dialog
The Sun is set at a very low luminance, .3.
Lighting Channels Dialog
Lighting Channels Dialog
When this rendering first opens the Lighting Channel labeled Sky is unchecked, meaning that this channel is switched to OFF. Because it is brighter inside this room than outside, the window shows a reflection of the office.
Do This: CLICK the checkbox, the sky is ON
Lighting Channels Dialog - Sky is OFF
Lighting Channels Dialog - Sky is ON
The TV screen is very bright, it can be dimmed by lowering the brightness value for the TV Light Channel.
Do This: Decrease the TV Channel value
Lighting Channels Dialog - TV Channel brightness is 1
Lighting Channels Dialog - TV Channel dimmed to .5
When you are finished adjusting Lighting Channels,
Do This: CLICK OK to remove the dialog
Remove the Lighting Channels Dialog
Daytime Rendering
From one completed rendering we have prepared two presentation images, a nighttime rendering and a daytime rendering. IRender nXt includes many features that can be used to create variations that might be used in your presentations or design reviews.
Daytime version of the office rendering
Change a Color
The column in the corner is red, we might want to include an alternate for this color in our presentation. Once again it's not necessary to return to the sketchup model, change the color of the column, and generate a new rendering. The column color can be changed in this completed rendering.
Do This: CLICK on the column
Do This: CLICK Change Color
Do This: CLICK the Color Sample
Do This: CLICK a color, I selected Green
Do This: DRAG the arrow down to select a darker value of the selected color
Do This: CLICK OK
Do This: Hide the dialog
The result is a variation on the original rendering that can be saved and added to the presentation images.
Daytime variation of Rendering with Green Column
Summary of PART I
In PART I of this tutorial we have modified an existing nighttime rendering of a small office to achieve a daytime rendering of the same office. To accomplish the daytime rendering, here's what we did:
1. Open the file lightChannels.nXtImage
2. Make the image brighter
3. Update the display and brightness of lighting channels
4. Increase Color Saturation in the rendering
5. Change the column color from red to green
PART II
PART II of this tutorial guides you through selecting a light fixture, assigning a light channel, and adding the fixture to the model. To complete PART II,
Do This: Start Sketchup
Do This: Download the model from our warehouse:
Add a Light to the Model
Do This: CLICK Load Render Ready Component
Do This: CLICK Warehouse
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: CLICK Street
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: CLICK Exterior Wall
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: CLICK Single
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: SET Lighting Channel to 6
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: CLICK Color to set the light color
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: CLICK Create/Place to add the selected light fixture to the model
Render Ready Components - Light Fixtures
Do This: Position the light fixture anywhere on the brick wall
Place the light fixture
Do This: Render the model
Rendering with new light fixture
When the rendering is completed,
Do This: CLICK Lighting Channels
nXt Image Editor
Night Lamp Channel
To turn off the lamp we just added,
Do This: Uncheck the Night Lamp
Night Lamp OFF
Summary of PART II and the Rendering
In PART II of this tutorial we have added a light fixture to the model, assigning the fixture to a lighting channel.
Here's what we did:
1. Download and open the example model in Sketchup
2. Select a Render Ready Component, a light fixture
3. Set the attributes for the light fixture
4. Add the light fixture to the model
5. Render the model
6. Use the Lighting Channels dialog to switch the new fixture off and on
Rendering with added light fixture
More About Lighting Channels
To learn more about IRender nXt Lighting Channels
VISIT: Lighting Channels Documentation
or
WATCH: Lighting Channels Video