Rendering with AutoCAD? Why not. It can produce very nice result since 2007. Autodesk change the render engine with mental ray. It’s not exactly the same with mental ray in 3ds Max, but it is good enough.
Every image in this post is created with Revit, and rendered with AutoCAD. Isn’t Revit also has mental ray? Yes, and it’s good too. I created this model in Revit 2008, when Revit still use Accurender. Rendering it in AutoCAD, is a lot better than doing it in Revit before.
Let’s see more of my renderings.
This model below is from the getting started tutorial in Revit. I exported it to DWG, redefine all the materials, and render it. I only use sunlight, no other light is defined. The smooth shadow and indirect lights look very nice.
Let’s take a closer look. See the railing? The stainless steel material look realistic enough to me. The reflection on the door glass look nice too.
This is another one.
It can produce very nice photorealistic rendering. If you don’t have 3ds Max, don’t worry. Render your model with AutoCAD. Why not?
If you want to try it by yourself, you can try setting your sunlight in this tutorial. It is easy and produce quite nice rendering!
you are one of the best teacher in the world
you say ever thing in detail very easy to understand
thank you for your articles
write to you sometime later
hello sir edwin…can you post a tutorial on how to create realistic rendering for stainless steel…thanks in advance sir…im from philippines
hi Edwin
ahm can i ask u some questions about rendering?whats the technique how to use lights in autocad 2011 thanks
hI…AutoCAD 2011 user here…. been working on my rendering skills since i have yet to learn 3d max… been working on a couple of projects.. im striving to achiev a photo realistic render…. but always fall short… do i need to get a mental ray standalone for this one? also when converting JPEG file, my render seemed to loose clarity based on the outcome. help
Hi Edwin
Thanks for your swift reply. Just wondering if the trees (exterior) scene is a JPEG image imported to the Background of the window. Do you think it will work? Will "Sky Background and Illumination" be forced "Off"?
And as a matter of interest. How long did each rendering take you?
Thanks.
I think you can use JPEG image for trees and set transparency/cutout map using the same image. If you use that method, sky background and illumination will still work.
You may want to check this one: https://www.cad-notes.com/2011/04/autocad-rendering-ti…
The rendering took about 3 hours, but it was a small resolution. Not for presentation, but for testing purpose only.
Thanks very much.
Have a good day.
Hello Edwin
Thanks for showing your works.
I wish I can master AutoCAD render like what you did.
Take the example of the 2nd image. The landing looking out to the windows and see the trees outside. Apart from Sun is on, do you also have "Sky Background and Illumination" on as well please?
And do you actually have glass material inside the window frame?
Thanks.
Hi Nick,
I'm glad that you like it :) Yes, I had sky background and illumination on. The glass is actual glass material, in fact the tree is a real tree model.
hi ….
i'm using autocad 2007 and i havnt realy understood the technique to get a good realistic rendered image please suggest what settings i need to do and if there is some supporting software i need to install to get a realistic image…Please advice!!!
Rosemond,
I didn't use any additional software to create the rendered image. I will try to write something about it later.
i am one of the user of cad for rendering, and i'm good did it with cad 2007. But i have problem using with 2008. May be u can help with ur info or tip because there some item not fungsional properly in distance lighting.
thanks.
robby
Hi Robbi,
If you able to do it in 2007 but not in 2008, there is a possibility that it was a bug. Have you tried to download the updates and patches?
saya seorang pengguna render dengan cad dan saya telah melakukannya dengan baik sekali dengan cad 2007. Kemudian saya beralih menggunakan cad 2008 dan berharap hasil render yang lebih baik, ternyata yang kemudian membuat saya kesal saya tidak pernah mendapatkan hasil render yang dengan baik seperti menggunakan cad 2007. apakah ada yang salah dengan program penginstalan sebab ada lighting yang tidak berfungsi yaitu distance light. Thanks atas info dan tipnya.
robby
Hi Anderson. They are my old renderings and I have lost the files. The configuration is not that complex. I've just use the solar lighting, turn on the global illumination, turn on final gather… and pray for a good result :)