Full Render

Toolbar: Rendering > Full Render ()

Menu: View > Rendering > Full Render

Keyboard: FULLRENDER

Creates a photo-realistic image of your model, complete with light sources, shadows, surface material properties, and reflections. You can illuminate your image with spotlights, distant lighting to simulate sunshine, and ambient light. If you choose not to customize the light sources, the program generates default light sources for you (one main light from the left side with a small filler light from the right).

 

An example of fullrender on multiple entities.

Rays from imaginary light sources are traced as they reflect off the surfaces of the model, a process called ray tracing. Ray tracing determines where shadows fall and how reflections on shiny materials such as metal and glass appear. You can modify the reflective properties of the materials that make up your model to control how the light rays reflect off its surfaces.

Full rendering automatically creates a base on which your model is displayed, if you don't already have one, so it does not appear suspended in space. You can customize the base to add patterns or textures using the Render Settings command.

A background is also automatically added to the image. You can customize the background to make it appear as a cloudy sky, or you can use an imported raster graphic such as a stone wall, making it even more realistic. See Backgrounds for more information.

The Full Render command produces a more realistic image than the Render command, which only shades and illuminates the image without calculating shadows and reflections, using surface materials, or using a background image. However, Render is significantly faster than Full Render, so you can save time by using Render to prepare your image before using the Full Render command.

You can export fully rendered images using the Render Settings command.


TIP The smaller your viewport, the faster the image will render.

NOTE  Shadows require considerable time and memory, so minimize their use when they are not essential. If you want to fully render a model with materials such as glass or mirror, you can save time by switching shadows off and by using the Eye Light option on the Studio Light Set tab of the Lighting command. (To switch shadows off, go to View > Rendering > Render Settings, select the Shadows tab, and then click the Enable Shadows check box to turn it off.) To see shadows when setting up your image, consider reducing the shadow resolution (also on the Render Settings dialog box). Doing this may produce a coarse looking shadow boundary, but it should be sufficient to set up lights and shadows before creating a final, production-quality image.


Tell me about...

Backgrounds

Base Materials

Hiding

Lighting

Materials

Rendering

Render Settings

Shades

How do I...

Create a fully rendered image

Create a quickly rendered image