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FAQ on Lumion Content

We answer some of the other questions you ask about the Lumion Libraries and content.

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1. How do you add to the libraries of plants?

2.Adding models to the Libraries.

3. Leaf textures are not showing for imported plants in Lumion.

4. What Plant models are there in the Lumion Library?

5.  How can I get more Plants and use them in Lumion?

About Lumion Library Content: See Also

 

1. How do you add to the libraries of plants?

1.1: Question

Is there a way of enhancing the plants and trees libraries?

1.2: Background:

For example, by downloading external libraries and importing them on Lumion.

When you import your landscape or build design you also include plants available from the CAD you are using.

They are not of the quality and detail that you see in the Lumion Nature Library.

How do you add more plants if they are not already in the Library?

 

1.3: Answer

1.3.1: Import from third-party Resources

You can import other models, including models of nature, plants and trees from 3rd party resources into Lumion.

We have a curated list of resources here: 

Models are imported directly by Lumion to your Imported Model Library. 

3rd Party models need to be in a 3D file format (most common formats) that Lumion supports for import:

.DAE (Collada), .SKP (SketchUp),.FBX,glTF,.OBJ

Most 3rd party files are either in their native format such as 3ds Max .Max file or have been exported to FBX.

Files are saved to the Lumion-Documents\Library folders.

It is not possible to add the models to the Lumion Library you see by using the Nature Category of Objects.  See Question 2 Adding models to the Lumion Libraries.

1.3.2: Creating your own models to import

Apart from importing models from other 3D model resource sites you can also look at the options of creating and importing models that you make yourself. For plants that tends to be limited as there are only a few (good) plant creation software's available these days.

Some plant modelling software that are plugins to the likes of 3ds Max create extremely heavy models where you can only use a few in a Project.

SpeedTree makes plants for realtime environments like Lumion. Vue Plant Factory (recently made freeware) was not for realtime but if the plants are made well, then they do work OK.

You can also make your own or change the plants already made:

 

1.3.3: Further Advice

1.3.3.1: Avoid Highly Detailed or Complex Plant Models

Not all plant models will work well in Lumion and its real time 3D environment.

That's because some models are created with highly complex, very large numbers of polygons.  In Lumion for plants we optimize models and generally use as low a polygon count especially for the leaves by using multi-leaf texturing instead of polygons for each leaf.

This is a consequence of the capability of your PC hardware (combined, all four key hardware, graphics card, CPU, motherboard, memory) to process real time the complete Scene.

The more complex the rest of the content in your Project the harder it will be for the PC system to provide FPS and rendering timeframes.

Use some of Lumion's Scene Management Settings to help with screen redraws - FPS.  For example:

Settings for higher FPS

1.3.3.2: When Can you use Highly Detailed or Complex Plant Models?

In some Projects or Scenes you might need a detailed plant model and it is essential to the visualization of the design.

Use such models only for close-up views.  Keep the number of plants (in total) to below about 10.

During the Build of the Scene you may find it best to use some placeholder-low polygon model option until render time.  Then Replace with the final plant model.

Doing so will help with the system to provide better FPS (screen redraws).

1.3.3.3: About Lumion Nature Models

Lumion Nature Library models are optimized by our Lumion Content Creators to ensure a low polygon count, best texture resolution for the level of quality needed for expected usage.

 

2.Adding models to the Lumion Libraries:

2.1: Question

Can you add models to the Lumion Library?

Library-LumionLibrary

2.2: Answer

Models from 3rd party resources can be imported into Lumion (if the file format is supported).

The models are imported to your Imported Models Library.

It is not possible to add them the Lumion Content(Object) Libraries.  This is because those folders need to be updated and maintained by Lumion for each update. Adding your own to those Libraries would ....

If you want to reflect a similar organization or create your own for the Categories of plants in your Imported Models Library, then do that when importing the model:

importing a plant model

See Also:

 

3. Leaf textures are not showing for imported plants in Lumion

3.1: Question

Why are the textures not showing after importing 3d models of trees?

 

3.2: Answer

Excerpt from Lumion content and discussion.

it is not a rule that you must make them Double-sided. See also the Note in the Resource mentioned above.

Single-sided plants will still render fine. But there are some situations where you might need to see both sides of the leaves, then you can use that option, having consideration for the following.

You should choose to set to Double-sided if there is a need to do so. The criteria for that are the same for the decision of any model where it might be imported single-sided.

That is, if the plant is going to be used for close-up views where the backface of the plant will be seen, and that view is close enough that it will impact on the quality of the render, then yes, make it Double-sided, if the other criteria mentioned below are also OK.

Of course there are some practicalities to that. It might make sense to just make all of them Double-sided so you never have to worry about when you might want to have a camera view where not being so would impact. Understandable.

But as you mentioned, there is a consequence - it doubles the 'weight', number of 3D Points of the model. Whilst placing 50 or even 100 might not have an immediate impact, depending on hardware, there will be a point where they do start to have an impact and it could be large if the graphics card memory and performance are not up to it. Even for something like an RTX 4090 that is top of the performance level at the moment, there can be an adverse impact.

If you place say 50+ of one plant model then Lumion uses instancing/duplication of it from the master Imported Model Library Object. That makes things work better. However, the same total number of polygons are still needed for every screen redraw in realtime and for any render, although only a single copy of the textures are needed.

If you are placing only a few of say 20 to 50 different models then, again hardware dependent, the impact of double-sided might not be noticed. A single residential landscaping might come within those numbers or say less than 100.

But it can for either that scenario, or when having 100s to 1000s of the plants as some users try to do in their Scenes.

When combined with the complexity of the design model and the other content then there can be an adverse impact resulting in slow screen redraws FPS and render times.

Whilst there are no hard and fast rules, the general guide is, as above to consider three factors:
  • Number of plant models in Projects.
  • Complexity of the rest of the Project/Scene.
  • Ability of the hardware to cope.
If you are making a Library of imported plants then pragmatics might dictate that it's easier for multiple Project usage to make them Double-sided. Again, have consideration for the three factors above.


Here's our article for making Double-sided:
For example: You know that the foliage of the trees is made from the front and see that the leaves are visible. But when the camera moves around the tree to the back there are no longer any leaves showing.


Whilst the Double-sided ones do look better because I know which are which, some could also be quite OK for a Scene and/or for more distant plants.
Lumion content-myPic1


At this close camera view, where you want to see the back face of the leaves Double-sided is needed:
Lumion content-myPic2


The one on the right is clearly better - for this close up and is double-sided:
Lumion content-myPic3

 

The Setting a model to have a double-sided surface, if it is not already imported with both faces, is now part of the Import Model interface (since version 2023.0)

 

4. What Plant models are there in the Lumion Library?

See these articles:

 

5.  How can I get more Plants and use them in Lumion?

See Question 1. How do you add to the libraries of plants?

 

About Lumion Library Content: See Also: