Ray Trace rendering in Lumion Pro - guides for great renders

1. How do you set the artificial lighting to show during the daytime in Build Mode.

2. How do you improve the rendering of artificial lighting for day time renders?

 3. On Emissive Material for Lighting.

4. How do you get softer shadows for Ray Traced or Rasterization renders?

 

1. How do you set the artificial lighting to show during the daytime in Build Mode:

Need answers for these lighting issues when building your Scene in Build Mode?

• Why are my lights not visible in the day?

• How do you make artificial lighting visible during the daytime?

• You find that in Build Mode and also Photo/Movie Mode, that the artificial lighting you have placed in your Scene is not visible in the daytime.

• How do you improve the visibility of artificial lighting during the day?

The lighting system underwent significant changes to enhance realism in version 2023. With the new engine, artificial lighting competes with the Brightness of the Sky and Sun, just like in real life. This means that artificial lighting may appear less prominent during very bright daylight scenes compared to previous versions.

Here's some suggestions to help make it easier to see your artificial lighting in Build Mode:

• Change the Sun Height

• Change to a Real Skies with low light levels or a Night sky

• Use Simple Workflows by using Master Effects

• And combine that with Using Build With Effects

For a more in-depth look, including suggestions for making it easier to see your artificial lighting in Build Mode see this article:

• Knowledge Base:  How do you set the artificial lighting to show during the daytime in Build Mode

 

2. How do you improve the rendering of artificial lighting for day time renders?:

Need answers for these lighting issues when rendering - for Previews and final outputs?

• Why are my lights not visible in the day?

• How do you make artificial lighting visible during the daytime?

• You find that in Build Mode and also Photo/Movie Mode, that the artificial lighting you have placed in your Scene is not visible in the daytime.

• How do you improve the visibility of artificial lighting during the day?

Reducing the direct light levels allows for artificial lights to be seen better.  you may also need to increase the artificial lights Brightness.  Adjust the Color Correction Effect early on to make it easier to finalize light levels.

In Lumion 2023+ the lighting system is more realistic: midday Sun and Sky are much brighter than any artificial light or emissive material. If you leave Sun/Sky at full strength, interior lights, facade uplights and emissive strips will look very weak or invisible, even at high lumen/nit values.

To make your lights visible in daytime Scenes:

1. Lower Sun / Sky / Real Skies Brightness until your artificial lights and emissive materials start to read clearly. The less sun/sky light there is, the brighter artificial lighting will appear.
2. In Photo/Movie Mode, choose an appropriate Style (Day, Interior, Overcast) and a Real Sky that isn’t the brightest clear‑midday option, then adjust its Brightness and Sun intensity.

For a more in-depth look, including steps you can take to set good lighting values for your Scene, see this article:

• Knowledge Base:  How do you improve the rendering of artificial lighting for day time renders?

 

3.  On Emissive Material for Lighting:

Emissive materials can cast light (Lumion 2023 +) as well as have a glow.  But how do you get the settings right so the light is seen?

• Knowledge Base:  How do you Manage the Emissiveness of a Material [for Lighting]

 

4. How do you get softer shadows for Ray Traced or Rasterization renders?

This Tip will help you to create quality variations in your renders when you need a Scene with softer shadows.

Getting softer, more realistic Ray Traced shadows in Lumion Pro involves adjusting light source sizes, utilizing appropriate sky/sun settings, and optimizing Ray Tracing effect parameters.

The size - the Lights Radius of the light source will let you control the amount of softness.

This applies to Omni Lights, Spotlights, Area Lights, and importantly the Sun (via the Sun Disk Size slider value - Sun Effect).

• A larger radius results in a softer penumbra.

• A smaller radius - less soft or sharper shadows.

For more details and a closer look at making great soft shadows, see:

• Knowledge Base:  How do you get softer shadows for Ray Traced or Rasterization renders?