About the Rendering Workflow

Task
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Related Commands
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Create a 3D model containing the objects to be rendered with 3D solids, surfaces, meshes, and 3D faces.
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3DFACE, 3DMESH, BOX, CONE, CYLINDER, EDGESURF, EXTRUDE, LOFT, MESH, PFACE, PLANESURF, POLYSOLID, PRESSPULL, PYRAMID, REVOLVE, REVSURF, RULESURF, SPHERE, SURFBLEND, SURFNETWORK, SURFOFFSET, SURFPATCH, SWEEP, TABSURF, TORUS, WEDGE
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Define the views of the 3D model to render. Use named views for consistency and to make switching views easier.
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VIEW
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Assign a background to the current view.
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BACKGROUND, VIEW
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Create materials to be attached to 3D objects.
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MATBROWSEROPEN, MATEDITOROPEN
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Attach materials to 3D objects directly or by layer.
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MATERIALASSIGN, MATERIALATTACH
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Add user-defined lights or use default lighting.
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The LIGHTINGUNITS system variable must be set to 1 or 2.
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Enable image-based lighting as an alternative to default lighting, or to fill an entire scene with light and eliminate dark areas.
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DISTANTLIGHT, FREESPOT, FREEWEB, LIGHT, POINTLIGHT, SPOTLIGHT, TARGETPOINT, WEBLIGHT, RENDEREXPOSURE
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Optionally, enable and define settings for the Sun & Sky based lighting when rendering indoor or outdoor architectural scenes.
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The LIGHTINGUNITS system variable must be set to 1 or 2.
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SUNPROPERTIES
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Set the Low render preset current.
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RENDERPRESETS
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Render a region of the 3D model to test the attached materials and lighting.
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RENDERCROP
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Adjust the materials and lighting in the scene based on the results of the test rendering.
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Set the rendering environment and exposure settings.
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RENDEREXPOSURE
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Create another test rendering; make any desired changes to the materials, lighting, and general rendering environment settings.
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Set a render preset with the best rendering quality desired current and create the final rendered image.
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RENDER, RENDERPRESETS
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Save the rendered image to a raster image file.
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RENDER, SAVEIMG
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