Video: Render a View with Sunlight

Use rendering tools to create a photorealistic 3D view.

This video demonstrates the following:

1. Display shadows in a view.
2. Specify sun settings.
3. Render a draft quality region to verify materials and lighting before rendering.
4. Select a background image.
5. Render the view and save it.

Note: This video was recorded using Revit 2017. When using a newer software release, you may notice differences in functionality and user interface.

Transcript

You can use the rendering tools in Revit to generate a photorealistic image of a 3D view.

Displaying the shadows can make it easier to specify the time of day to achieve the best results for rendering a daytime view. Multiple sun positions can be stored in the project for use in rendered views. Select a sun setting, or duplicate and customize an existing sun setting to specify the location, date, and time for the shadows in the view.

After specifying the sun settings, click Render on the View tab to open the Rendering dialog. Notice that the sun setting you created is specified by default in the Lighting section. Using a sun setting allows you to render with different lighting and exposure defaults. Rendering a draft quality region of the view can help you verify and adjust the materials and lighting before rendering the entire view.

Select Region. Adjust the boundary to limit the area of the view being rendered, and click Render. The draft rendering looks good, so you clear Region and specify the quality. Select the background from the available options, or use a custom image. In this example, a sky image has already been copied into the model. Click Render.

You can save the rendered image in the project or export the image for use in external applications, such as a photo editing application. Renderings saved to the project are available under the Renderings category in the Project Browser.