Getting Started
This tutorial shows how to render a standard Rhino model using nXT.
This Tutorial covers the basic steps of rendering with nXT which include:
-
Opening a Model
-
Creating Materials
-
Editing Materials
-
Adding a groundplane
The first step is to download the Tutorial ZIP files (Reel2start.zip). You can get them by clicking here. Unzip these files into their own Folder somewhere memorable on your computer. Then open the Reel2start.3dm file in Rhino. Check that Flamingo nXT is the current renderer in the render drop down menu of Rhino.
For your first rendering of the model just click on the render button. You should get the image below. nXT works differently than previous versions of Flamingo. A new model in nXT will use a default HDRI lighting set up and will also use a white default material for all objects. Also, Flamingo nXT will take mutiple passes at an image. With each pass many subtle effects will continue to improve. For instance you will see shadows start out very sharp and linear. With each pass, the shaodows will get softer as they blend together. There are many other effects that will also improve with each render pass. In this way, an nXT rendeirng is never "finished" you merely decide when it is good enough to stop. This allows you to let images that are looking good to continure to improve, but you can also stop an image, at anytime, if you would like to change or save something. Some of the effects that improve on each pass are:
You can stop the rendering in a number of ways. If you hit the stop rendering button, nXT will continue to render to the end of the current pass. IF you click the Stop Rendeirng button twice, it will stop immediately. If you click on the "X" button in the upper right of the render window, the rendering will stopp immediately and the render windoe will close, allowing you to continue to work.
Because basic lighting is allready built into nXt, making the right materials is normally where most of the work lies. Materials are stored directly in each model. To created a set of materials, we can use material templates that assist you in creating new materials quickly.
Open the Flamingo nXT control panel from the Flamingo nXT drop down menu in Rhino. Then expand the Materials section.
Now lets make a few materials...
First, you will need a Chrome material. To make one, select the New Metal Material... in the templates dropdown. A dialog will pop up with a simplified interface for metal materials. In this case, the default properties will work great for Chrome. In the material name field type, "Chrome". Press OK to make the material. You'll now see the new material thumbnail image in the material browser.
Next you will need a black plastic. Select the New Plastic Material... in the templates dropdown. A dialog will pop up with a simplified interface for plastic materials. Drag the color to Black. The fastest way to do this is to grab the small white dot on the color square and drag it down toward black. Type in the Name field, "Black Plastic" and press OK to make the material.
The red body color of the reel is a Clear finish material. This is a car paint style material. Select the New Clear Finish Material... in the templates dropdown. Drag the color to a bright red. Notice that with this material we only have to select the color. In the name field, type "Red Clear Finish" and press OK.
One of the most interesting materials in this model is the gold satin metalic finish at the top of the reel. Here you will start with the Metal template. But slide the sharpness slider left to .150. Also, set the material color to a gold as shown.
The last material you will make for the reel is a black rubber. Rubber is slightly reflective, you can simulate this with a New Glossy Material.... Select the black diffuse color as shown.
Here is what your material browser panel should look like:
Now you will assign these material to the model. In this case, we will assign the materials to the layers in the drawing. This means all objects on those layers will use the render material assigned. Open the layers dialog. Drag the material swatch from the material panel over the name for the layer and drop. You should see the name of the material show up in the column just past the layer color square.
Once you've assigned all the materials click the render button...
We're getting closer to the final rendering and just need to add a few more details.
If you want to see results with the multipass technology in nXt, just look at the Gold Satin material on the top of the reel. You will see the reflections are pronounced and sharp in the first pass. As the passes progress, you will see the reflections continue to blur creating the satin effect. The longer you let nXT render, the more detailed this material quality will become.
Next, you will add a groundplane. To turn on the Groundplane, go to the Render panel. Check the Groundplane check box.
Then hit the render button again.
By default, nXT uses a grey groundplane. Here again you can see the multi-pass rendering in action. In the first passes, you will see that the shadows are sharp and that there are many shadows going in muliple directions. As the passes progress, the shadows will get softer and softer. Soft shadows are automatic in nXT, but they do take multiple passes to generate. So, when you are rendering your own images, do not be alarmed at the multiple shadows on the first few passes.
The grey groundplane is OK, but you can create a wood deck for the reel to sit on. Putting a texture on the groundplane is a great way to improve the image.
Wood materials are best done with an image or photograph of wood. To create the wood material go to the Material Panel and select the New Textured Material.... Here you are prompted to pick a texture. Navigate to the directory that you created when you unzipped the tutorials files and select the DeckWood.png. After clicking on open you can see you have a simple textured material. The tile size of the bitmap is often important. In this case we will accept the default tiling.
Once you have created the wood material, you can now assign it to the groundplane. Do this by clicking on the Material button... in the groundplane section of the nXT control panel. Browse to select your textered material and render again.
This render's already looking pretty good, but for small objects adding Depth of Field will add increase realism. This will make the foreground and background out of focus and draw attention towards the model itself. To enable the depth of field, Go to theControl Panel and check the Enable in the Depth of Field section.
The distance and strength of DOF is critical. First, to set the focal distance, click on the ... button. In ther perspective view snap to a point on the reel. This selects the focal point from the camera to the object in the scene. Then set the Strength between the first and second lines. You can see in the image above an example of where the slider should be.
Hit the render button, you should see an image that is similiar to thie:
This is the end of the turoial. I hope you find this helpful.
