Lighting and effects

The 3D view is lit in real time. There are four lighting presets: Midday sun, Golden hour, Soft overcast and Evening, lamps on. Finishing effects add ambient occlusion, glow around lamps, a colour grade and an exposure adjustment. They apply to the 3D view, still images and videos.

Steps

1. Click empty space so nothing is selected. In the properties panel, under Light & atmosphere, choose a Lighting preset.
2. For effects, click Render in the top bar and open Finishing effects.
3. Turn Ambient occlusion on for soft contact shadows where surfaces meet.
4. Turn Glow on lamps on for a soft bloom around lights.
5. Choose a Colour grade: Natural, Warm, Cool, Soft film or Black and white.
6. Drag Exposure to brighten or darken the image.
7. Close the window. The settings are saved with the project.

Tips and limits

• The evening preset relies on the lamps in your design. Add pendants, table lamps and floor lamps from the Lighting category in the Furnish panel.
• Panoramas use the exposure setting only, not the other effects.
• Effects take more graphics power. On an older device, turn ambient occlusion off if the 3D view feels slow.
• Lighting is an approximation for design decisions, not a lighting calculation. Photoreal path-traced rendering is in development.
• In the 3D view, Orbit and Walk switch camera modes, Walls hides walls that block the view, and Dollhouse, Top and Front jump to preset angles. In Walk mode, use W, A, S, D or the arrow keys, drag to look, and hold Shift to move faster.
• See Still renders to save an image.