Indirect Light in the Rendering of Interiors

You can take into account the reflection of indirect light off surfaces when rendering interiors. Indirect lighting requires a direct light source, for example light coming from outside or a light component. If necessary, add lights or light components to the model. The software calculates the reflection of indirect light off surfaces and generates a rendered image based on the calculations. The calculation takes some time. You can limit the calculation time by determining when the calculation will end. The calculation is a one-time operation. The result is not stored in the model, but it will be available for as long as the project is open.

Render an interior as follows:

1. First, fly inside the model.
2. Do either of the following:
   • Select Rendering | Save Rendered View.
   • Select the object tree title Rendering. Right-click to open the context-sensitive menu, and select Save Rendered View.

   The Rendering dialog box is opened.

3. Select Indirect lighting.
4. If a calculation result already exists of the active model or project, you can use it by selecting Use previous solution.
5. You can limit the calculation time by determining when the calculation will end. The calculation will continue until one of the limit values is reached:
   • % energy used - The calculation will continue until a certain amount of the energy from the light sources has been distributed in the environment. Enter the percentage value in the text field.
   • seconds passed - The calculation will continue until a certain period has elapsed. Enter the time in seconds in the text field.

   A preview image is refreshed in the model window in the course of the calculation. The progress of the calculation is displayed on the status bar. If you interrupt the calculation by pressing the Esc key, the rendering will use the results achieved so far.

6. You can adjust the intensity of the environment lighting to higher than when rendering the outside. Under Environment lighting, select Intensity = 25, for example.
7. Select one of the following as the rendering quality:
   • Best quality - Materials, lights and background are taken into account. Transparency is calculated. Stark color contrasts are softened.
   • Medium - Materials, lights and background are taken into account. Transparency is calculated.
   • Fast - Materials, lights and background are taken into account. The transparency will not be calculated.
8. Click Render.
9. If necessary, save the view in a file.

   Save a Rendered View