Creating realistic 3D renders for joinery projects benefits both the designer and client alike. High quality renders enhance the visualisation experience, adding realism and an understanding of how a project will operate in the physical world.
The risk of miscommunication and costly mistakes is minimised, and improved customer satisfaction feeds through to increased order completion rates and overall revenue.
Rendering images in PolyBoard and StairDesigner
Our woodworking design software solutions PolyBoard and StairDesigner are capable of creating instant 3D renders of projects which include the application of different materials and 3D accessories, such as chairs and lamps.
See some examples below of 3D renders from PolyBoard and StairDesigner.
Additional rendering software
PolyBoard and StairDesigner projects are capable of outputting into a 3DS file format, allowing integration with photorealistic rendering software such as KeyShot, pCon.planner and 3DS Max.
Blender is another software that allows for photorealistic rendering and is completely free to download and use. Blender is an open-source software, meaning that it has been developed by a community and is available to everyone free of charge. Blender can be used for 3D modelling, animation, and rendering, and is a software widely utilised by artists and designers across the world.
Blender allows for 3DS import; it includes a free add-on that will import 3DS files. Once imported into Blender, the user can fully customise materials, lighting, environments, and create/import additional 3D models.
Blender allows for:
- High quality lighting options including point lights, spot lights, area lights and a ‘sun’ light
- Accurate material behaviour in lighting
- Comprehensive material properties including transparency, reflectiveness, metallic options and more
- Complete node-based material breakdown
- Complete face to texture customisation for materials
- Comprehensive rendering properties with two advanced rendering engines
- Third party add-ons
We’ve processed the PolyBoard and StairDesigner projects featured above in Blender, a selection of images follow.
Firstly from PolyBoard:
And from StairDesigner:
Further environments can be drawn in Blender, such as the floor, walls and ceiling seen in the above stair model. This has been combined with the StairDesigner model for advanced model creation.
VR opportunities in Blender
Blender supports basic VR (Virtual Reality) functionality that incorporates viewing 3D models. With a VR headset, designers or customers can be given an immersive design experience within their proposed project utilising realistic materials and lighting.
This option supports a confident design process and the minimisation of costly errors through realistic and accurate prototyping. For more information, see these Blender Virtual Reality notes.
More PolyBoard and StairDesigner renders
Click below to view more:
If you would like to incorporate either of our design solutions into your workshop, please get in touch to arrange a demo with a member of our technical team.
