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Learn How To Completely Revolutionize Your Revit Presentation Capability In This Enscape Review

January 13, 2017July 11, 2017 Luke Johnson

Every now and then, you come across a software product that makes complete and absolute sense. As a Revit professional, I have spent a lot of time learning how to use Revit: how to play by the rules, and also when to bend them. With all my Revit experience, I recognise that there are some things that just don’t quite work perfectly in Revit. One of these is the rendering and material management process.

Over the years, I have seen rendering in Revit come a long way. You may remember the complete re-tooling of the Material management system a few years back? But even in 2016 and 2017, it is still a time-consuming process that requires a lot of tweaking. Having to wait each time for the result, then tweak settings, then wait again… well, we just don’t have time for that in today’s world, right?

That is why we have seen a huge increase in the amount of ‘real-time’ rendering tools and engines for Revit and BIM. But the one real-time rendering tool that really makes complete sense for Revit, is Enscape.

If you haven’t heard of it before, here is a quick overview of what it is and how it works…

Enscape Ribbon

Overview
Basically, Enscape is a real-time rendering engine for Revit. It understands lighting and materials, and enables a plethora of visual effects. To use it, you simply open your Revit model, and literally just press the Enscape Start button. It will rapidly export the selected 3D scene view to a new Enscape window, and you will be able to walk around in a rendered environment using the default settings.

The first moment you see it in action is really jaw-dropping. Just how fast and smooth it is to go from a drab Revit coordination and documentation environment, to this bright and colourful, photorealistic world – it is something you really need to see with your own eyes. But, the ‘wow’ moment is really just the beginning…

You see, Enscape maintains a live link to the current Revit session. So whatever changes you make in Revit, are then quickly visible in Enscape. Want to change the color of the walls? Just modify the material (Appearance Asset) in Revit, and watch as the color changes in the rendered view. Are you working on an interior furniture layout? Well, open a plan view in Revit and start nudging the furniture around with the arrow keys… then observe the furniture move in the rendered Enscape window! As I said, for rapid material and modelling iterations, Enscape simply makes complete sense.

Also, any changes you make to the Enscape Settings are applied immediately to the live Enscape window. You can apply and remove visual effects, modify the lighting, colour, bloom effects, depth of field, clouds and so on without ever really having to wait for a lengthy render process. Once you have the desired settings, you can save that as a profile for use on any future projects.

Of course, if you are ever involved with briefing clients and communicating design intent, you are probably already starting to perceive the potential of Enscape. When you start to look around at its overall capability in more detail, you will understand the new power that Enscape puts into your dusty Revit hands.

Getting Started
To launch Enscape, you can’t have a Perspective view as the current view in Revit. This is a Revit API limitation. So, you should go to a Drafting View or a Floor Plan view, and then select the desired ‘launch’ 3D view from the drop-down list on the Enscape ribbon. Then, press Start…

You should review the HUD (heads up display), which shows you the basic WASD navigation method (very familiar if you are a PC gamer). Left mouse button and drag changes view direction, right mouse button and drag changes the time of day…

Tip: hold down Shift to walk faster

Now, let’s see what Enscape can do!

1) Virtual Reality
I put this item first partly because of the current hype around VR, and also because at Virtual Built it was one of the main reasons we started using Enscape on real projects. We experimented with a lot of tools that allowed varying types and degrees of virtual reality experience, and we also looked at the whole pipeline – the process of taking Revit data, exporting it to some other platform, playing with lights, materials, content and so on, and finally generating or simulating the model in virtual reality.

In the end, we found a lot of the alternatives left something to be desired. Primarily, we wanted something that required minimal re-work outside of Revit, and also that created real-time virtual reality (not static panoramas). And we were really pleased with the workflow and experience of using Enscape. The image below is taken from a real client presentation that we delivered during an important function for one of the top building companies in our state:

The Virtual Built Enscape VR Kit

Live VR Mode
The VR experience in Enscape is started in the same way as the normal windowed mode, you just need to press the Enable on the VR Headset pane. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are now both supported, and at Virtual Built we have had good results with both devices.

With the Oculus Rift and gamepad navigation, the experience is very ‘easy’, for want of a better word. You can quickly explain the basic mechanics to a new users, and then allow them to navigate the rendered VR model. Depending how you want to implement this, you may also then need someone to drive the Revit session at the same time. You can have the Revit user modifying materials and furniture layouts, while the Client is experiencing all of these changes in a human-scale, immersive environment. Trust me, it is pretty revolutionary… It was this experience which partly led to the title of this review.

Here are a few other ways to integrate Enscape into a VR workflow, such as with Google Cardboard devices and easy sharing to mobile phones…

1a) Exporting and Uploading a Stereoscopic Panorama from Enscape (VR View)

Start Enscape and set your viewpoint at the desired panorama location
On the Revit Enscape Ribbon, use the “Take Panorama (Stereo)” option
Wait for the Export to finish
Then use the My Panoramas button to see the completed Render
Click on the cloud to upload the panorama
Then click to view the panorama online
You can share using the QR code

Here is an example panorama:
http://panorama.enscape3d.com/view/lcdszxzq/

1b) Viewing a Live Stereo Render
Just tick the Stereo setting…

2) Effects Settings in Enscape
Enscape includes a range of effects that are useful for architectural presentations, including PaperModel (think sketch pen style) and a true Architectural ‘Two Point Perspective’, where vertical edges are always vertical.

The effects in Enscape are mainly controlled on the General and Image tabs of the Enscape settings dialog. Below I show an example of each of the main effects.

Default

Paper Model

Polystyrol

Two Point Perspective

Depth of Field

Global Illumination OFF

Ultra Quality

Saturation 150%

Color Temperature – warmest

Bloom effect

Light (intensity) View

Sun vs Shadow Contrast – maximum

As you can see, while the Default settings look good, there is a lot of flexibility and room for experimentation. Because the changes are seen in real-time, you can do small tweaks and see the results immediately, meaning you can more quickly achieve the specific look-and-feel you want for your current design.

3) RPC
Enscape now supports rich photo realistic content (RPC), including custom content built using Archvision tools. This essentially opens up a lot of potential for rapid creation of RPC for use in your Revit and Enscape scenes.

Tip: keep in mind that 2D RPC will tend to look a little strange in Enscape when you move up close and pass by on one side of it…

Here is a quick overview on getting the RPC into your Revit and Enscape scene:

Read my previous post about it here:
Turn Any Photo Into Enscape Content In a Matter of Minutes

Tip: Make an Enscape View Template to quickly share your 3D view settings to different viewpoints in Revit

4) Output Options
There are a host of new ways to export your presentations once you begin to adopt Enscape into your workflow. Above we have already discussed:

simple navigation (view still images, and move around your model in real time)
Virtual Reality panorama image export and upload, and the
Live VR experience.

There are many others, such as:

Export still image (default hotkey is Shift+F11) as file, or to a Revit Rendering view in the Revit file
Export to EXE – a standalone viewer for the current project that you can share with clients
Save Perspective viewpoint to Revit session
Export video (set Start and End frames, then Export to video file)

Setup video

Personally, I suggest you start with the basic desktop Enscape interface, and get comfortable navigating around and showing your Revit model to others around you. Then, you can naturally grow in your Enscape knowledge and explore more of the settings and output options. It really can give you a clear edge over some of your competitors, particularly in design- and presentation-focused fields such as Architecture studies or high end Design Competitions.

5) Updating Enscape
Enscape has an auto-update feature that will open a dialog when you first start Revit, and then prompt you to download the update through the browser.

You can also manually check for updates from the About dialog box:

Note: this review was prepared using Enscape 1.8.2.

Final Thoughts
At Virtual Built, we have started to explore the use of Enscape on a variety of projects. It is a great tool for real-time immersive VR presentations, and it maintains a very strong link to the Revit environment. For that reason it is not a disconnected endpoint, but an extension of the familiar Revit BIM environment… that gives you new and impressive ways to present and share your designs.

Due to its speed and ease of use, you will be able to test it out quickly on a few projects and experience that initial ‘wow’ factor. From there, I hope you will start to see how it really can revolutionize your Revit presentation capability, taking you to the next level of beautiful Revit artistry.

I hope you enjoy trying out Enscape, and feel free to reply here with your thoughts 🙂

How To Get It
Go to this link to get access to a 14 day Enscape trial

————————————————–

Other Links
Check out some of the LinkedIn posts about Enscape from Phil Read, like this one:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/enscape-update-youre-using-revit-only-makes-sense-use-phil-read

How to Make Custom RPC with Archvision:
RAAS Cloud Rendering

More example images
Below I show some more examples of each of the main effects.

Default Settings

Paper Model

Polystyrol

Two Point Perspective

Light (intensity) View

Depth of Field (far objects out of focus)

Global Illumination OFF

Ultra Quality

Saturation 200%

Color Temperature – warmest

Bloom effect

Sun vs Shadow Contrast – maximum

Feel The Space – The Lumion 7 Review

December 14, 2016May 9, 2017 Luke Johnson

Design is a funny thing. The word itself carries a certain weight, it is somehow deliberate and exciting at the same time. Yet, so often design is let down by the poor translation or communication of ideas. You may have an excellent ‘design’ in your mind, but displaying or presenting that to a client is an entirely different matter. Every designer faces the same challenge of communicating their design ideas in a thoroughly engaging way: whether the communication be to their clients, other stakeholders or even as part of their own internal design process.

This is a site about Revit, but this article is about discovering new possibilities, new ways to express your design, new ways to add context, realism and reality. It is also about a powerful piece of software called Lumion – a design communication tool that I personally use and have used for quite a few years. Thecombination of Revit and Lumion give architects a complete toolkit for modeling, understanding, sharing, adjusting and presenting their design.

So, what is Lumion? Recently, I was speaking to the Chief Operating Officer of Act–3D, (the parent company of Lumion), Roger Hammond. He told a me a very heartening story about the development of this piece of software…

Often we don’t immediately recognise the full potential of a new, beautiful idea. Roger describes that Lumion was initially designed to be a powerful presentation tool, but Architects soon discovered that it can also shift the way they design in very positive ways. He describes how a new user of Lumion can easily get comfortable with the basic concepts of the software, even those who are not ‘technical’ or especially comfortable with computers. Yet, once they start using Lumion, they get to grips with it easily and quickly learn to iterate design changes and brief clients more rapidly and smoothly. Lumion gives a certain realism and context to your design that can assist you to modify and improve the design internally, before it is even time to present it to anyone.

We often become so used to a way of working that we almost feel like there is no other way, or that perhaps we already have the best way. Yet, if that were true, innovation would not be a reality. Sometime, disruption is necessary. So if you have an established way of designing and communicating, take this opportunity to re–evaluate as I review Lumion.

The user interface itself is nice and clean and easy to read and understand. As someone used to complicated programs like Revit and AutoCAD, this is a welcome breath of fresh air to me. Rather than present you with an overwhelming and detailed set of buttons, Lumion allows you to progress your digital presentation in stages, from Building to Materials and Lighting and Presenting and so on.

In this way, the development of your design and your presentation output can be very logical and layered. You can import your design from a variety of different programs and platforms (like Sketchup and ArchiCAD, not just Revit), and once imported you can add people, trees, and soft and hard landscaping. You can sculpt the site topography and add water and grass areas. Once you feelcomfortable, you can dig deeper, modify lighting, adjust materials, add special effects, work on camera angles…

And finally, you can display your design in some truly simple yet beautiful and intuitive ways. The key thing is not to be afraid. You can’t break things in Lumion, it is not a imposing or complicated environment. Navigation is straightforward, nothing is very complicated. As you use it, extra functionality will reveal itself. It is a tool that has been built for designers, and its development has been shaped by their feedback. Roger recalls that it is not uncommon for users to say that “Lumion has changed my business”, and there are plenty of ‘wow’ moments. For example you can add the ocean to your scene with just one click…

We have experienced this realisation at Virtual Built. Recently, we have been demonstrating Virtual Reality tools to our clients. However, in some programs it can be difficult to populate a scene quickly and then output to a suitable VR platform. This is not the case in Lumion, as the included content means you can get up–and–running quickly. If you have a few basic building models, you can add site context and a few nice little details like a truck or a crane to create a site utilisation model, and then output to a number of different VR panoramic formats.

I have been using Lumion over a number of years and different versions, so I was excited to see theupdates and new features available in Lumion 7. The major new features are listed below, and we will dig into each feature and uncover the new opportunities they present.

Lumion 7 New Features
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an online resource that stores 3D building models along with map information like roads and water areas. In the past, I have used many methods to try to get a locality plan or model created, and it can be quite clunky and challenging. However, in Lumion 7, this is now completely automated. Using the OpenStreetMap import, in just a few minutes you can have a realistic map in Lumion to locate your building models, and it will even have adjacent 3D building models as well! It will automatically ‘cut out’ your own building model from the OSM data. The OSM function in Lumion 7 is still Beta functionality, but it can already be very useful to quickly add context or a background to your design.

To get started with OSM in Lumion, just:

Start Landscape mode (left side flyout menu) and turn the OSM switch ‘On’

OpenStreetMap Switch

Click the Longitude / Latitude area to bring up a searchable map

Search for your location

Location Search

Set the import Range and press Download

Tip: hold Shift + Spacebar and use arrow keys to move quickly on large sites

Check out this page for more information on OpenStreetMap and Lumion.

New Features for Weathering and Foliage
Building models sometimes appear ‘flat’ due to the way various platforms handle materials. However, in Lumion 7 you can now remove the coldness of computer–generated imagery by seeking out edges, roughness and other properties of natural materials to make them look like they’ve been around a while. My associate here at Virtual Built, Michael Clothier, recently used this to add realism to an important theatre building in Adelaide that is currently under construction.

You can also cover models with leaves or add weathering, ageing and transparency. Even transform any object into thousands of leaves or add ivy to a wall… These tools are implemented through the Material Editor, so the workflow is logical but the effect is quite impressive indeed.

Here are some examples:

Boardroom

Pool Villa

To get started with these tools:

Enter the Material editor
Select a object to change
Set a Material from the Lumion Library, and double–click on it
In the editing pane, you will find the tools on the right…
Then, simply drag the sliders until you have the desired look and feel

Light strips
Sometimes, the available Lighting tools in presentation software can be quite limiting. Happily, in Lumion7 you can now add light strips or area lighting, meaning you can go beyond simply ‘spot lights’. I really enjoy adding these new lights, because as usual they can be edited with sliders, and you can view theeffect in real–time… there is no need to wait for a lengthy rendering and then realise the lights were switched off 🙂

To get started with the new Light types, open the Object pane:

Then select the Area Lights tab:

Place the light and then modify the sliders until you have the desired effect:

MyLumion
You can use Lumion to share a navigable panorama to anyone who owns a smartphone. It is incredibly simple and powerful and is one of the features I hinted at earlier in the article. It is something that allows you to put your design on display in a new way, and get valuable client feedback and engagement. Then, you can quickly iterate the design and send them a new link.

We have used this to create sets of views for various stakeholders, but the key thing is really how easy and quick it is. You don’t have to print something or even save an image and find it on your hard disk. You can do all of this creation and sharing in just a few clicks. We have found it to be a real game–changer.

You can view a basic demo of the technology from one of my sandbox projects here.

Summary
There is no software program available that can automatically interpret a client’s design brief, provide suitable visualisations, interpret client feedback, and iterate this process while learning at each step. A good Designer can do this. But with the right tools, parts of that process become much easier. As a designer, you will be able to interpret the brief and interpret client feedback. With Lumion, you can quickly and easily present your design, in context, and in a multitude of rich, realistic, immersive ways. By thus improving the way you communicate and iterate your designs, you designs themselves will improve. And your client satisfaction level will soar…

So I recommend that you give Lumion a try. And be ready to be surprised 🙂

You can also check out my previous reviews at:
Lumion 5
Lumion 6.3

Lumion 7 Webinar:
https://youtu.be/jFgjIjuE1U4

More information on the new features: https://lumion3d.com/what–s–new.html

Update Note: Lumion 7.0.1 has now been released, you can read more at this page

Guide 1: Using Lumion in Virtual Reality Workflows
Lumion VR
Lumion VR viewer is no longer supported, instead you can render static images for viewing on a variety of VR platforms. I will provide some notes on how you can do this below.

Using A Mobile App like PlainVR
Here’s how:

Render VR Panorama images (these will be 360 degree jpg files). You can use default 64mm eye to eye and 360 slices
Upload those to a photo sharing service
Get the direct HTTP image link
Copy and paste that into the QR generator at http://vr.plainconcepts.com/ and click “Generate”
Install PlainVR app on your phone or tablet
Scan the QR code from the app

Photo: Virtual Built Pty Ltd using Lumion VR to PlainVR for builders in a Revit training session

Embedding VR to a Website with VR View
Google has kindly provided a web service for rendering images in VR, its called VR View. After creating your stereoscopic image, you can follow these steps to embed it into your site:

Upload to a photosharing site (like imgur)
Input code like this to your site:
Publish and view on web browser or mobile device

Here is an example for you to look at…

Note: in Blogger, after you add an ampersand character to the code, it converts it to some other characters. basically, you can’t ‘edit’ after you input the code, if you publish it directly it won’t replace to & and it works…

Using Oculus with Lumion
To do this:

Render a 360 jpg file from Lumion then
View it in a panorama viewing app, such as Oculus Photos

How To View On Oculus Rift on Vimeo

Note: You can use a Oculus DK2 with an Xbox controller instead of an Oculus Remote. Typically use theA button to select what you are looking at.

Guide 2: Layers
Did you know you can easily move objects between layers?

Activate Select mode
Select Objects
Activate the Target Layer
Hover on the layer
Use the up arrow that appears

More info: https://forum.lumion3d.com/general–discussion/how–to–move–object–to–layer/

Guide 3: Installation and Links
If you would like to get started using Lumion, here are some steps to get you started quickly:

	Verify your computer Click here to see if your PC is suitable for Lumion Click here to see the general system requirements for Lumion. Click here to install the latest graphics card software and all available Windows updates.
	Get the download manager You will get a special email that lets you download the software… Lumion 7 Viewer will be released later. An update e–mail with download information will be sent as soon as the viewer is released
	Download Lumion Double–click on the Download Manager to run it. Follow the instructions to install Lumion. Click here if you have any problems.
	Register your license You can register your License Key to a forum account. You can now get technical support on the Lumion Support Forum
	Get started Congratulations! You are now ready to start Lumion for the first time. Click here to learn how to get the most out of Lumion.

How To Move Tekla BIMsight Storage Folder Location

August 10, 2016September 22, 2017 Luke Johnson

If you view a lot of IFC files in Tekla BIMsight, you may find that the cache or storage folder fills up quite quickly. If this is in its default location of \%localappdata%\Tekla\Tekla BIMsight\ then you could use up valuable space on your SSD.

We can easily move this folder using symbolic links. In the script below, we:

check the default directory exists, and if so rename it
make a symbolic link to a new target directory, in this case I have used E:\TeklaBimSight
make the new directory if necessary
copy existing contents to the new directory

To use the script:

Close Tekla BIMsight
Copy text from the script into Notepad and save as CMD. Modify the target directory to your preference
Save the script with CMD extension
Right click and Run As Administrator
Open BIMsight and confirm all is working ok
Optional: delete the bimsight.old directory to cleanup

if exist "%localappdata%\Tekla\Tekla BIMsight" rename "%localappdata%\Tekla\Tekla BIMsight" bimsight.old
mklink /d "%localappdata%\Tekla\Tekla BIMsight" E:\TeklaBimSight
if not exist E:\TeklaBimSight MD E:\TeklaBimSight
robocopy /mir %localappdata%\Teklabimsight.old E:\TeklaBimSight\

How To Extract an IFC file from a Tekla TBP Package File

June 15, 2016December 15, 2017 Luke Johnson

TBP is a Tekla container format, and part of what it typically contains is the model data in IFC format. Just open the TBP in an archive viewer like 7-zip:

Now you can see the folder structure inside the TBP. If you open up the files subfolder, you should find some IFC data:

You can copy or extract the IFC to a folder on your computer, and then open it or link it to Revit as usual.

Run Android in a VirtualBox on your PC

May 31, 2016October 11, 2017 Luke Johnson

Download a suitable image such as Android-x86 5.1 rc1.vdi from:
Android x86 VM images for VMware and VirtualBox

Attach it to a Linux image in VirtualBox, my settings below:

Depending on your host hardware, you might want to Disable Mouse Integration (little icon at the bottom of the screen), and install an app like Rotation Locker from the Play Store so that you can force the screen rotation to portrait or landscape.

Once installed you should be able to access the Play Store from your Windows PC and install apps into the Android VM:

Revizto 4.0 Open Beta Starts Today

April 17, 2016June 22, 2017 Luke Johnson

Excited about this! Keep in mind that this only operates in a sandbox, testing environment…

Check it out and download at:
Revizto 4.0 Open Beta

And you can discuss on the forum at:
https://forum.revizto.com/index.php

The Best Just Got Better… A Review of Lumion 6.3

April 13, 2016June 22, 2017 Luke Johnson

I love unique tools. In the BIM world, we are presented with a wide array of visualization software, each supposedly better than the last. But I am interested in something that has real power, that is truly unique, something that can give me and my work an edge over the competition. And Lumion is one of those unique, powerful tools.

It is fast, easy to use, and the visuals are so immediately pleasing. In just a few minutes, you can go from a Revit model with links and topography, into a beautiful 3D environment. There is a huge library of People, Trees and Vehicles included with Lumion that can be placed immediately into the scene. The more time you spend working up the scene, the better and more realistic it looks.

During the preparation of this article, Lumion 6.3 was released. I have made an effort to discuss key points from that new release here. The big new feature of 6.3 is that Lumion now supports Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift! Find out more at this link.

So that’s the quick summary, but how does Lumion integrate with a real Revit environment? What considerations are there when working on federated models? What tips and tricks did I discover along the way? Read on to find out…

This review is divided into the following major sections:

Real World Use
Summary of New Features
Basic Use
Specific Tips and Workflows
Learn More

Real World Use
If you want a quick overview of what can be achieved, check out this Showcase page on the Lumion website.

Test System
Lumion uses a live rendering engine, so effects and animations all essentially occur in real time. This means that you need a decent computer, with a good graphics card, if you want to get the most out of Lumion. I tested Lumion on my 2 year old workstation, with these specs:

Intel Core i7-4930K (6 cores, 12 HyperThreaded) CPU
64gb RAM
NVIDIA Quadro K4000, 3gb GDDR5, driver 353.62
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB + 3tb secondary drive

The above specs were more than acceptable for my use, but you may find that a newer gaming graphics card would compensate for a current mid-range system with less RAM.

From Revit
Lumion imports a number of native 3D formats, including FBX and DWG. However, there is also a Revit export addin (called the Revit to Lumion Bridge) available that gives better optimization to the exported 3D data. I found the addin very quick to use, even on a large site with multiple buildings. After exporting into one container DAE file, you then use the Import option in Lumion to bring that model into the current Scene.

If you have some well developed Topography in Revit already, you probably just want to ‘feather’ the edges of the Lumion Terrain. A Lumion scene is made up of a number of parts, but it always has a base Lumion land surface (that could be flat or modelled to really any land form), and then you typically have a model imported from some other software, following which you would usually add content and entourage to the scene, such as People, Trees and Vehicles.

After you have imported a model and integrated into it into the scene, I feel that it is very rewarding to add some content to the scene immediately. The large library of content allows you to quickly get a ‘look and feel’ happening that will help drive the artistic process from this point forward.

I say “artistic process”, because that is actually how Lumion makes me feel – like an artist, not like a boring BIM technician. And that is a good thing! Rather than wrestling with the usual mind-draining, complicated Revit modelling tasks, Lumion is like a breath of fresh air. The payoff is immediate, unlike some other rendering workflows that often require many hours of material mapping before anything remotely aesthetic can be generated.

From Navisworks via FBX
I thought it might be interesting to try and play with a relatively basic building form or mass, and see how Lumion can make even basic geometry look quite impressive. To start with, I used a model in Navisworks of Room spaces (which were exported from Revit via NWC). Then I exported these Room masses from Navisworks to FBX.

The resulting FBX file was 167mb.

I opted to try the Mountains in Spring scene template. The water in Lumion is nothing short of beautiful. Its almost too good to try and demonstrate with a screen capture, but I’m going to try anyway… Keep in mind that as you navigate in Lumion, the water is moving and rippling and lapping away at the smooth stones. Amazing!

In just a few minutes, I had trees, a power boat, a sunbaking man, and even a fish, horse, and offshore wind turnbine placed in the scene. Lumion has this potential for rapid, beautiful scene development that is unparalleled in my experience.

Modifying Placed Objects
The Lumion interface is clean and uncluttered. Sometimes, you will ‘discover’ how something works in Lumion, and it will just make sense. For example, if you are trying to move a Person and can’t select them, keep in mind that you should pick the object Category from the bottom-left corner of the window, and then you will be able to modify objects of that Category.

Modifying the Environment
I was impressed with the fact that the sun height is extremely easy to modify, to get things looking just right, as the screencast below shows:

Key points to remember
Some of the features added in Lumion 6.0.1 and 6.3 are focused a lot on improving the image quality, which means you are getting the very best output from the scene creation work that you undertake. Another key differentiating feature of Lumion is the overall ease-of-use. It does not feel like a complicated piece of software, and it allows you to get up and running quickly. Then, as you learn more about Lumion, you can progressively discover the additional features that are just below the surface of the main user interface.

Summary of New Features
Lumion 6.3 now supports the rendering of VR panoramas for Gear VR and Oculus, and it is very simple to use. First, press the MyLumion button, Set a Viewpoint, then click Render VR Panorama:

For Oculus Rift, choose LumionVR to render an LVR file:

You can watch as the renderer works its way through the left eye and right eye:

Finally, open that file in the LumionVR viewer (included with your Lumion 6.3 installation) and interact with the scene using the Oculus Rift.

There are also some key aesthetic additions that became available during the releases of Lumion 6 through 6.3, and the imagery below gives you an idea of what each effect can accomplish once applied to your projects.

Hyperlight 2

OmniShadow

PureGlass

SpeedRay Reflections

Basic Use
Download and Installation details
Download size: 6.26gb
Installed size: 14.6gb

First Launch
On first launch, Lumion will benchmark your system so that it can self-configure the best performance settings for your particular hardware.

After the benchmark you will be presented with this Start screen, which will allow you to quickly create projects for a variety of different scenes and enviroments:

Specific Tips and Workflows
We all work in different ways. And we all have our own artistic style. So when considering how to best integrate Lumion with an existing design and presentation workflows, there will obviously be some variations. But essentially, you will take models from a content creation suite (such as Revit) into Lumion, and then perform various tasks such as site modelling and adding entourage, after which you will tune various presentation style settings and export to a video or still image.

You can read a real world example of how UK architectural practice Lovelock Mitchell has made Lumion a part of their day-to-day design pipeline at this link. I could certainly identify with this comment that Michael Chevasco made in the article:
“If you like the visualization side of architecture like I do, then you might find experimenting with Lumion artistically rewarding, for example, positioning the sun just right to create a certain mood, or the getting the wind to blow through the grass in a scene. I enjoy those things and Lumion makes it easy.”

How to Use Lumion with Revit
Latest Revit exporters are available here:
Export Revit models to Lumion – Revit to Lumion Bridge

To install the exporter addin:

Run applicable installer, such as RevitToLumionBridge_Revit2015.exe
Restart Revit
The addin will now be available on the Add-Ins ribbon

Export and Import to Lumion:

Open a Revit project
Go to a 3D view
Run the Exporter
Go to Lumion
New Scene based on Template of your choice (I chose ‘Hills’)
Import using this button:
Name your import and tick the box

Tip: Make landscape flat:
You may want to ‘flatten’ an existing landscape prior to matching Revit topography with Lumion terrain. The image below shows which button to use:

Use large terrain brush to quickly match Lumion surface with Revit topography:

More information on terrain material and feathering here

Here is a List of File types that can be directly imported to Lumion:

Performance Notes

The Revit exporter was very fast, taking about 300mb of Revit data to a 230mb Collada file in 90 seconds
Saving in Lumion is very quick and unobtrusive

Saving Viewpoints
You can use the Camera tool to Store a Camera, and return to that same position later:

Learn More
For more tutorials, including how to “Learn Lumion in 15 minutes”, check out this Tutorials page.

What about using Lumion on very large infrastructure projects? See:
Lumion for large infrastructure projects

Interested in finding out more about materials included with Lumion? Check out this link.

Using Lumion 6.3 for Virtual Reality – Video Tutorials
Tutorial: 01 – Render For Gear VR
Tutorial: 02 – Advanced Render Settings Gear VR
Tutorial: 03 – Copy Gear VR Panorama to Your Phone (1st time)
Tutorial: 04 – Copy Gear VR Panorama to Your Phone
Tutorial: 05 – Render For LumionVR (Oculus Rift)
Tutorial: 06 – Advanced Render Settings LumionVR (Oculus Rift)
Tutorial: 07 – Three ways to open LVR files
Tutorial: 08 – Move Between Viewpoints in LumionVR (Oculus Rift)
Tutorial: 09 – Add Effects to 360 Panoramas

Further reading:

Product range: Lumion – Elegant software built for architects
New in Lumion 6: Lumion – Elegant software built for architects Lumion Tutorials
My previous review:
Using Lumion 5.3 with Revit for Rapid, Realistic and Effective Presentations
Other reviews and information at: Lumion 6 Review: New Features and Updates

Updating or Merging the Model Content in a Revizto Cloud Project

March 21, 2016May 8, 2017 Luke Johnson

If you are working on a live, shared, cloud Revizto project, you may wonder how to easily ‘replace’ the entire current model with a fresh version.

Note 1: if you Overwrite model content in Revizto, the Issue Tracker is not affected: Issue list, conversation history and related details are retained.

Here is one way to update the model by replacing with a fresh export:

Export to Revizto
Use ‘Choose Project’ and
Use Overwrite setting
Press OK and confirm
Open In Revizto Editor, Sync to Cloud

Note 2: remember you can revert to a previous version with the Cloud Revisions tool

To Merge Projects (add new Models to an existing Cloud model):

Export new data to a New Project
Open in Revizto Editor
Optimize if you would like to…
Project – Save (this is still a Local model)
Open the Cloud model
Merge Models with the Cloud project by doing this:
1. Project – Merge
2. Add Scene
3. Select the exported scene
4. Choose appropriate position (such as Origin to Origin)
Save and Sync to Cloud

Export

Optimize

Coordinates

Latest News from Archvision (including Detail Warehouse available on Revit App Store)

February 23, 2016May 8, 2017 Luke Johnson

Archvision has a great reputation for providing quality Entourage RPC content and extensions to Revit, historically to assist you in creating more impressive presentation images and renderings. More recently, they have branched out to focus more on being a BIM content leader, including the development and release of their DETAIL WAREHOUSE app and content. This has been improved with recent updates, including the provision of DWG versions of this detail library.

A couple of months ago, Archvision partnered with AXYZ Design to now provide more high quality 3D people as part of the RPCs available to Archvision users (but purchased under a separate license). The official name of this product is “AXYZ Design 3D Human Characters Collections”.

For more information on the AXYZ partnership, DETAIL WAREHOUSE App Store release, and DWG availability, please see links, images and embedded press releases below.

AXYZ Partnership

AXYZ Press release:

Detail Warehouse on App Store

Get it here:

Press release:

Detail Warehouse in DWG Format

Press release:

Better Tekla IFC Export Settings for Revit Coordination

February 11, 2016May 8, 2017 Luke Johnson

Tekla has issued an XML file containing preset IFC settings for export to Revit, specifically for Coordination. In some cases, this may already be available on your system, but in other regions you may have to install it manually.

Here’s how:

Download the zipped XML at this link.
Unzip the XML into this folder on all PC’s running Tekla Structures:
C:\TeklaStructures\*version*\Environments\australasia\system
Note: you may need to adjust the above path to suit your Region
Once this file is included in the folder mentioned above it will be available in all projects. When the user goes to File – Export – IFC they will have a pre-saved setting named “RevitCoordination”. The user simply Loads that setting and exports the parts needed.
This “RevitCoordination” setting also is setup to export additional property sets for Design Workflow data that is entered into the member properties (ie. Beam, Column etc.) in Tekla Structures.

More information at:
CUSTOMER QUESTIONS: What’s the best settings to use when sending Structural BIM to Revit Architecture?
and
Tekla Revit BIM workflow example | Tekla User Assistance

Category: Software