Cineware Basic Settings: Environment Panel

Use this panel to set your rendering into a particular environment: using an option sky backdrop, plus weather, and time settings. Location data is taken from Project Location settings: see Location Settings.

Sky Setup

From this pop-up, choose None, HDRI Sky, or Physical Sky. The most common setting is Physical Sky.

Physical Sky

The Physical Sky is an entire constellation that includes multiple objects having properties (sun, weather, clouds, fog, rainbow, atmosphere). A Physical Sky provides both a background image and lighting effects. It is “smart” and the parameters are interconnected.

With Physical Sky selected, click the Weather Preset pop-up to choose a named set of weather parameters that combine the sky, atmosphere, clouds, flog, rainbow and sunbeams.

Use Archicad Sun Position

Check this box to reset the location according to the Archicad Sun Position. Use this to fine-tune the weather preset.

Set Sun Position manually

Uncheck the Archicad Sun position box.

Choose an option to set sun position:

•by date/time

•by entering azimuth/altitude data

See also Note on Sun Settings in Archicad.

HDRI Sky

Click Browse to select an image which provide a background picture and ambient light source for the rendering.

•Use a predefined image from the library ([Himg] HDF Images folder), or create your own. (If you create your own, you must use a spherical view, otherwise it will be distorted.)

•An HDRI image provides diffuse light and blurred shadows (no sharp shadows)

•The HDRI Sky Setup does not include a separate Sun. To use the effects of the Archicad sun, make sure that the Sun slider on the Basic Settings panel is turned on. If you increase the Sun slider value, this will also increase shadow sharpness.

•Use the Sky Rotation slider to rotate the HDRI Sky image so that it matches with the Archicad sun position of the 3D model. Check the rotation in the preview.

Note: The intensity of sunlight is determined in the Sunlight Settings dialog box, but that setting can be overridden (or turned off) in the Light Sources section of the Render settings (Basic) panel. See Light Sources.

Note on Sun Settings in Archicad

•Archicad Sun Position is set in the 3D Projection Settings dialog boxes.

See Set Sun and Camera Positions Graphically.

•The Archicad Sun’s intensity is set in Sunlight Settings (available from the 3D Projection Settings dialogs as well as Camera Settings).

See Sunlight Settings.

Using a More Sophisticated Sun with HDRI

1.Turn off the Archicad Sun (In Light Sources, move the slider to Off).

2.Using the Lamp tool, place a Sun Object into the model. The Sun Object can be positioned manually, has more parameters than the Archicad Sun and takes better advantage of Cineware capabilities.

Note that the PhotoRendering Palette’s Environment settings are not reflected in the 3D model, so in order to gauge the effect of the Sun Object, you must watch its effect in the Rendering Palette Preview, while moving it in the 3D window.