After converting the DWG model with PolyTrans or 3D Exploration for grayscale or colour models, respectively, I loaded the converted 3DS output into Vue D'Esprit 4.0. Vue4 is an easy to use rendering program with an easy, intuitive interface for placing lights, vegetation and various textures. I set up the scene with a partly cloudy sky, a bit of ocean water in the background (taking a bit of liberty with the scene, as most likely, the real house would only see the water from the front windows which, in my rendering, was facing the camera), and a few trees and a grassy yard.
To enhance the realism of the scene, I added several yellowish lights to the house, in the usual places: one on the porch, a couple in the living room, and others in the bedroom and dining room areas. I also experimented with inserting a several small red lights into the fireplace to simulate glowing embers, but the effort didn't produce a convincing result. I abandoned this idea, although it would have been easy to find a photo of a fireplace and simply matte in the object with a program such as Photoshop, had this effect been deemed important. I rendered the scene at high resolution using the "final" setting with high quality anti-aliasing, after a few lower resolution "quick test" renderings were performed to check lighting levels and the various effects. Click here to see the final results.
I also did a few animation tests with Vue D'Esprit's excellent animation wizard. If the customer had wanted to see an animated sky or check the angle of the sun filtering through the skylights on the second floor, this would be a great way to demonstrate such an effect. The wizard could also be used to create a "walk through" or "fly around" animation at high quality.
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