Once the modeling is complete in the Autocad 3d workspace, we add materials and lighting for a more realistic rendering. We show you how to do this in our Autocad 3D training courses.
To practice creating simple materials and lighting effects firstly create a new document using the acadiso_3D template, with limits of 15 by 15 metres, for example. Go to the top view and create a Rectangle 10 x 10m. Next orbit around the shape to extrude some 3d shapes. Select the Polysolid tool and give the rectangle a height of 3m and a width of 200mm.
We next need a surface plane on which to project the shadows, so type planesurf into the Command line and click on two adjacent corner points – this will be created on the x-y ground plane by default.
Now go to the Render tab and choose a render quality of Medium with an output size of 320 x 240 for a fast draft render. If the shapes turn black we need to turn off the default Photometric lighting, via the Units dialog box – change American or International to Generic lighting units.
We would now add light sources and materials to the objects. Note that some materials, for example Realistic Metals, only work with Photometric lighting. Note also that renders are only temporary files which will disappear when we close the drawing. To save a render go to the File drop-down menu and choose Save, with a type of JPEG or TIFF. Choose Best Quality and hit the render button again. Note that the shapes will adopt the colours of their layers if materials have not yet been applied.
The 3d interface in Autocad is user-friendly and easy to learn, and we take time to teach a broad range of applications in our classes including modeling, materials, lighting and animation. See many examples of our clients’ work on our Facebook page. For more information there are lots of resources on the web, but try the Autodesk site to begin with: www.autodesk.com. Support options and user forums are also available from the home page.
Other related Autocad 3d Blog Posts:

• Autocad 3d introduction
• Autocad 3d modeling
• Autocad 3d blocks
• Autocad 3d commands
• Autocad 3d basics