Make materials feel real with Lumion 10.3
Show incredible texture and detail with the new displacement map import feature. Take advantage of real-time rendering for AutoCAD.
Vivid materials
When materials feel real, designs become lively experiences in the mind.
Just seeing smooth hardwood floors can trigger memories of sliding across the living room in your socks. Soft gravel paths can bring up the sounds of small pebbles and sticks crunching underfoot. Coarse brick textures take you back to the stately houses you’d pass on your way home from school.
Import your own displacement maps
Vivid materials can tell a vivid story about your design, and in Lumion 10.3, you can now make materials feel real with the new displacement map import feature.
In this Lumion 10.3 render, a displacement map was imported and added to a rock material.
By importing your own displacement maps, you can give any material a natural and realistic appearance that makes it look as if you could reach out and touch it.
Simply create or download your own displacement map (from wherever you prefer to get your materials), and, in an instant, you can enhance the texture and detail of your project’s materials to show exactly how they will feel.
Real-time rendering with AutoCAD
Lumion 10.3 also expands the reach of its real-time rendering feature with the new LiveSync for AutoCAD.
If you use Autodesk AutoCAD for your 3D modeling, you can now change the model’s shape or materials in AutoCAD and these changes are immediately reflected in Lumion’s breathtaking, richly detailed environments.
Now, you can always view your AutoCAD model with accurate lighting and shadow, surrounding context such as urban neighborhoods or rural settings, and beautiful, realistic materials.
Lumion 10.3 is a free update for Lumion 10 users. You can update Lumion 10 licenses by checking the ‘Getting Started’ email in your inbox or by logging in to your personal Lumion account.
The LiveSync plugins for Revit, SketchUp, ArchiCAD, Rhino, Vectorworks and, now, AutoCAD, are free for everyone.
Feature spotlight – Import your own displacement maps
When materials feel real, designs come to life. In Lumion 10.3, you can now import your own displacement maps into Lumion’s built-in or custom materials.
With this feature, the act of seeing your architectural visualizations becomes the experience of feeling them, heightening emotion while drawing viewers into your designed building or space.
The new displacement map import feature requires that you download or make your own displacement maps for Lumion’s built-in or customized materials. Once you have a displacement map, you can import it via the new import option in any material’s customization settings. In the following video, you can see how we imported the displacement map into a rock material.
For the best performance, import 2K and 4K (maximum) textures only. You can learn more about where to find materials here.
Feature spotlight – LiveSync for AutoCAD
Always get a real-time view of your AutoCAD 3D model in Lumion’s breathtaking, full context environments with LiveSync for AutoCAD, new in Lumion 10.3.
The free Lumion LiveSync plugin lets you set up a simultaneous, real-time connection between your 3D model in AutoCAD and Lumion 10.3.
Change the model’s shape or materials in AutoCAD to test a modified design, and you’ll instantly see the model updated in Lumion so you can view it with accurate lighting and shadow, surrounding context such as urban neighborhoods or rural settings, and beautiful, realistic materials.
How to install the LiveSync for AutoCAD plugin:
If you use AutoCAD 2017-2020 for your 3D modeling, the Lumion LiveSync for AutoCAD plugin is free and easy to install. Simply follow these three steps:
Head to the Autodesk App Store and search for Lumion LiveSync for AutoCAD.
Click on the blue “download” button (you may have to sign in to your Autodesk account) to download the LiveSync installer.
Click on the downloaded .exe file to install it.
The next time you start AutoCAD, you should be able to find the Lumion LiveSync plugin under the Add-in tab. For more information or support, visit our Knowledge Base article.
Availability
Lumion 10.3 is now available as a free upgrade for Lumion 10 users. Visit the Knowledge Base for more information and to learn about the benefits of adding Lumion to your architectural workflows.
