Optimize your creative output with Lumion 2024
Create smarter and faster with the latest version of Lumion
Maximum output, minimum effort
In the fast-paced world of architecture and design, every minute counts. That’s why rendering should accelerate your workflow, not slow it down.
Lumion 2024 was designed to do exactly that. The latest iteration of the software has been optimized to boost both speed and creativity, allowing you to make progress with more projects per week than in earlier versions. With the time saved, you can explore more ideas, maximize productivity, make swift decisions, and keep your clients happy.
We reached out to two experienced 3D visualization experts who have dedicated themselves to helping others master Lumion. We asked for their take on the latest version of the software and how it compares to previous ones.
A passionate architect from Spain, Carlos Rodriguez has been creating 3D visualizations since 2007. After falling in love with Lumion 6 back in 2015, Carlos began training architectural firms to use the software, later developing an online Spanish teaching platform known as Lumion Academy.
Nuno Silva is a talented 3D artist with over 10 years of experience. He teaches people all around the world to become proficient in 3D architectural rendering, with Lumion courses available on his website and over 100,000 subscribers on his very own YouTube channel.
Let’s see what they have to say about Lumion 2024.
Hi Carlos, hi Nuno! How have you found working in Lumion 2024 so far?
Carlos: After playing around in Lumion 2024 for a while, I was excited to see how quickly I was able to get to a good result. Everything seemed a lot faster to me, and I was curious to see if I could explore some earlier projects and see how they stacked up in this version. I chose a couple and what I found was quite eye opening.
Lumion’s effects workflow has been drastically improved using ray tracing technology, making old scenes with more than 15 effects achieve the same look with just 4 or 5.
I now load up an old scene, strip the effects stack, add ray tracing and one or two others, and I can create the same – if not better – looking scene in minutes. It's amazing how different it is.
Nuno: I’ve had a similar experience. Seeing how older project files and templates performed in Lumion 2024 was quite exciting. Not just in terms of what ray tracing could bring to them, especially interiors, but also just how much easier it is to work with. There are a lot of little workflow improvements that make working with Lumion 2024 much easier than older versions.
It takes significantly less time to set up a scene compared with old versions of Lumion. To get a decent looking interior in Lumion 12, you needed a long list of FX. Now it only takes about one minute to set up a scene. Just add two-point perspective and ray tracing and it already looks good. Then just add a real sky and a bit of color correction – that’s it.
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Are there any other key improvements you’ve noticed?
Nuno: The biggest difference is Lumion 2024 is the implementation of ray tracing. With ray tracing the scene becomes much more realistic. Light and shadows behave just like in real life.
As well as that, I really like that every time you click to render a preview and change the settings in the color correction effect, you see the changes in real time. You don’t need to keep rendering previews. This is pretty handy.
Carlos: I agree. Ray tracing isn't only a render effect – one of my favorite parts of working in Lumion 2024 is to use the build with effects mode.
That gives me a viewport where I have a near-final render quality image of the scene. I can fly through it, manipulate effects, and see the impact pretty much immediately.
You almost don't need to preview a render anymore, because you can already see how it will turn out.
You mentioned workflow improvements. What in particular helps you build scenes more efficiently in Lumion 2024?
Nuno: There are some other workflow things that make such a huge difference. One of my favorites is the gizmo. It makes building a scene so much faster. Before, you used to have to use shortcuts to move an object – you had to select each icon for move, scale, or rotation. Now you can effortlessly place, rotate, and scale objects. It makes such a difference.
Carlos: I also think the placement tools save a lot of time. With line placement, you can now control each point separately and even conform your objects to the ground. Cluster placement has been greatly improved, too.
Nuno: Yes, I like the new cluster placement tool. You can quickly adjust it and place many of the same objects in your scene with great variation.
Line placement tool
Gizmo
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What else stands out to you the most among the recent additions?
Nuno: I have to say glass. Now it just works. You don’t need to add reflection planes like before, and if you remember, curved surfaces didn't have proper reflections – that’s a thing of the past. All curved surfaces have the right reflections.
There’s also new advanced glass. With it you can render complex materials using the improved glass shader. And it supports colored glass shadows as well.
Carlos: The materials library is much bigger overall, too. There’s a wide range of models from trusted third parties like Poliigon, Evermotion, AXYZ, and many more, which means we have to search out third-party assets much less. This reduces the complexity of managing multiple sources for 3D assets.
Nuno: And the recently added Parallax interiors are a nice touch. When adding them by the window of a building’s interior, when you move around it has depth. It’s like a detailed room inside, but it’s just a flat plane. This saves you a lot of time. They’re a great shortcut.
Are there any of the new customization options that have caught your eye?
Nuno: In Lumion 12, we had a big selection of skies we could select, but this was limited to the selection provided and you couldn’t import your own. Now, those limitations are a thing of the past – in Lumion 24 we have the option to load a custom sky.
With sites like Poly Haven, Poliigon, or Textures.com, you’re sure to find the right sky for your project. It’s clear to see how different skies drastically change the mood of your project. Plus, in Lumion 2024, the colors of the sky are reflected onto the interior for even greater realism.
Carlos: Yes, you can now load a custom HDRI sky of your choice, which opens up a lot of possibilities. Choosing the perfect sky means you can tailor the lighting and atmosphere of your scene, as well as more accurately depict the season and weather conditions.
You’ve both commented on time-saving features. Is this the area of improvement that impresses you the most in Lumion 2024?
Carlos: I’ve always been able to create great renders with Lumion, but I can work so much faster now. In Lumion 12, you had to build a long, long list of effects, and each of those effects required a lot of tweaking. You needed to put a lot of thought and time into how to manipulate each effect to find the right balance.
This just isn’t the case anymore. I wouldn’t want to go back and have to do every scene like that again!
I’m excited to see what Lumion has in store for us in the future.
Nuno: So am I. There are still some things that I would like to see added to Lumion 2024, but the improvements so far are very good. We can certainly create much faster now.
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