This book assumes you know nothing about rendering. It starts out slowly, covering the important basics, and then progresses to more advanced topics. The concepts in this book are laid out in order of importance, beginning with three basic requirements for rendering, Cameras, Lights, and Materials.

While it is intended for users that are beginners in rendering, through to intermediate, it covers many advanced topics also. Even an expert could learn many valuable tips and tricks to improve his or her renderings. This book requires a prerequisite knowledge of MicroStation 3D.

It is my belief that if you cannot master MicroStation's camera tools, you will have great difficulty taking that all-important picture of your finished project. This very important topic is covered in detail in Chapter 2.

A great deal of time is devoted to lighting, which comes in second on my list but may, in fact, be the single most important aspect of the rendering process. You should be able to make a 3D scene look good even if all your materials happen to be cardboard. Setting up the right lighting can make or break a rendering. Therefore, considerable content is devoted to this subject.

For truly photorealistic results, you will learn to master MicroStation's Material Editor and how to attach and apply these materials to a variety of 3D models, including civil, architectural, and industrial design.

Navigating through a myriad of rendering dialog boxes and settings, you will learn what these settings are and how...