Lumion 10.0 Pro

Act-3D has released Lumion 10.0, the latest version of its real-time architectural visualisation software, adding a higher-quality render preview and new materials with baked displacement maps.

There is also an experimental new Artist Styles feature, which uses AI techniques to stylise renders to look like the work of famous painters.

Users of the Pro edition also get a new photo matching system and support for heightmaps when importing OpenStreetMap data, plus new high-detail vegetation models and night sky backgrounds.

Core software: higher quality render previews and materials with baked displacement
Users of the core edition get a new high-quality preview option. Clicking in the viewport causes the render view to refine progressively, showing materials and shadows more accurately.

Lumion also now supports render-time displacement effects, adding materials “with displacement maps baked in” – some new, some reworkings of existing library materials.

As the comments to the YouTube demo video note, the software actually seems to be using parallax occlusion mapping: it doesn’t seem to be possible to add your own displacement maps to materials.

New tools include Paint Placement, for placing trees and other natural objects in scenes using a brush-like workflow; and Landscape Cutter, for carving underground areas into terrain.

New AI-driven Artist Styles system transfers the painting style of traditional artists to renders
However, the most unexpected – if not necessarily the most practical – new feature is an experimental AI-trained Artist Styles system which stylises renders to look like the work of famous painters.

The results vary, presumably according to how naturally the work of the artist in question lends itself to architectural images, but Cézanne and Monet options seem to work reasonably well.

Pro edition: match 3D models to photos, new vegetation and sky assets
Users of the Pro edition get a semi-automated system for matching 3D models to photographic backplates.

Adjusting guides to match the vanishing points of a source photo enables Lumion to position and scale the 3D asset to match the perspective of the backplate, as shown in this video.

Photo Matching (available in Lumion 10 Pro) is a helpful tool when you need to quickly show your architectural design in the context of a real-life photograph. In Tutorial 1 of our three-part Photo Matching series, you'll learn some of the basics of this feature.

The lighting of the backplate is not matched automatically, and must be recreated manually.

The Pro edition can also now import heightmaps when using OpenStreetMap data, making it possible to recreate surrounding terrain as well as the position of buildings.

Pro users also get over 360 new assets in Lumion’s content library, including 62 higher-detail tree and plant models, five night sky backdrops for Real Skies, and a set of user-customisable aurora borealis effects

An all-in-one 3D rendering solution, Lumion 10 is tailored to meet the needs of architects. If you have a 3D model of your design that you want to bring to life quickly, Lumion is the tool you need. It allows you to convey your design by showcasing its beauty in its final setting. Plus, this is something you can do yourself without special training, and you can do it quickly.

What does Lumion 10 bring to the table? To put it simply, it has everything you need to create beautiful renders. Allowing what is in your imagination to come to life makes it fun to use. Giving artists the ability to share the feel of a design makes it an effective tool for communication. Building upon ease-of-use and how quickly you can create stunning visualizations makes it effective. With the new features and tools in this release, communicating residential and commercial exteriors in their lavishly detailed settings, casting interiors in a gorgeous interplay of light and shadow, and developing living environments for cityscapes and landscapes is possible without great effort.

Act-3D was among the pioneers when the first 3D acceleration hardware became commonplace. After several years of experience in simulation, training, architecture, TV and film Act-3D decided to focus on architectural visualization. Act-3D software is used all over the world, we have people working for us in more than 5 countries and currently Lumion is the most popular visualization solution of its kind.

Founded in 1998, Act-3D B.V. is the privately owned company behind Lumion. Based in Sassenheim, The Netherlands.