How Fast and Easy is the Rendering Process in D5 Render?

A Quick Guide for Beginners

Author

Silver Colored Lens
September 17, 2024

Rendering high-quality images or animations can take time, but with the right tools and steps, you can speed up the process. In this article, we’ll explore how quickly you can render a scene using D5 Render, and I’ll walk you through the steps to achieve incredible results as well as provide you with the necessary resources and tips for optimizing your workflow.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Step 1: Download a Free 3D Scene

Step 2: Setting Up Your Scene

Step 3: Adding Still Images for Render

Step 4: Rendering Settings and Output

Step 5: Post-Production in Photoshop

Getting Started with D5 Render

Before we dive into the rendering process, you need a few essential tools:

  • SketchUp: For 3D modeling.

  • D5 Render: For real-time rendering.

  • Photoshop: For post-production and final touches.

Step 1: Download a Free 3D Scene

Head over to the D5 Render website and navigate to the Free 3D Asset Scene Download section under the "Assets" tab. You’ll find a variety of free scenes to test out. You’ll also find details such as the artist's name, GPU requirements, and workflow.

A preview of D5 Render’s website showing the “Free 3D Asset Scene Download” location.

For this instance, we’ll use a commercial scene, which you can easily download from the provided WeTransfer link. After downloading, unzip the file and explore its contents. This will include both SketchUp and D5 Render files, ready to use.

A preview of D5 Render’s website showing all the selected scene file’s details.

You will be redirected to WeTransfer to download the file.

Step 2: Setting Up Your Scene

Once you open the scene in D5 Render, you might get a warning about incompatible assets. Don’t worry—just hit Update All. Before you begin, it’s helpful to turn off the light source display and activate the grid to better frame your composition. The scene is already set up, with saved views that you can easily activate by clicking on them - it’s located at the left-hand side of your screen.

A preview of the incompatible assets warning.

Turning off the lights source display.

Activating the composition grid.

Step 3: Adding Still Images for Render

To add a new image or view, select the camera icon at the top right corner of your screen and at the bottom panel, click the “Add Shot” button. You can continue adding new scenes or replace the existing views using the refresh icon of a specific shot.

Adding the current view as your shot view.

Step 4: Rendering Settings and Output

Now, it’s time to configure your render settings. You can choose which channels to activate, set the output resolution to 4K, and select PNG as the file format for still images. This is just my personal preference. Feel free to explore the rest of the settings and adjust them to your liking.

A preview of the render settings and channels available for rendering.

Step 5: Post-Production in Photoshop

If you want to take your render a step further, consider post-production in Photoshop. Start by duplicating the base image and grouping all channels into one folder. Mask out the sky and add adjustment layers like Curves, Color Balance, and Photo Filters for cooler or warmer tones. Fine-tune these adjustments with the gradient tool and the Material ID layer to selectively enhance different parts of the image.

A preview of the post-production process using Adobe Photoshop.

A preview of the post-production process using Adobe Photoshop.

Conclusion

Rendering in D5 Render can be both fast and efficient with the right setup. By following these steps, you can achieve high-quality results quickly. Be sure to experiment with the settings and explore post-production techniques to enhance your renders even further. For more tips on 3D visualizations, be sure to check out my other tutorials.

If you want to try out D5 Render for yourself, you can use this link to get a discount on your annual subscription.