Render Studio Interface - Appearances Library

To apply a function to the part's Appearance parameter:

1. Select the part in the Scene list or graphics area. The Appearance panel displays the part's default Appearance parameters.

2. Select the Appearance functions folder In the Appearances library

   

   Locate the Checker pattern — 3D texture and Checker texture bump map functions. They are both used in this example. The lower box part in the following model is used for reference:

   

3. Drag the Checker pattern — 3D texture function over the Appearances panel. Before dropping, notice that many of the Appearance parameters are highlighted in blue. This indicates this function can be applied to any of these parameters. The function is applied to the parameter beneath the mouse cursor. Drop the parameter on the Transmission weight parameter in the Transmission submenu:

   

4. The texture function is applied and automatically opens in the Appearances panel. This is verified by viewing the hierarchical breadcrumb trail at the top of the Appearances panel (shown in the first image below). Click on the Appearance 2 link in this breadcrumb trail, and the Appearance for the part opens, where the link to the texture function next to the Transmission weight parameter is displayed (shown in the second image below).

   

5. The texture function acts as a mask for light transmission through the part (the checker texture is the function applied to the Transmission weight parameter of the part's Appearance). Anywhere the checker pattern is white, light shows through. Anywhere the checker pattern is black, the base part color shows through. The checker pattern is the part's light transmission mask:

   

6. Alternatively, drop the Checker texture bump map function on the Bumps parameter in the Appearance panel's Global submenu. The Bumps parameter is the only one to turn blue, indicating this parameter is the only one that accepts the Checker texture bump map function:

   

7. The Checker texture bump map function is applied to the Bumps parameter, shown below:

   

See Add a bump texture and Add a custom bump texture for more information.

The next example applies an Invert color function to the Part's base color. Apply this method to any appearance color parameter, and use it to invert the color.

1. Select the part. In this example, the sphere is selected.

2. Drag and drop the Invert color function on the Base color in the part's Base submenu on the Appearance panel:

   

3. The Invert color function opens under the Appearance panel. Click the Input color swatch and select a color. The inverse of that color is used for the Part's base color. In the following example, selecting red creates a cyan base color, since cyan is the inverse of red:

   

This example uses the Surface blender function to blend between two surface appearances. Once completed, an additional function (Gradient3-color/position texture) is applied to the first function's parameter (the Surface blender's Blend weight). This shows how to build one function on top of another function.

1. Select the part in the Scene list. In this example a square box is selected and viewed from the top plane. For reference, the box dimensions are .5 m length x .5 m width x .5 m height:

   

2. In the Appearance library, search for Surface. Right-click on the Surface blender thumbnail and click Assign (shown in the first image below). The Global submenu in the Appearance panel displays the Surface blender function parameters (second image below):

   

   • Base material - The appearance on which the blend is based.

   • Blend material - Blend appearance surface properties.

   • Blend weight - Blend weight or mask texture.

3. Search for the Metal weave 02 - brass steel Appearance and drag and drop the thumbnail on the Base material parameter (shown in the first image below). Then search for the Metal weave 02 - copper pure Appearance and drag and drop the thumbnail on the Blend material parameter (shown in the second image below). Adjust the Blend weight to 1. This blends the colors between the two appearances (the Base material and the Blend material). The result is shown in the third image below:

   

   

4. Click on the blend material link to open its parameters in the Appearance panel (shown in the first image below). Rotate the material 90 degrees in the Adjustments submenu. The horizontal pattern is now combined with the newly rotated vertical pattern (shown in the second image below). This better visualizes the blend between the two:

   

5. To return to the parent Surface blender layer, click the Surface blender link in the breadcrumb trail at the top of the Appearance panel:

   

The above procedure works to blend any two surface appearances together. Building on the above procedure, a gradient function is applied to the Surface blender function's Blend weight parameter to blend between the two appearances.

1. Open the 2 Appearances and change their Weave and bar colors to the following: red and green for the Base material, and blue and yellow for the Blend material. This better visualizes the blends in subsequent steps. The result is shown in the second image below:

   

2. Return to the parent Surface blender layer. Search for the Gradient 3-color/position texture function in the Appearance library, and then drag and drop the thumbnail on the Blend weight parameter.

   

3. The Gradient 3-color/position texture function is now applied to the Blend weight of the Surface blender function's parameter. The gradient is used as a mask between the Base material red and green colors (starting on the left) and the Blend material's blue and yellow colors (ending on the right). Where the gradient is black, the Base material shows through. Where the gradient is white, the Blend material shows through.

   Altering the Gradient parameters produces a variety of gradient results that blend between the two appearances. For example, the image below displays the Mode: Gradient box option (shown in the second image below):

   

Tips

• To blend between two colors, use the Blend colors function and apply it wherever a color parameter is available in the Appearance or Selection panel. Using the blend colors function opens access to layer blending modes that are found in applications like Adobe Photoshop and GIMP (darken, screen, multiply, overlay, and others).

• To blend between two bump textures, use the Blend normals function and apply it wherever the Bumps parameter is available in the Appearance or Selection panel.

• Instead of the Gradient 3-color/position texture function, use any other texture functions, such as the Checker pattern or Bump map — Perlin noise texture to blend between the two appearances.

• Add a custom texture to blend between the two appearances. Drag and drop the Import bitmap file function on the Blend weight parameter (shown in the first image below), and then Click the Bitmap file to open the Select image dialog, where you can load the custom texture (shown in the second image below):

  

For a tech tip on blends, see Using textures and blends in Render Studio.

This procedure explains how to add a specific volume and the Volume coefficient function to a part in the scene. Volume is added as an appearance to the part, while the volume coefficient is a function added to the Absorption coefficient parameter of the appearance.

For this example, a light-emitting ship object is placed in an underwater scene where the water acts as the volume.

1. To add volume, the scene must be encompassed by the volume itself. Model a part that surrounds the ship object on all sides, and is large enough to provide sufficient space.

   For reference, the surrounding box in this example is 5 m cubed. The rectangular "ship" is 0.6 m length by 0.075 m wide by 0.05 m height. A hole is placed at the front bottom of the rectangle with a diameter of 0.025 and is 0.03 m deep so it does not protrude all the way through the rectangle. Finally, a sphere with a radius of 0.004 m is created inside the hole, which is used as a light source. Each entity (part) is referenced as volume, ship, and light source below.

   

2. In the Scene list, select the volume part. Search for volume in the Appearances library, right-click on the Add volume thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu. This results in a thick volumetric appearance applied to the surrounding part:

   

The following outlines the Add volume Appearance panel parameters:

• Base material - The material onto which the volume is applied. Default is transparent.

• Absorption coefficient - The probability density (per meter in world space) of light being absorbed by the participating medium. Default is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255). A higher absorption value makes the medium darker, due to more of the light being absorbed as it passes through the medium.

• Scattering coefficient - The probability density (per meter in world space) of light being scattered from its current direction. The default is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255). A higher scattering value distributes more of the light throughout the medium.

• Directional bias - Influence of light direction on scattering. A value of 0 specifies isotropic scattering, 1 forward scattering, and −1 back scattering. The default is 0.

3. In the Appearances Library > Appearance functions folder, locate, and then drag and drop the Volume coefficient function on top of the Absorption coefficient parameter in the Appearance panel (shown below left). Then adjust the Tint parameter to R: 139; G: 179; B: 198 (shown below right). This creates a volume of water that contains the ship.

   

4. Click the Transparent link next to the Base Material parameter, and adjust the Transmission color to R: 189; G: 208; B: 231, as shown below:

   

5. At the top of the Appearance panel, click the Add volume link to return to the volume parameters. Set the Directional bias to 0.7. This lightens the scene, so the ship is visible inside the water:

   

6. In the Scene list, deselect the volume part and select the ship part. Locate the Metal — Scuffed oxidized steel Appearance in the Appearance library, right-click on the thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu (shown below left). In the Appearance panel, adjust the following parameters: Scale: X: 2 by Y: 2; Rust bump strength: 0.4; Rust amount: 0.1; Rust reflection roughness: 0.5; Reflection roughness: 1:

   

7. In the Scene list, deselect the ship part and select the light part. Locate the Spot light Appearance in the Appearance library, right-click on the thumbnail and select Assign from the context menu (shown below left). Zoom into the ship to view it from the bottom up. The light is illuminated but is very faint (shown below right):

   

   Spot light parameters are:

   

   • Emission color - Light color. This is rescaled such that it does not influence the luminous flux. The default is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255).

   • Flux - The total luminous flux (in lumen) the light emits. The default value is 500. It is generally required to increase this value, depending on the scene.

   • Scene unit size - Convert m to scene unit. For example, if 1 in the scene is one foot (US customary units), then the scene unit size is 0.30481. The default value is 1.

   • Spot exponent - The higher the exponent, the more focused the emission. The default value is 0.

   • Spread angle - Spread angle in RAD. Hard limit for the spot spread. The default value is 6.283.

   • Two sided emission - If enabled, emission occurs on the front and backside of the geometry. The default is disabled.

8. Set the Flux to 20000 and Scene unit size to 0.8. The light now emits a higher intensity light, and is diffuse and unfocused:

   

9. To focus the light to a narrower beam, set the Spot exponent to 15 and Spread angle to 2.5:

   

10. To have the light color blend in with the water, alter the Emission color to R: 157; G: 189; B: 226. Bear in mind that any of these parameters can be adjusted to different specifications. This is one variation on the scene render:

    

This is a simple way to add a light emission to any part in the scene:

1. In a Part Studio or Assembly, create a part used as a light source and add some walls around the part. In this example, a light bulb is modeled, with some side walls and a floor:

   

2. Select the walls in the Scene list.

3. In the Appearance library, search for apply. Right-click on the Apply clear coat Appearance and click Assign from the context menu. This adds reflective surfaces off which the light emission reflects:

   

4. In the Scene list or graphics area, select the bulb's glass cover.

5. In the Appearance library, locate the Thin glass Appearance. Right-click on its thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu.

   In the example below, a metal Appearance is assigned to the screw base, and a copper Appearance to the bottom bulb connector. Finally, the lamp, lamp shade, and table are removed, to better showcase the bulb's emission.

6. In the Scene list, select the part used for the filament inside the bulb (shown in the left image below).

7. In the Appearances library, locate the Add emission Appearance. Right-click on its thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu (shown in the middle image below). The filament appears dark at first (shown in the right image below):

   

   Appearance options are:

   • Base material - The material to which the emission is added. The default is diffuse.

   • Intensity - The brightness of the light source. The default value is 1000.

   • Color - The light emission color. The default is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255).

   • Unit for emission - The physical unit of "Intensity". The default is Lumen m2. Other options are Lumen, Candela, and Nit.

   • Unit scale - The modeling unit to meter conversion factor. The default value is 100.

8. In the Appearance panel, adjust the emission Intensity upward. Keep in mind this value depends largely on the scene dimensions. For reference, the dimensions of the room created below are 2.43 m length by .97 m wide by .84 m height. The Intensity value is set to 10000000. This creates an emissive white light:

   

9. Adjust the color to control the warmth or coolness of the light emission. The following example displays how the light emission changes when a new color is selected:

   

10. Zoom into the bulb, decrease the intensity, and change the color to blue to create the emission shown below:

    

11. The final example shows how the light bulb is used in a completed scene, with the addition of a lamp and table. Note how the shade over the bulb redirects the light emission upward and downward, and dulls the emissions where the shade is set between the light source and the walls:

    

Similar to the Add emission appearance, the Add thermal emission appearance adds light to a modeled part, surface, or face. However, the light source is meant to act as a source of thermal heat. The Color parameter is replaced by a Temperature parameter, which is adjusted to define the type of heat source.

1. Once the part is modeled, create a scene from the Part Studio or Assembly. The example used here is a Valve assembly:

   

2. Select the part in the Scene list or graphics area. This is the part used as the thermal emission origin. In the example below, the gasket is used as the emission source:

   

3. In the Appearances library, locate the Add thermal emission Appearance. Right-click on its thumbnail and click Assign from the context menu:

   

4. In the Appearance panel, adjust the Intensity upward. For this scene, the Intensity is set to 10000000. Then set the Temperature to 2000. This creates an orange-colored thermal emission:

   

5. Setting the Temperature value to 65000 changes the emission color to blue, which is used, for example, to indicate heat from a hydrocarbon source, such as butane or propane gas:

   

As a general guideline, values from 0 to 3500 are in the red-orange-yellow range, while numbers from 10000 upward are in the blue range. The default value of 6500 emits a white color.

IES light profiles describe the distribution of light from a lamp. This data is provided by many manufacturers so that designers can realistically render light within a room.

An example of several IES profiles.

Render Studio provides the ability to add an IES light profile to a light source.

1. Select the part or face in the Scene list or graphics area.

2. Search the Appearances library for Photometric. Right-click on the Photometric light thumbnail, and click Assign from the context menu. The example below is a living room with a very dark environment:

   

3. In the Appearance panel > Distribution submenu, click the IES file (downlight.ies). This opens the Select light profile dialog.

   

4. Do one of the following: 

   1. Select an IES file from the Current document

   2. Click Other documents to locate an IES file in another Onshape document

   3. Click the Import link at the bottom of the dialog to locate an IES file from your computer. When selected, click the Open button:

      

      Once the notification indicates the upload is complete, you will not yet see the image in the Select image dialog. This is because the Render Studio scene is a snapshot of the part, Part Studio, or Assembly at the time of import, and this image is brought into the Onshape document post-import. A new version is now required, in order to update the scene. Click the Create a version in [Document name] link in the Select image dialog:

      

      The Create version dialog opens. Enter the version information and click the Create button.

If you don't see the Create version link in the Select light profile dialog, click the Create version button () on the Document panel to open the Create version dialog. Create the new version. Close and reopen the Select light profile dialog. The imported image should now be available.

See Importing files for more information about uploading files.

5. Once the new version is created, the IES file is located in the Select light profile. Click it to select it:

   

6. Once selected, the file is loaded into the IES file field:

   

7. Edit the parameters in the Appearance panel submenus. For example, alter the Tint to change the light color, and increase the intensity of the light by adjusting the Lumens or multiplier. In the examples below, the IES profiles are applied to the recessed lights in the living room ceiling:

   

Below are two variations on the lighting. The first image uses an IES profile with a wider emission spread than the example above, while the second image uses an IES profile that emits a halo surrounding the bulbs. The Emission color is set to blue:

For a collection of free IES profiles, visit https://ieslibrary.com/en/home

The Display screen is a very specific type of appearance used to replicate an image on a television, computer, or other digital screen. Options are:

• Image - Opens the Select image dialog, where you can locate an image to be mapped onto the display.

• Repeat image - If enabled, the image repeats across the UV coordinates. If disabled, a single instance of the image displays across the UV coordinates. The default is enabled.

• Intensity - The display emission intensity. The default value is 40. Note that when applying this appearance, the light source will most likely be black. Increasing the intensity to a higher value should yield a sufficient intensity to view the emission. This depends on scene size.

• Screen roughness - Higher roughness values lead to bigger highlights and blurrier reflections. The default value is 0.2.

• Translate - Controls the position of the image along the x and y axes.

• Rotate - The Rotation angle of the image in degrees.

• Scale - Scales the image size along the x and y axes. Larger numbers increase the size. Smaller numbers decrease the size.

Display screen light example (applied to the front face of the wall screen)
Intensity: 200000

The following lights all use the same base Light source emitter parameters. Only the Color temperature value varies:

• Color temperature - Color temperature, in Kelvin.

• Lumens (flux) - The luminous flux, in lumens, the light emits. The default value is 1000.

• Two-sided emission - If true, emission happens on the front and back sides of the geometry. The default is disabled.

1900k candle Color temperature: 1900.000	7000k cool white Color temperature: 7000.000	5000k fluorescent Color temperature: 5000.000
3000k halogen Color temperature: 3000.000	4000k natural white Color temperature: 4000.000	2700k warm white Color temperature: 2700.000

The following are Diffuse area light options:

Diffuse area light:

• Flux - The luminous flux (in lumen) the light emits in total. The default value is 500.

• Scene unit size - Convert meter to scene unit. Examples: 1 in the scene is one foot: Scene unit size = 0.30481.0 in the scene is a centimeter: Scene unit size = 0.01.

• Emission color - The color of the light. This is rescaled such that it does not influence the luminous flux. The default value is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255).

• Two-sided emission - If true, emission happens on the front and back sides of the geometry. The default is disabled.

The following are Photometric light options:

Photometric light:

• Tint - Additional tint color for emitted light (for example, for simulating gels). The default value is white (R: 255; G: 255; B: 255).

• Color temperature - Color temperature, in Kelvin. The default value is 6500.

• IES file - The IES light profile used to specify the light distribution. See Add a custom IES light profile for more information.

• Flip orientation - Reorients the light profiles up vector, which is oriented towards the y direction by default, towards the z direction. The default is enabled.

• Rotation - Rotates the distribution around the light profiles up vector. The default is disabled.

• Lumens or multiplier - Light intensity. If Absolute Profile is disabled, then this is the lumen output of the light. If enabled, then this is a multiplier applied to the native light profile intensity. The default value is 2000.

• Absolute profile - Controls whether the intensity is lumen output of the light (disabled) or multiplies the native light output (enabled). The default is disabled.

• Intensity is power - If enabled, the intensity is interpreted as power. Consequently, the output is divided by the area of the light source to yield radiance. That means the scene brightness stays about the same if the light source surface area is enlarged. The default is enabled.

• Front emission only - Disables emission on the backface of an area light. This is required for cylindrical lights to prevent illumination from leaking out the open cylinder caps. Technically, this should also be set for spherical lights, even though these lights will not leak. The default is disabled.

• Additional emission - Used to add a basic Lambertian emission to the light. Useful for avoiding dark light sources when viewed directly. The default value is 0.

Photometric light example
Lumens or multiplier: 20000; Flip orientation: disabled