1. Textures
1.1: Color Map slot: This texture slot allows you to add your own Color Map (Diffuse/Albedo) texture to your model. A Color Map texture can include a so-called Alpha Channel which can be used for a variety of purposes. Please see section 6.5 below for more information.
You can also assign an .MP4 video file to the Color Map slot. This allows you to display animated textures for a variety of purposes, for example for a TV screen or a video wall. Click on the link below for more information:
- Knowledge Base: How do you add a Video Texture to a TV?
Please note that textures with the yellow warning icon cannot be copied or saved to a material file as they were assigned to the model outside Lumion.
If you see the Color Map is colored red, even though your image is not red, please see this article for more information:
- Knowledge Base: Why has my material got a red tint?
1.2: Normal Map slot: This texture slot lets you add your own Normal Map texture to your model. Normal Maps add depth and better definition to the material.
Example of additional depth details from a Normal Map:
If your Normal Map contains an Alpha Channel, it will be used as a Gloss mask. This mask type supports 8 bits, i.e. all 256 grayscale tones in the Alpha Channel.
1.3: Create Normal Map: If you add a new Color Map texture to your material, Lumion will automatically create a Normal Map and a Gloss mask.
If you remove the existing Normal Map by clicking on the Remove Normal Map button, you can either click on the Normal Map slot to load a file of your own:
Or you can click on the Create Normal Map from Color Map button to get Lumion to automatically create a Normal Map and a Gloss mask based on the Color Map texture you are using:
1.4: Flip Normal Map direction: After Lumion has created a Normal Map based on your Color Map, you can invert the depth direction by clicking on this button:
Please see this article for more information on how to use the Normal Map Generator:
- Knowledge Base: How do you use the Normal Map generator?
1.5: Displacement Map slot: This texture type makes flat materials appear to be 3D dimensional.
A Displacement Map is a greyscale mask texture with 256 offset values ranging from black (0) through grey to white (255). The greyscale tones of the texture determine the offset of the surface. Areas with pure black values are not offset at all whereas areas with pure white values are offset the most.
The image should be divisible by 4. For example 2048, 1052.
And to avoid artifacts it is best that the image is the same resolution for width and height. A square. For example 2048x2048, 1052x1052.
You can import your own Displacement Maps in Lumion 10.3 and newer versions.
For the best performance, import textures only up to a maximum width/height of 4,000 pixels.
Materials with the 'D' icon in the Material Library include premade Displacement Maps:
2. Standard sliders
2.1: Colorization: Between 0 and 0.5, the Color Map is tinted more and more by the color in the color selector. Between 0.5 and 1, the texture of the Color Map is progressively replaced by the selected color.
2.2: Gloss: Change the Gloss slider value to sharpen or blur reflections.
If you use a Gloss mask in the Alpha Channel of the Normal Map (Click here for more information), slider value of 0.0 corresponds to no glossiness (very blurry reflections) and 1.0 corresponds to whatever the grayscale value of the Gloss mask is. Slider values above 1.0 will multiply the Gloss mask value by 1x to x2 (the result is capped at 2.0). If no Gloss mask is present, it assumes that the mask is 100% white (i.e. fully glossy at a slider value of 1.0-2.0).
2.3: Reflectivity: Reflection amount. Between 1.0 and 2.0, the material switches to metallic reflections which will tint the reflections with the material color.
If you use a Reflectivity mask in the Alpha Channel of the Color Map (See section 6.5 below), slider values of 0.0 correspond to no reflections and 1.0 corresponds to whatever the grayscale value of the Reflectivity mask is. Slider values above 1.0 will multiply the Reflectivity mask value by 1x to x2 (the result is capped at 2.0). The closer to 2.0 this slider value is, the more it will look like a clean mirror (assuming the Gloss slider is set to a high value).
2.4: Relief: Material roughness - provided that the material uses a Normal Map.
2.5: Displacement: If the material uses a Displacement Map, the Displacement slider will modify the intensity of the 3D effect:
2.6: Map Scale: Material size.
- If you set the Map Scale slider to 0, the material will use imported texture coordinates from your 3D modelling application (Imported Texture Placement).
- If you set the Map Scale slider to more than 0, the material will switch to box mapping with automatically applied texture placement.
- If you use a texture with a square shape (i.e. not rectangular) and you set the Map Scale slider to 1.0, the texture will cover exactly 1x1 meter on the model (assuming the model has not been scaled up or down).
3. Expanded Settings: Position tab
3.1: X/Y/Z Offset: Adjust these sliders to change the position of the Color Map and Normal Map. This is only possible when the Scale slider value is above 0.
4. Expanded Settings: Orientation tab
4.1: Heading/Pitch/Bank: Adjust these sliders to change the orientation of the Color Map and Normal Map. This is only possible when the Scale slider value is above 0.
5. Expanded Settings: Transparency tab
5.1: Waxiness: Adjust this slider to change the waxiness of the material. The Waxiness function only works with sun light. Artificial light sources will not work. This is a known technical constraint. Just like in real life, bright materials will allow more light through than dark materials (that absorb the light), so black materials will not seem to have any effect, even when the Waxiness slider is set to the maximum amount.
Example of Waxiness:
5.2: Transparency: Adjust this slider to change the transparency of the model.
If you use a Transparency mask in the Alpha Channel of the Color Map (See section 6.5 below), slider values of 0.0 corresponds to no transparency and 1.0 corresponds to whatever the transparency value of the Transparency mask is.
The final transparency value is converted to different levels of transparency based on the Output Quality setting that you render your images/movies with:
- 5-star Output Quality: 16 levels of transparency.
- 4-star Output Quality: 8 levels of transparency.
- 3-star Output Quality: 4 levels of transparency.
6. Expanded Settings: Settings tab
6.1: Emissive: A low value brightens the material and a high value makes it glow. If you add an Emissive mask to the Alpha Channel of the Color Map texture, the Emissive slider will only affect the masked areas (See section 6.5 below).
6.2: Saturation: A low value desaturates the Color Map texture and a high value makes it more saturated.
6.3: Specular: This slider allows you to boost specular highlights in the material.
6.4: Flicker Reduction: You should only use this setting if overlapping surfaces flicker or disappear when you move the camera.
Avoid extreme Flicker Reduction values - you should only adjust it a little bit while holding down the Shift key and moving the mouse cursor left or right until the surface stops flickering.
The best method is to make sure that your surfaces are offset a bit in your 3D modeling application, so that the flickering is less likely to occur in the first place.
6.5: Texture Alpha: The three buttons let you specify whether the Alpha Channel in your Color Map is used as a Reflectivity mask, a Clip mask or as an Emissive mask.
By default, Lumion will set the second button - Color Map Alpha Clips Object - to on.
Please read the following articles to see how to use the Texture Alpha function and masks to make some parts of a material more or less reflective, transparent or emissive:
- Knowledge Base: How do you make some parts of a material more reflective?
- Knowledge Base: How do you make some parts of a material transparent?
- Knowledge Base: How do you make some parts of a material more emissive?
Example of Reflection mask:
Example of Transparency mask:
Example of Emissive mask:
7. Expanded Settings: Weathering tab
7.1: Weathering: This slider adds aging and weathering effects, dirt, worn edges, moss, and rust to materials. The first step is to select a Weathering Preset that matches the material you are using. Then set the slider value.
- Presets (from top left to bottom right):
Stone, Wood, Leather
Brushed steel, Silver/Aluminium, Gold
Iron, Copper, Plastic - A value of 0 means that the material is brand new.
- A value of 0.0 to 0.5 makes it look increasingly old.
- A value of 0.5 to 1.0 makes it increasingly dirty in addition to looking old.
Example of Weathering:
7.2: Edges: This slider smooths the edges of objects.
Example of Edges:
8. Expanded Settings: Foliage tab
8.1: Spread: Adjust this slider to change the distribution amount of the leaves.
If your Foliage leaves are distributed too thinly or unevenly on your surface, please read this article:
8.2: Leaves Size: Adjust this slider to change the size of the leaves.
8.3: Leaves Type: Adjust this slider to change the leaf type. There are 9 presets.
8.4: Spread Pattern Offset: Adjust this slider to randomize the distribution of the leaves on the model.
8.5: Ground Level: Adjust this slider if your model is above or below the Lumion Landscape. The slider value is in meters or feet depending on the chosen Units on the main Settings screen.
