November 8 2016

Weathered and Aged Materials in Lumion 7

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Until now, making material look weathered or aged required an artist to paint textures by hand. Lumion 7 makes this painstaking process a relic of the past. Now, you can create imperfections, impart authenticity, and age materials with a simple click of the mouse.

Remove the look and feel of computer graphics by adding rust to steel, wear and tear on wood, or dirt and moss on stones. The resulting realism makes materials look like they’ve always been there, adding an aesthetically appealing depth of authenticity. 

This blog shows some of the things you can do with the impressive new weathering feature in Lumion.

Above: Fence rendered in Lumion 7 with rusting (aged iron) added.

You can use it on almost any material to impart a sense of authenticity to it. Fake things suddenly seem real. Materials with a CG look become believable.

Above: Subtle use of ageing (weathering effect ) applied to leather sofa

Above: Extreme ageing (weathering effect ) applied to the same leather sofa model, with different coloring

The tutorial below demonstrates how easy it is to adjust the weathering settings and produce striking changes to the materials.

Above: Tutorial explaining how to adjust weathering settings

There are two main ways to apply weathering and ageing in Lumion. The above tutorial shows how to use the weathering slider under the weathering tab in the materials editor. 

Above: Ageing effect on stone statue

The second way to apply the weathering effect is even simpler than the first. Just choose from one of the presets in the Aged category under the Nature tab in the materials editor. The tutorial below shows you how to find and use this.

Above: Tutorial explains Aged material presets 

The image below shows the weathering effect applied to a wooden table. You can achieve this easily, either using an aged wood preset or by applying a dark wood material to the table and then adjsting the weathering slider. The aged effect imparts a new quality to the material and makes the table look like it belongs where it is. It also removes the CG feel of the table, making it look more authentic and believable.

For more information about Lumion 7 features read more here.