IRender nXt allows additional reflection settings - such as allowing you to set both the reflection and sharpness or blurriness of the reflection.

• See: Advanced Reflection Properties

Animation or your IRender nXt image is created by rendering scenes, moving the camera, and rendering the next frame.

• See: Animation

Arroway Textures is a manufacturer of high-res textures, which are used in many areas of digital visualization, e.g. architecture, design and art.

Arroway has made about 100 low-res versions of their textures available to IRender nXt users.

• See: Arroway Textures

Auto Reflection makes materials with words like metal or plastic in them reflective.

• See: Auto Reflection

Batch Rendering is a rendering mode which exports the model to a file, and then renders the file in a separate process.

It has 3 main uses and benefits.

1. Large Models - Models which are too large to render directly from SketchUp can be rendered in batch mode.
2. Animation - Batch mode is used for animation, because animations need to load and reload the model when there are layer changes, and because animations typically take a long time to render.
3. Network Rendering - The entire folder containing the rendering information and files can be accessed across a network, or copied to a thumb drive or another machine and used to render the model.

• See: Batch Rendering

produces focused light and shadow effects from light passing through a transparent object.

• See: Caustics

Clay Rendering is used to show the details of your model without adding colors or textures. This feature renders the SketchUp model in black and white.

• See: Clay Rendering

Create PDF is a feature to create an interactive 3D PDF Presentation using your model and your Rendered Image.

Both the 3D Model and the Rendered Image are displayed on the first page of the PDF file, with a set of buttons for the user to choose between the two.

How to use it

1. Render your model, and use the Save Image icon on the toolbar to load the Save Image Wizard.
2. Select Create PDF from the bottom of the Wizard.
3. Enter the PDF settings on the next dialog.

• See: Create 3D PDF

a special transparent face placed over an exterior opening or window which causes exterior light to be processed better.

The left half image on the left has a normal (non-Daylight Portal) opening. It took hundreds of passes to resolve properly. The right half has openings marked as Daylight Portals. The lighting looked this good after just a few passes.

• See: Daylight Portals

Depth of Field and Focal Distance settings create renderings with areas in sharp focus and areas out of focus.

Depth Blur can also be defined as a Post-Processing technique in the nXt Image Editor .

• See also: Depth Blur
• See: Depth of Field

Ground Cover - define Ground Cover for use on the ground or on topiary bushes.

• See: Ground Cover

Edge Highlighting displays the edges of faces while rendering . This is especially valuable with scenes which contain cabinets or furniture where edge highlighting is necessary to bring out the detail of the components.

In IRender nXt edge highlighting is turned on in the Advanced Settings dialog.

Videos and Tutorials

• Edge Lines Video
• See: Edge Highlighting

An additional license for your laptop is included with IRender nXt at no additional charge.

• See: Laptop Seat

Image Filters can be used to sharpen your rendered image or apply other standard filters.

• See: Image Filters

Lighting Channels is an important new feature of IRender nXt which lets you quickly adjust light sources. By assigning channels to sun, sky, and groups of lights, you can quickly adjust the intensity of each channel with a slidebar and immediately see the effect on the final rendering.

You can quickly adjust the intensity of each channel with a slide bar and immediately see the effect on the final rendering. This will saves time both in determining the relative intensities to use for light sources and in fine tuning the final image before publication.

In Version 3.5, Lighting Channels are integrated into the Batch Renderer, as well as used separately with the nXt Image Editor.

Videos and Tutorials

• Integrated Lighting Channels Video
• Using Lighting Channels with IRender nXt Video
• Balanced Lighting Tutorial
• See: Lighting Channels

Material Channels are used to adjust the color or luminance of pixels rendered from a material after rendering.

Videos and Tutorials

• Material Channels Video
• See: Material Channels

Applies reflection and transparency directly to SketchUp materials. Changes are made easily with a slider bar.

IRender nXt sets multiple settings for a single material - such a setting both transparency and index of refraction for glass materials.

• See: Material Wizard

The nXt Image Editor is used for Post-Processing images after the rendering has been completed.

• See: nXt Image Editor

There are more than 5,000 materials in the nXt Material library.

You can select any material from the library and place it on a SketchUp face to create a similar SketchUp material.

In many cases the SketchUp material is an approximation of the full fractal material which will be created when you render the model.

Download the Libraries and install them on your computer.

• See: nXt Material Libraries

About 30 new RpTreeMaker plants.

The are in addition to the more than 500 plants in the old AR3/AR4 plants which also work with IRender nXt.

These are 'fractal' plants - meaning that detail is relative to the resolution of your image. Each plant is generated differently which automatically creates a realistic effect when using multiple instances of the same plant.

Create SketchUp components to represent IRender nXt plants. These are then automatically rendered as 'fractal' plants.

These plants are also available from the 3D Warehouse: IRender Plants

• See: nXt Plant libraries

set special lighting, transparency and rendering properties of groups, components and faces.

Object Properties can be used to make any face or object act as a light source, or to set other special properties.

• See: Object Properties

nXt Path Tracer is a new rendering engine for IRender nXt.

You can enable the Path Tracer rendering engine on the Render Setup Tab

• Comparison to nXt Packet Mode

nXt Packet Mode processes packets of rays, while nXt Path Tracer processes individual light paths.

Because of some shortcuts, such as Daylight Portals, and other aspects of the rendering process, nXt Packet Mode create a usable image in fewer passes. nXt Path Tracer often requires more passes before the image gets smooth.

• See: Path Tracer

IRender nXt includes several post processing features to make changes to your rendered image without the need of using other third party software.

These are all combined into the Post Processing Wizard.

See: Post Processing

• See: Post Processing Wizard

You can use a, (non panoramic), HDRi image as a background.

Image Adjustments

If you use a Planar HDRi background with the Path Tracer , you can adjust its brightness as an additional lighting channel after rendering. (This is not working with the standard renderer yet)

• See: [[]]
• See: Planar HDRi Backgrounds

can be used to give your material (with or without textures) a different appearance.

• See: Procedural Bump Maps

Post Processing to set haze and fog effects.

These effects can be modified after the rendering is completed.

• See: Real Time Haze

Set options and edit materials directly from the rendering window.

Double click on a material in the rendered image to edit the material.

Reload modified materials back into SketchUp model.

• See: Batch Material Editor

Place RPC components in your SketchUp model which automatically render as RPC objects.

• See: RPC Objects

You can use SketchUp Section Planes to cut sections through your IRender nXt model.

• See: Section Planes

Volumetric Fog is a feature in IRender nXt incorporate the effects of light reflecting from or being blocked by fog or haze.

How to use it

1. Download the latest version of IRender nXt
2. Use Fog Setup Tab to setup parameters
3. See: Volumetric Fog for examples and advice on settings.

• See: Volumetric Fog

Watermarks - are used to place logos, foregrounds images, or texture maps in front of your rendering.

• See: Watermarks

can be used to give your material (with or without textures) a look and feel which emulates water.

• See: Water Materials