In this article by Ciro Cardoso, author of the book Mastering Lumion 3D, we will cover the following topics:

• The 3D models available
• Placing content
• Selecting different objects

This article is the intermediate point of our project because we will cover everything we need to know to fully master Lumion’s models. The bullet points provide a reasonable idea of what we will see, and by the end of this article, you will be able to think ahead and improve your workflow with what Lumion provides.

(For more resources related to this topic, see here.)

Lumion models – a quick overview

You have to keep in mind that different versions of Lumion dictate what models are accessible. There is a substantial difference between Lumion and Lumion Pro, but even if you don’t have Lumion Pro, there are some places where we can get free and paid 3D models.

Different categories and what we can find

Let’s have a look at what is available and for this, we have to open the Objects menu that will give us access to eight libraries, but we only need five of them, as shown in the following screenshot:

Each button represents a library where we can find different categories. The following list can give an overview of what each library contains:

• The Nature library: Inside this library, we can find several species of trees from Africa, Europe, and tropical trees, as well as grass, plants, flowers, cactus, and rocks.
• The Transport library: Here, we can find all forms of transport, from public transport to air balloons.
• The Indoor library: This is an important library that could be checked before modeling anything for interiors. We have the assorted objects, decoration items, electronics, appliances, food and drink, kitchen tools, interior lighting, taps, chairs and sofas, cabinets, tables, and utilities.
• The People and animals library: Here, we have people from different ethnic groups, 2D people, and animals. Please keep in mind that in this library, we have five types of objects: idle, walking, static, 2D cutout, and silhouettes.
• The Outdoor library: Here, we have elements to populate exterior scenes with objects found in a normal daily life. Some of them can actually add interesting details to a scene making it look more believable.

These are the libraries that we will use to start populating the scene, but we still have to point out some differences between them, because not every model is 3D and not every model is static or idle. This knowledge helps us understand and make the decision of choosing the model that is appropriate for your scene.

Idle, animated, and other 3D models

As mentioned earlier, there are different types of models available in Lumion. We have 3D and 2D models and silhouettes, but the best way to comprehend the difference is by placing them in your scene and seeing how they behave.

Let’s start by clicking on the People and Animals button to activate this library, but then we have to select the Change object button to open the library, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

This button opens the library and we can start by selecting the Men-3D tab and select the first 3D model called Man_African_0001_Idle. Select this model or any 3D model with the idle suffix, and we are back to the Build mode where we have to click on the left mouse button to place the 3D model. Repeat the same step for:

• Man_African_0001_Walk under the Men-3D tab
• Any model from the People – 2D – High Detail tab
• Any model from the People – 3D – Silhouettes tab
• Any model from the People – 2D – Silhouettes tab

The idea is having something like this in your scene:

 

After placing these models, it is easy to understand the difference between each one. Perhaps the most significant aspect we have to point out is the different results we will get by using an idle or walk model. Both of the 3D models are animated as you can confirm while placing them, but with a walk 3D model, we can later animate them to walk around the scene. On the other hand, the idle 3D model is static, but we still have some loop animations that give life to the 3D model.

An additional aspect is that the 2D models are permanently facing the camera and unfortunately, there is no way to switch off this option, but we can change the color of the 2D model if necessary.

So, now that we know what is available, what is the next step? Start placing models and populate the entire scene with life, but let’s have a look at some key points that will help you improve the workflow.

Placing and controlling 3D models in Lumion

Where do we start? Well, this is something entirely personal, although it is a good idea to start working with bigger 3D models and then gradually moving down until the final 3D models are just minor details and touches to transform the scene into a professional project. If we focus our attention only in one section, the problem may be a lack of time to add the same quality to other areas in the scene.

Placing a 3D model from Lumion’s library

The process of placing a 3D model is simple, as we can see from the following composition of images:

 

We will start by clicking on the Objects menu and choosing the correct library. As shown in the previous screenshot, we selected the Nature library and after that clicked on the Change object button to open the Nature library. Once in the library, we have to navigate to the desired tab and click on the thumbnail to select the 3D model. Back to the Build mode, we have to click on the left mouse button to place the 3D model.

When placing a 3D model, Lumion recognizes surfaces and avoids any intersection between the 3D model and the surface. Sometimes, this feature can be in our way and cause some difficulties to place a 3D model. To bypass this problem, press and hold the G key, and then click on the left mouse button to place the 3D model in the terrain.

Great! We placed the first Lumion model in the scene. One model is placed and how many more do we need to place? It depends on what project you have, and if it is something small like the example shown in this book, placing 3D models is not a big issue. However, when working on large projects, placing the 3D models can be a massive and repetitive task, but don’t forget that Lumion is a user-friendly application and provides tools that help with repetitive tasks.

Placing multiple copies with one click

Some 3D models may require several copies to create a more believable look, such as trees, bushes, flowers, and other elements. Imagine that you had to place tons of copies of the same model one by one. As mentioned, Lumion has some shortcuts that will help you save time and thereby not lose patience. What do we have to do? Before placing a 3D model, press and hold the Ctrl key, and then click on the left mouse button to place 10 copies of the 3D model selected, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

However, there is a slight downside to this technique as you probably must have noticed from the previous screenshot. The disadvantage is that we don’t have control over the area where the 3D models are scattered and the distance between them; some of the 3D models may intersect with each other. With smaller 3D models, this technique is useful because the 3D models tend not to be far from each other, and with bigger 3D models, we can use the Ctrl key to place the 10 copies and then adjust accordingly.

Another shortcut that is worth keeping in mind is the Z key. If you press and hold the Z key and then click to place the 3D model and then click again, the next 3D model will have a different size. Consequently, a powerful combination is Ctrl + Z + the left mouse button to place 10 copies with different sizes, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

Why is this useful? This is a fair question. The best answer is to take some time to look away from the screen to outside and observe that we are surrounded by randomness. We hardly could find two trees with the same size and shape, even from the same species. Our eyes are a perfect mechanism to spot things that look repetitive.

However, we don’t have the time and possibilities to create each tree different from the other, but we can cheat. Cheating is OK in 3D because it helps us gain time to concentrate our attention in other areas equally important to accomplish the perfect image still or movie. One way of cheating is by using the same tree, but changing the rotation, scale, and color. With the combination of Ctrl + Z + the left mouse button, we have the opportunity to at least change the scale of each copy placed in the scene.

If you look at the previous screenshot, the plants presented when arranged and placed in the correct location will look much more natural than using the same scale for the 3D model. However, how can we manipulate and control the 3D models placed in the scene?

Tweaking the 3D models

To place any model from Lumion’s library, we have to use the left mouse button and if, instead of release, we hold the left mouse button and drag it, it is possible to change the location where the 3D model is going to be placed, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

However, we need more control than this and the previous screenshot also shows where we can find the tools to move, scale, rotate, and change the height of the 3D model. The tools and shortcuts we use for imported 3D models are precisely the same for Lumion’s native 3D models.

As a quick reminder, here is the list of the shortcuts to tweak the position, scale, and rotation of the 3D model:

• M: Move the 3D model
• L: Scale the 3D model
• R: Rotate the 3D model heading
• P: Rotate the 3D model pitch
• B: Rotate the 3D model bank
• H: Change the heights

However, there is an aspect that needs to be kept in mind all the time to tweak and control the 3D models in a project.

This is something that is crucial and if you are new to Lumion, it is perfectly normal that on the first few tries, you will get frustrated because you cannot select the 3D model. This may sound annoying, but in truth, this is a way Lumion helps us in not becoming overweight and confused when trying to select a 3D model by providing a narrow control.

With this in mind, the next section will show a few tricks and techniques that are useful with Lumion’s models and techniques. This will help to improve the way we work with the 3D models and fully master this stage in the production.

The remarkable Context menu

We can call it remarkable because this menu gives us the full control and shortcuts to rearrange the 3D models present in the scene. This menu is divided into two very distinct sections: the Selection and Transformation submenus, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

How can these menus be useful to your project? Let’s start with the Selection submenu and when we select it the following options appear:

 

However, looking at these options doesn’t help you understand how they can be so useful and powerful. Let’s check how they work.

Selection – library

Working with the Nature library has some challenges and one of them is trying to identify a tree or other plant that we already placed in the scene. This can be really difficult, in particular when there are other models very similar to the one we are looking for. The Library… option found under the Selection submenu can give a hand with this task and will make your life easy. Locate the 3D model you want and using the Context menu, click on the Selection submenu. Select the Library… option and another two options appear. We need to choose the Select in library option and automatically the Change object button changes to the 3D model, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

Sometimes, when we click on the Change object button to access the library, we have to select each tab to find where the 3D model is, but once we have the correct tab, it is easy to recognize the 3D model because of the halo around the thumbnail.

However, there was another option called Replace with library selection. Now, this is when you start to see the full potential of Lumion and how these options will greatly improve the speed of your workflow.

Picking the example on the previous screenshot, we can see that the plant used is called FicusElastica_001. Then, we realized that this is the wrong 3D model, but on the other hand, the location is correct and we don’t want to change the location even a few millimeters. The Replace with library selection option is our salvation; so, let’s see how we can use it.

The first thing to do is to open the Nature library and select the correct 3D model, which in this case will be FicusElastica_003. After selecting this 3D model, we are back to the Build mode, but instead of placing the 3D model, we will select the Context menu and pick the 3D model that needs to be replaced. Then, click on the Selection submenu, next the Library… option and then click on the Replace with library selection button, as exemplified on the next screenshot:

 

In addition to this fantastic feature, Lumion will keep not only the location, but also the rotation and scale of the previous 3D model. Can you imagine how easy it is to replace a species of a tree or another model in the scene if the client doesn’t like it? What about the other selection options? How can we use them?

Selection – all the Selection options

The options using which we have access to the Selection submenu are simple, particularly, the ones related to deselecting a 3D model. The Selection option is another way where we can select a 3D model, but using the Ctrl key is much faster. However, there are two selection options that can be used to select a wide range of 3D models or having a narrower control over what we select.

Let’s say that we totally forgot to use a layer for the 3D models we placed and again we can pick the example that we have been using with the FicusElastica_001 model. We need to place all the FicusElastica_001 models inside a layer, but we have several models scattered around the scene. One way to tackle this issue is by selecting each model and then moving these to a new layer. The smart way is by using the Select All Similar option because when we use this option all the FicusElastica_001 models are selected, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

In this case, we only have two copies of the FicusElastica_001 model, but it is easy to understand how powerful this option can be and how easy it is to select a certain amount of 3D models in seconds. To know that a 3D model is selected, a blue wire box is drawn around the 3D model.

Eventually, we will realize that we need to copy every single tree, plant, flower, and rock from one point to another. This is a massive task to be accomplished using only the normal selection technique. If you think for a second all of these models are part of the same library, the Nature library. So, instead of using the Select All Similar option, we will use the Select All Similar Category option, as shown in the following screenshot:

 

As you can see in the previous screenshot, every single 3D model from the Nature library was selected and ready to be controlled in the way we need and want. To deselect the 3D models, we can make use of the Deselect All option, but a quicker way is by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and clicking wherever you want. However, what if we need to select models from different categories?

Selecting different categories

Selecting different categories is not something that we can find in the Context menu, but since we are talking about selecting 3D models, you may find this trick useful. Have a closer look at the following screenshot:

 

In the previous screenshot, we can see models from three different categories: Indoor, People and Animals, and Outdoor. How is that possible? It is easier than you think. Start by selecting the models found in the Indoor category. The next step is selecting the People and Animals category, and by pressing and holding the Ctrl key, select the 3D models you want in this category. Repeat the same step for as many categories as you like, but remember that you need to select individual models and not draw a selection rectangle. This principle also works if we select the models with the Context menu.

Another option to quickly select and transform a 3D model is by pressing the F12 key. When we do this, every 3D model becomes available to be selected and we can change the location, rotation, and the height of the 3D model.

Now that we have the 3D models selected, what can we do with them? Let’s explore the marvelous Transformation submenu.

Summary

In this article, we saw how to place and select 3D objects using different keys. We also saw how to create your own 3D world using different tools and techniques.

Resources for Article:

 Further resources on this subject:

• Integrating Direct3D with XAML and Windows 8.1 [article]
• Diving Straight into Photographic Rendering [article]
• What is Lumion? [article]

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