Optimize your 3D model for faster Lumion performance

If you want to speed up your Lumion performance, this article is for you, let’s follow these helpful, 3D model optimization tips to reduce the size of your models and improve your real-time rendering experience in Lumion.

Imagine you created an incredibly detailed 3D model of your latest design. The model includes complex, intricate details such as beautiful, carefully selected nature objects and highly realistic materials and textures. These details have made the model quite heavy and, while Lumion is certainly capable of handling large models with ease, sometimes the model can become so huge that it ends up slowing down the performance in Lumion’s real-time editor. 

One possibility is to optimize your 3D model by implementing efficient modeling techniques or reducing the model’s polygon count, all without negatively impacting the visual quality of your model.

In this blog post, we’ll take you through a crash course on 3D model optimization and how you can reduce the size of your 3D models for faster performance in Lumion. Please note that this article focuses on SketchUp, Revit and ArchiCAD models, though some of the tips you’ll learn here can apply to your modeling software.

All 3D objects, also known as 3D models, are built up of polygons. These are triangular surfaces with three points (also known as vertices or 3D points), and in every 3D object, these polygons contain certain information associated with it, such as the texture, light and shadow mapping, and more.

Typically, 3D objects with a higher polygon count will look better (extrusions, beveled edges, chamfer edges, etc), but these high-detail models will demand more performance from your computer. Furthermore, inefficient 3D object building can lead to huge polygon counts for a little improvement in detail. For instance, one tree can include 2,000 polygons while another, similar-looking tree can contain over 20,000 polygons (if it is inefficiently built). If these trees are just background items, then you may be creating a very heavy scene in Lumion, unnecessarily.

Here is an example of how polygons are used in 3D objects, and how they can vary widely:

When all is said and done, the trick when optimizing a 3D model is to reduce polygon count without impacting the overall look and accuracy of the model. You should try to reach a middle ground, balancing the quality of your model and its size.

One tip to quickly improve your Lumion performance is to import your models separately and assign them to layers in Lumion.

For instance, instead of importing the entire model from SketchUp (with furniture, curtains and other objects), you can import the building structure and rock objects separately and assign them to layers in Lumion’s editor.

By putting these models into layers, you can control when they appear in the editor. That way, if you’re only working on the building, you can temporarily hide the layer with the terrain so that you can have better performance when working on the building. In the GIF above, you can see an increase in the model size (and the performance requirements of your hardware) when turning on the layer containing the imported objects and terrain.

When importing very large (more than 20 MB) models from external 3D CAD software, SketchUp recommends that you run the model through a poly reducer. Within SketchUp, there are different types of plugins and third-party software to reduce a model’s polygon count. One extension that comes with an array of useful organic modeling tools, including a polygon reducer, is the Artisan extension for SketchUp.

With the Artisan plugin ($39 for a permanent, single-seat license), you can take advantage of multiple tools that allow you to subdivide and smooth your model, paint, adjust vertices, and reduce polygons.

Another plugin that came as a suggestion from SketchUp is Skimp, a SketchUp polygon reducer ($65 per year for a standard license). By downloading and installing Skimp, you can easily reduce the number of faces and polygons in your model while maintaining the visual appearance.

Some other SketchUp model optimization tips include:

• Use simple textures
• Hide geometry

Within Revit, there are several helpful resources about reducing polygon count and optimizing your 3D model before exporting it for rendering in Lumion. 

To limit the model geometry before exporting, there are three ways to go about it, including:

Managing the visibility of views

Turn off the visibility of graphics and for categories of elements in the view. This can mean turning off interior elements of a building or the surrounding landscape topography, for instance.

Exporting section boxes

By using the section box tool for the 3D view, you can tell Revit to only export items within the section box. This can be particularly helpful for large models.

Specifying the detail level of your model with LiveSync

Another way to influence the model’s geometry is through the Lumion LiveSync for Revit plugin. Instead of setting up a live connection, you can use LiveSync to determine the level of detail in your model before exporting it as a Collada (.DAE) file.

By clicking on “Export” button in the LiveSync Add-In, you will see an “Export to Lumion” box with options such as “Insertion Point,” “Surface Smoothing” and a few others.

So far, we’ve discussed model optimization tips for SketchUp and Revit. The next and final modeling software we’ll look at in this post is ArchiCAD.

As a rule-of-thumb, you’ll want to limit the amount of 3D geometry in your ArchiCAD design by following these four tips:

• Use Lumion trees as opposed to ArchiCAD trees
• Use Lumion objects as opposed to imported objects
• Try to not multiply layouts. Multiplying one layout with different variations can result in a massive, high-poly model.
• Avoid the Morph Smoothing function, if possible.

To see how many polygons are in your ArchiCAD model, you can download the Polygon Counting Tool add-on. The Polygon Counting Tool can help you control the number of 3D polygons in your model and it can also display the number of 3D polygons grouped by element types (walls, slabs, doors, windows, objects, etc.).

After downloading and installing this add-on, you can change the level of detail (LOD) of certain library parts in the project. The different LOD options include detailed, simple, custom and off.

One final tip with ArchiCAD model optimization involves placing grass on a large Mesh. By using smaller meshes, or cutting a large mesh into smaller meshes, you can improve performance in Lumion.

No matter the 3D modeling software that you use, there are always some tricks you can use to optimize the size of your model for better performance in Lumion. And as always, it’s important to make sure that you have the right hardware for the best experience in Lumion. Or a great option you can have – iRender – cloud rendering service for Lumion. To have more details about Lumion rendering packages at iRender, you can have a loot at this post.

With the benefits iRender gives you as well as the configuration that is very suitable for every Lumion version, do not hesitate to use the service at iRender to have a great experience with your rendering  time. Register for an account today to experience our service. Or contact us via WhatsApp: (+84) 912 515 500/ email [email protected] for advice and support.

iRender – Happy Rendering!

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