… thank you @KeyShot3D for bringing the design community together at #CES2017 pic.twitter.com/QvPZWtctDN

— Kevin Bethune (@kevinbethune) January 6, 2017

The KeyShot crew was on site this year meeting with customers and handing out those slick, highly coveted KeyShot wristbands for Thursday night’s after party–the highlight of CES, in fact–focused on bringing the design community together in one place to catch up, drink up, network and learn what visual adventures each other is having in their respective roles.

This year’s invite-only party was the largest by far and we’re glad so many were able to come out. If you’re a regular at CES or plan on going in the future (you should!), be on the lookout for the invite in the week’s leading up to the shows in the future. And if you’re out there right now, enjoy the rest of the show! We’ll be around as well–you can contact jeff (at) luxion.com if you would like to meet up, have a drink and talk KeyShot.

KeyShot Light Material Types

1. Area Light Diffuse
2. Point Light Diffuse
3. Point Light IES Profile
4. Emissive

Light Material Type Properties

Area Light Diffuse

• Light is emitted from each surface of the geometry it’s applied to
• The geometry remains visible
• Use for soft lighting and shadows
• Area Lights emit light normal to each triangle on a surface (see tessellation if not familiar with triangles)
• Best used for local illumination
• Only Apply to Front of Geometry or back of geometry as needed, avoid enabling both checkboxes to increase efficiency
• Change Watt, Lumen or Lux to adjust brightness

Point Light Diffuse

• Light is emitted from a single point located at the center of the geometry it’s applied to
• The geometry disappears when a point light material is applied
• Use for sharper highlights and shadows
• Point Lights are omnidirectional, so they will emit light in every direction from a single point
• Best used for illuminating a whole scene (imagine a mini-sun)
• Change Watt or Lumen to adjust brightness

Point Light IES Profile

• Light is emitted from a single point in the center of the geometry it’s applied to therefore, very efficient
• The geometry disappears and is replaced with an IES cage
• IES Profiles are pre-made, standard light files with real-world color, shape and intensity information
• IES Profiles are directional, so they can be pointed by rotating the geometry they’re applied to
• Best used for mimicking manufactured light bulbs
• Change Multiplier to adjust brightness

Emissive Light

• Not suitable for illuminating a scene
• Best for low-intensity lights
• Light is emitted from each surface of the geometry it’s applied to. (Similar to Area Light Diffuse)
• Used for light-emitting materials such as bioluminescent materials, illuminated displays and small lights (phones, tablets, computers, glow-in-the-dark, televisions, LEDs)
• Emissive Lights emit light normal to each triangle on a surface
• Can be textured
• Only Apply to Front of Geometry or back of geometry as needed, avoid enabling both checkboxes to increase efficiency
• Can be hidden from camera
• Change Intensity to adjust brightness

Units

Scene and model units are important to consider when using physical lights. It’s best to use models that are built to scale. Further, you should refrain from scaling models after importing into KeyShot. When improper units are used, lights may appear too bright or not bright enough. Another consideration is distance. The further a physical light is from its target, the darker the target will be.

Watt

• A measure of power, not brightness
• An incandescent bulb that consumes 100 Watts emits about 1,600 Lumens

Lumen

• A measure of emitted light
• An LED light that emits 1,600 Lumens will consume about 18 Watts

Lux

• Lux, or Lumens per square meter, is a measure of light intensity that takes into account surface area
• A one-square meter surface emitting 1,000 Lux will appear brighter than a two-square meter surface emitting the same 1,000 Lux. The overall brightness is decreased as the light is spread across a larger surface.

Intensity

• IES Profiles already contain a specific brightness setting, which KeyShot represents with an intensity value of 1
• To increase or decrease brightness beyond the actual (in-real-life) brightness, adjust the intensity value

Multiplier

• IES Profiles already contain a very specific brightness setting, which KeyShot represents with a multiplier value of 1
• To increase or decrease the brightness beyond the actual (in-real-life) brightness, adjust the multiplier value

Best Practices for Using Physical Lights

KeyShot allows you to go beyond lighting with an HDRI and use physical lights to light more accurately and realistically. Be sure to remember these key points to ensure good results.

• Global Illumination must be enabled to see indirect light on all surfaces
• Ground Illumination must be enabled to see light on the ground if no ground plane is present
• Do not use Emissive materials to illuminate a scene
• Use IES profiles to simulate man-made lights
• Point lights are highly efficient (keep KeyShot running faster)
• Area lights efficiency depends on geometry it’s applied to
• Make sure models are made to scale with real-world units
• Use Lumens or Lux for brightness settings
• Avoid applying light to both front and back of geometry (Area & Emissive lights only)

Model: Line One Lamp – Dimensiva

More quick tips here: http://www.keyshot.com/learning/quicktips/
Download and try KeyShot here: http://www.keyshot.com/try/

Subscribe to our Quick Tips on iTunes to view them where ever you are, on the go, on your iPad or at your desktop.

In KeyShot, the Glass (Solid), Dielectric, and Liquid materials use Color Density or Transparency to control the intensity of the material color. While the color is defined using a simple RGB or HSV value, the Color Density/Transparency slider defines how far light must travel through the material for the full color to be realized. This slider is based on your scene/model units, so accurate geometry is extremely important.

In the sample below, a color chip has been modeled in millimeters and the Glass (Solid) material was applied. When the Color Density slider is set to 1, we see 100% of the color when the wall thickness is 1mm. Walls thicker than 1mm are darker, and if the wall was thinner than 1mm we would see less color. This slider can be confusing because a greater value (more distance) will lead to a less saturated color. A larger value will quickly become very dark since the effect is dependent on your geometry’s volume.

It can also be helpful to avoid black color values, since the darkening effect is exponential. Also note, that the Color Density setting works best with solid volumes, not simple surfaces. Here’s the sample scene of the example above for you to download and examine yourself.

Download Scene

More quick tips here: http://www.keyshot.com/learning/quicktips/
Download and try KeyShot here: http://www.keyshot.com/try/

Subscribe to our Quick Tips on iTunes to view them where ever you are, on the go, on your iPad or at your desktop.

When you start KeyShot, you will be prompted to update, or you can check manually for updates via the Help menu (Windows) or KeyShot menu (Mac).

• New import libraries
• Alias 2017 support
• Maya 2017 support
• Inventor 2017 support
• Siemens NX 11 support
• Solid Edge ST9 support
• SOLIDWORKS 2017 enhanced support
• KeyShot Network Rendering updates

The full KeyShot 6.3 press release is available here.

KeyShot Cyber Monday – One Week Sale

November 28th – December 2nd, 2016
Monday, 12:00 AM PST – Friday, 11:59 PM PST

20% OFF

All KeyShot Upgrades & Add-ons
+ FREE Upgrade to KeyShot 7

Use Code: CM2016

Online purchase only. EXCLUDES ALL EDU LICENSES AND KEYSHOT FOR ZBRUSH UPGRADES. All KeyShot 6 Purchases (excluding add-ons) on or after November 25th, 2016 will come with a free upgrade to KeyShot 7.

KeyShot Black Friday – One Day Sale

Friday, November 25th, 2016
12:00 AM PST – 11:59 PM PST

20% OFF

All New KeyShot Licenses
+ FREE Upgrade to KeyShot 7

Use Code: BF2016

Online purchase only. Excludes EDU products.All KeyShot 6 Purchases (excluding add-ons) on or after November 25th, 2016 will come with a free upgrade to KeyShot 7.

While not necessary for all renderings, caustics add a lot of realism to certain scenes containing glass, liquids, gems, and shiny metals. If you feel like caustics are tricky to set up, we’ve put together a scene and five important things to remember to achieve the best results possible.

5 Steps to Getting Great Caustics in KeyShot

There are five main elements to consider when trying to achieve caustics in your scene:

1. Ensure Accurate Model Detail
2. Apply Refractive/Reflective Materials
3. Set Strong Light Sources
4. Add Caustics-catching Geometry
5. Use Correct Lighting Preset

Let’s dive into these steps in detail in order to identify best practices.

1. Ensure Accurate Model Detail

First, make sure your geometry is modeled using real dimensions with accurate details. Precision in your models is important: sharp edges for gems, wall thickness for clear parts, and 1:1 representation of size/scale. The more detail you have in your model the more accurate (and interesting!) your results with caustics will be. You can always reference our Liquids & Glass tip for a great model setup example.

2. Apply Refractive/Reflective Materials

Use refractive materials for your clear parts (Solid Glass, Liquid, Gem, Dielectric) with correct Index of Refraction (IoR) values in order to replicate the true material properties. IoR is a real life unit of measure, so reference those values to get the most accurate results. Most KeyShot materials include an IoR value that’s true to life, and you can find a list of other IOR values here.

When working with gems and dispersive materials, the ABBE number will define the amount of color dispersion in your material. Material presets in the KeyShot Library, such as Diamond, will include the correct ABBE value. Smaller values tend to show more dispersion, higher values will create less dispersion.

Metal materials can also be used to achieve caustics; smooth surfaces with no roughness show the results much better. For example, flashlights usually have a smooth, chrome reflector that helps concentrate the light beam–we can recreate this easily in KeyShot.

3. Set Strong Light Source

Caustics will be most apparent when you have either a strong light source in your HDRI or when a local/physical light is applied to geometry in the scene.

When using an HDRI to provide the lighting, look for environments that have a very bright light source (like the sun). Compare the real life results of a wine glass outside on a sunny day versus a cloudy day; bright light will make caustics much more apparent.

When using local/physical lights, the best results are seen when using a Point Light or IES profile. Concentrated light sources tend to create focused light beams, so these two light types are perfect as light sources when trying to achieve caustics.

4. Add Caustics-catching Geometry

In order to see the full result of the caustics in your scene, always use a piece of geometry to “catch” the caustics and make them visible. This can be as quick as adding a simple ground plane (Edit > Add Geometry > Ground Plane), or creating a plane or box in your 3D modeling application to act as the ground. Remember, caustics show up best on non-metal materials and materials that are not too light or too dark.

5. Use Correct Lighting Presets

Once you’ve set up your model, materials, light source, and ground, it’s up to KeyShot’s Lighting Presets to get the final results. Ensure you have the Caustics checkbox enabled under the Lighting tab in the Project window. The Interior lighting mode preset is also recommended for achieving the best results for caustics.

Another quick way to get great results is to use the Jewelry lighting mode preset. This preset already has high ray bounces, increased shadow quality, Global Illumination, Caustics, and Interior mode enabled.

Render your image using Maximum Samples or Maximum Time, since it will give you better results than Advanced Control. Interior Mode is only available for Max Samples/Max Time, so KeyShot will prompt you to use either.

You can download the tabletop scene below to try on your own–all materials and settings have been applied. Have a great caustics render example created in KeyShot? Visit and share on the KeyShot Amazing Shots forum!

Download Caustics Scene

On November 25th, we’ll send out a special promo code to use on the KeyShot store. Sign up to be notified below and keep an eye on your inbox. This sales only happens once a year with all discounts for online purchases only. You won’t want to miss these deals. So, keep an eye out, mark your calendars, set your alarm and prepare to get your render on.

KeyShot Black Friday – One Day Sale

Friday, November 25th, 2016
12:00 AM PST – 11:59 PM PST

20% OFF

All New KeyShot Licenses
+ FREE Upgrade to KeyShot 7

Use Code: BF2016

KeyShot Cyber Monday – One Week Sale

November 28th – December 2nd, 2016
Monday, 12:00 AM PST – Friday, 11:59 PM PST

20% OFF

All KeyShot Upgrades & Add-ons
+ FREE Upgrade to KeyShot 7

Use Code: CM2016

Online purchase only. Excludes EDU products.All KeyShot 6 Purchases (excluding add-ons) on or after November 25th, 2016 will come with a free upgrade to KeyShot 7.