CREATING NEON LIGHT EFFECT IN ARCHICAD RENDER

The key to this effect is that the actual light tube you create will not emit any actual light - the
object will need a window light object ( or several) placed close to the area the neon will shine
onto to have the effect of a neon glow! ... You first need to create a ' surface' and then a
'building material' as described below.
1. Create your neon light material by starting with a red or blue base colour - make a copy
2. Open into 'Lightworks engine' to edit
Change reflectance shader to ' constant' and the brightness value to around 1.7
Change transparency shader to 'glow' and increase centre coverage to 'max'

3. OK to save the surface.

4. Create a building material using your new surface - OPTIONS/ ELEMENT ATTRIBUTES/
BUILDING MATERIAL - this gives better cleaner junctions to your final rendered image.

The surface/ building material is ready for use either apply to 3D text or use complex
profile tool to create a tube effect.

1. Create your neon tube using the 'complex profile' tool - create a circular fill approx
15 to 20mm dia Note that in this screenshot I have applied a Building material in the info
box at top called Neon to the 'complex profile'..The 'Building material gives a cleaner
render rather than using 'surface' under 'Components selected'

2. Draw your lettering outline using the wall tool/ complex profile created in floor plan.

3. Your lettering is now flat on the floor so you will need to select and open the text in the 3D
window ... set your 3 D window view settings as below.

4. If your finished sign will be rotated from the horizontal then rotate the tubes in floor plan
before you turn them into a library object.




5. You can now select and save the neon tubing into the library as an object.
File/ Libraries and Objects/ Save Selection As / Object
NOTE: you are picking them up from the top edge so they drop back into the project in a
vertical orientation.

6. Once you place the neon library part in your project you can then place some ' window
lights'
from the cadimage library close in front to create a neon light glow (window lights work better
than standard light fittings )


Note: the colour tab has been changed to reflect the neon colour required
Cast shadows has been turned off so the tubes do not cast a shadow
The light intensity is low and the object is close to the wall
7. When rendering the scene ... best results are to be had by turning off the Sun and Camera
lights then use other object light sources to illuminate the image.
better results can be achieved by using an external rendering program like Artlantis but this
method will give a good compromise render!

Note: if trying to achieve a strip light effect you may need to place a number of very small window
lights along the strip tube to create a continuous glow!