Often, people create amazing, precision scale models, but their renders make them look less impressive… like "toys" or "miniatures". With some very simple planning as to how you set up your cameras and lights, you can give your models the proper sense of scale. I'll show you how I do it, and some lessons I've learned in the process.

On projects like an airliner, where a LOT of windows and other doors will be cut out of the parts, I use booleans. I've been doing that for many years, and have developed a reliable system, including a process that takes some parts from sub-d to hard poly, and back. I think you'll find the boolean tips useful, and see the geometry savings associated with changing parts back and forth between hard poly and sub-d.

Sometimes, our infinitely-thin parts just won't look right in a render. In the case of aircraft, it's often more intricate than simply thickening the sides. I'll show you the method I've developed to do these "liners", and how to save a lot of resources, using replicators for some of them. (building the liners in a modular fashion)

Once you've got your "liner" built, (above) then it's time to think about other details. Again, replicators come to the rescue to save resources, and I'll show you my methods for using them, while maintaining the ability to edit them easily in the future.

On the Boeing 727-100 project, I also discovered a way to save resources by extruding geometry from the walls, rather than creating it separately.

I've mentioned replicators several times above, and in these recent projects, I really saw a HUGE savings in resources, by using them intelligently. Of course, you can use them as shown here, to replicate your entire model, producing a "fleet". But they're much more useful to use on the many small parts that will repeat, (knobs, switches, bolts, etc.) in most models.

If you're a Shader Tree expert, you'll already know this, but it pays to use some care when preparing your materials. Again, the reason is to save resources, in both your modeling workflow, and your render times. I've learned to optimize the use of images, since MODO gives you so much control over them, and find that often, they're faster (and better!) than complex shaders.

Since the source of 3D lights doesn't show in renders, (without volumetrics) there are tricks to learn about mimicking internal and external lights on a model. Using the Boeing 727-100 project as the prime example, I'll share what I've learned about this… Lights, luminous polygons, images, and reflectors are all included in the Boeing 727-100 file, so you can see how they work.

I'm always concerned with saving system resources, even if I have plenty of room. It just makes sense to be economical, rather than sloppy. I'll share what I've learned about "saving the best for last", when it comes to the final details, and why I use that approach for clients, too.

Over the last few years, with the increased availability of better digital cameras, and the whole HDR phenomenon, I've been able to composite many of my models more realistically. Even if you're not attempting to be completely photorealistic, these tips can help add some interest and depth to your renders. The advantage of knowing how to do it is that, as better photos or other backgrounds become available, you can improve the look of your work.