ericepv

All good points Kate, but the basic principals in the videos still apply. I've fund that the time it takes to produce a nice ray trace has gone down the more I learn (and that part never stops)..I hope you're charging appropriately to cover your time.

Katie: While X13 may offer an increase in ray trace speed (with the proper video card), you can still get really nice results with the current release. Here's one I did in X12: Yes, ray tracing can be frustrating and time consuming but it can be less so if you follow a few basic rules: Learn how to properly illuminate your scene with added lights and sunlight rather than ambient light, too much of which can make an image look flat; Experiment with Ambient Occlusion to learn how the settings affect the look of your rendering; Customize your material properties to enhance the look of surfaces; Do sample ray-traces of only passes on a smaller size image to more quickly see the basic result; There are several videos in the knowledge base which go into the subject in more detail but after that, practice is the best way to improve your results. Eric

A floating staircase for a custom built home:

Another way to do this is to edit the line color in the 'Active Library Display Options' tab although this will affect every object in that layer group. If you go this route, you should create a unique layer for the object in question.

Using the 'Adjust Material Definition' tool (the rainbow button), go to the 'Texture' tab and there you can use the 'Offset and Angle' section to adjust the pattern positioning.

A recent rendering project for a builder:

Try reducing the interior ambient light (this is done through the Technique Options DBX), too much tends to make the image look flat. Then put in some additional lighting. Here's a good article from the knowledge base that covers the basics https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00777/working-with-light-sources.html

Sounds like you should have a talk with Chief tech support. I've always found them to be very helpful.

For the water, here's the path (this is in X12 but X9 is probably he same): Chief Core Catalog/Materials/Landscaping and Roadways/Water. I've attached the bump map. I also recommend that you switch your material properties back to the default settings for water. In any case, please post your result. - Eric

Also, be sure to have 'Reflections' checked on your camera DBX.

It's probably in the material properties. If you don't like the reflection, try redefining the material properties to 'General Material' and then lower the specular value. I think what would work better would be to use a bump map. For the pool in this rendering, I used 'Water 3' from the core library and kept the default proprieties setting (Transparent/Water/1.33) and then applied a bump map (setting of 0.01).

Do you have 'Reflections' checked in the camera DBX? You should also try using a bump ma, here's good ChiefTalk post on the topic.

I've worked with designers in a similar capacity and would be happy to discuss your projects. I sent you a PM. - Eric

Check out this tutorial from the knowledge base. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00773/creating-an-in-ground-swimming-pool.html

I stand corrected. When I originally tried this, I had not specified a molding profile for the lintel which is necessary for this to work.

Lintels work as well however you can't specify the lintel material separately.

Draw a polyline across the top and then convert it to a molding and specify the brick of your preference as the material.

I'd be happy to speak with you about your projects, I just sent you a personal message. Eric

I'd be happy to help with your projects, I just sent a personal message.

That looks like a door sill. Try selecting the piece in question and check to see what layer it's in.

Did that work for you?

Did you got to the "Casing" section? (3rd choice on the menu on the left side of the DBX) Another thought, if this is a mulled unit (Architectural Block), you may need to ungroup it and select the door individually.

I'd be happy to review your project. I've sent you a PM.

Open the DBX for your door and go to the 'Casing' tab, uncheck 'Use Sill/Threshold'.

Try drawing in a flat region (Terrain/Modifier/Flat Region) and then place a slab on top of that.You can then import your plan view into your user library as a new material which you can then assign to the surface of the slab. I'm working on a very similar project right now and this method served me well.