SolidWorks PhotoWorks Step-By-Step Manual

This manual serves as a self-study guide on how to create photo realistic renderings of your SolidWorks designs within PhotoWorks. This provides an opportunity to visualize realistic images of your designs before production even starts. The book focuses on both the fundamentals and more advanced techniques of PhotoWorks, building upon the general information taught in some of our more basic training courses. For this reason, it is recommended that you attend the SolidWorks Essentials: Parts and Assemblies class prior to using this manual.


Features:

• Unlock the full power of SolidWorks® design tools with the helpful instructions and tips available only from technical training experts on staff with SolidWorks Corporation.
• Build your skills and confidence quickly with 45 easy-to-understand tutorials and practice exercises, each building upon the previous lesson.
• Reinforce your new skills with the accompanying CD, which features time-saving project files for tutorials and practice exercises.
• Learn at your own pace - review each lesson as often as you want or quickly move on to the next lesson.
• Follow along with more than 1000 full-color images and screen captures that serve as easy-to-understand visual cues.

The topics covered in this guide are:

Chapter 1: Introduction

• About This Book
• What is Photorealistic Rendering?
• Right Brain Versus Left Brain
• What's This Book About?
• Cameras
• Rendering Results
• PhotoWorks®

Chapter 2: Getting Started

• What is the PhotoWorks Software?
• Starting PhotoWorks
• PhotoWorks User Interface
• Getting Help
• Options

Chapter 3: Basic Part Rendering


• PhotoWorks Rendering
• Materials
• PhotoWorks Scenes
• PhotoWorks Material Editor
• Rendering
• Sub-image Rendering
• PhotoWorks Scene Editor
• Editing PhotoWorks Properties
• Monitor Corrections

Chapter 4: Textures and Scenes


• Introduction
• Textures
• Texture Part
• Default Scene
• Texture Mapping
• Texture Orientation
• Perspective View
• Scenes
• Lighting
• Mapping Adjustments

Chapter 5: Scenery, Lighting and Decals


• Creating Custom Colors
• Decals
• Decal Mapping
• Scenery
• Lighting
• Shadows

Chapter 6: Assemblies and Configurations


• Rendering Assemblies
• Material Hierarchy in an Assembly
• RenderManager Conventions
• Applying Materials to Scenery
• Spot Lights

Chapter 7: PhotoWorks® Studio


• PhotoWorks Studio
• SolidWorks Materials

Chapter 8: Output Options


• Output Design Intent
• Output Options
• Render to the Screen
• Render Contours
• Render to a Printer
• Rendering Images to a File
• Screen Presentations
• PowerPoint®
• Alpha Channels

Chapter 9: Materials, Scenes and Lighting


• Overview
• Material Library
• Scene Library
• View Image File
• Creating Material Folders
• Embedding Materials
• Linking Material
• Illumination
• Organizing Files
• The Table Lamp
• Point Lights
• Lighting Colors
• Background Images
• Save Scene
• Transporting Files
• Active Custom Folder
• PhotoWorks Legacy Data

Chapter 10: Lighting Effects


• Rendering Basics
• Lighting Principles
• Ambient Light
• Indirect Lighting
• Case Study: Flashlight
• Lighting Characteristics
• PhotoWorks Light Characteristics
• Foreground Effects
• Reflections
• Secondary Reflections
• Environments

Chapter 11: Fine Tuning


• Lighting Concepts
• Global Illumination
• Caustics
• Glass and Liquids
• Using Contours

Chapter 12: The Camera


• The SolidWorks Camera
• Establishing a Viewpoint
• Apparent Depth
• Standard Lens
• Depth of Field

Appendix


• PhotoWorks Gallery