Step 1-8: Prepare the model

The model of this project is created in 3DS Max. Before importing it in Twinmotion, there are a few things to prepare in the modeling tool:

1. Add textures or colors to surfaces to dissociate different faces in the model in order to facilitate the application of materials in Twinmotion
2. Set the position of the model to 0.0.0 in order to have the project right in front of you once imported into Twinmotion.
3. Save the project to one of the Twinmotion supported formats: .FBX, .SKP, .C4D, OBJ. In this case, the model is saved to.FBX and it’s also the most optimized format for Twinmotion.

And we are all ready to see it in Twinmotion!

Step 2-8: Import

Importing the model is fairly easy. But here are some tips you will feel lucky to know if you encounter the following issues:

1. Low FPS: if the FPS indicated in the Statistics panel is low, remember to choose the “Collapse by material” in the Import settings. This option will reduce the number of objects in your project and ease the burden of your workstation. You can also lower the Viewport Quality in the Preference panel to gain more FPS for a smooth navigation.
2. The project is missing: if you can’t find your project after importing it, you probably forgot to set its position to 0.0.0 in your modeling tool. Don’t worry. Select the imported project in the Scene Manager and press “F” to zoom to it.
3. Geometries from SketchUp model are missing: SketchUp users need to check on the “Two-sided” option in material settings to get geometries to display correctly. To do so, multi-select all the materials in the scene right after the import and activate “Two-sided” option.

Step 3-8: Fix the point of view

The first thing after the import is to create a camera to fix the point of view. Then it’s time to apply some materials.

Step 4-8: Add materials

Twinmotion offers more than 634 physically-based rendering (PBR) materials bringing reality to your interior scene in just a few clicks.

Just drag & drop one of the Twinmotion materials or your own PBR materials into the scene. You do need to pay attention to the two material application modes located on the toolbar: “Replace material” and “Apply to object”:

• Replace material: allows applying in 1 click a material to all surfaces having the same materials. For example, applying glass material to all the windows in the project.
• Apply to object: applies the material to only the selected object.

After a few drag & drops to quickly add materials to the floor, roof, glass, and walls, it’s time to add some lights to this interior scene.

Step 5-8: Set up the lighting

Start with natural light, using simple sliders to add more Sun power and adjust the White Balance to add warmth to the scene.

You can also geolocalize in the map your project and add a precise sun position.

Drag & drop some Omni lights and IES lights to make this scene more luminous.

See how easy it is in Twinmotion to set up the right mood for your interior scene!

Step 6-8: Enrich the context with vegetation

Vegetation can easily bring life to an architectural project or be used as a background. Adding vegetation in Twinmotion is so easy. You can either use the Painting tool to add a lot of vegetation at once, or drag & drop a few trees from the library. In this case, we used the Painting tool to quickly add trees far away from the project and place a few trees near the windows by dragging & dropping them directly into the scene.

Step 7-8: Embellish the space

Here comes the fun part. Design this interior scene with furniture, decorations, interior plants, etc. to create your own design style and feeling. Twinmotion provides hundreds of objects in its library. You can, of course, import your own model and save them in the User library for future use.

Step 8-8: Enhance reflections

We are almost done! The last touch before exporting is to add Reflection probes in front of each glass area to enhance the reflections of the whole scene. Read this article to learn more about how to improve reflections in Twinmotion with Reflection probes.

Ready for real-time visualization or export!

As a result, the final render is the one we’ve seen at the beginning of the article. The interior scene is also ready for a real-time visualization or a VR exploration.

This guide shows you a possible workflow to create a beautiful interior scene in Twinmotion in a very easy way.  Next time, we’ll walk through a step-by-step guide on creating the construction animation below featured in the Twinmotion 2019 trailer. Make sure to stop by!