Rendering with Cycles

In this chapter, we will learn how to utilize control key render properties and tools to allow us to turn our 3D scenes into beautiful artworks. By the end of this chapter, we will be able to export any 3D artwork as a final 2D image or video.

We will discuss the differences between Eevee and Cycles renders; however, the focus in this chapter is on the Cycles render engine as it creates much more realistic results. We will then explore the various rendering and export settings and how to optimize them to get the best renders.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• How does rendering work in Blender?
• Configuring render properties
• Exporting images and videos

How does rendering work in Blender?

Rendering is the process of turning a 3D scene into a finished image or video. To render a scene, Blender needs to perform various calculations to visualize all materials, light rays, reflections, shadows, and more. To get a preview of what a scene would look like with its current lighting, materials, and shadows, we can use rendered viewport shading. Figure 14.1 shows the same image with solid viewport shading and rendered viewport shading.

Figure 14.1 – Solid and rendered viewport shading

Note that using rendered viewport shading gives us only a preview of the rendered scene and will not allow us to export a final image in any quality higher than that of a screenshot. To render a scene, we must press F12 or use the Render menu in the top pane of the screen, as shown in Figure 14.2.

Figure 14.2 – Rendering an image

This will produce a result likely very similar to the render...

Configuring render properties

We will now learn how to control some render properties to get the result that we want. First, we must understand the difference between the two render engines available in Blender: Eevee and Cycles.

Eevee versus Cycles

Eevee is the default render engine, and it is used to make faster, less complex renders. It serves well for previewing renders or producing low-realism scenes such as medical or industrial animations.

Cycles is the more powerful and advanced counterpart to Eevee, and is used for creating more sophisticated, photorealistic renders. It uses a different mechanism to produce high-quality renders, but it takes a much longer time to do so. Figure 14.3 shows a comparison of the same scene rendered by Eevee and Cycles respectively.

Figure 14.3 – Eevee versus Cycles render

As you can see, Cycles produces better reflections and shading than Eevee. However, Figure 14.4 shows the differences in render times...

Exporting images and videos

Regardless of the engine you choose to work in, there are many settings that can be configured when exporting images. These settings define the resolution of your image, which keyframes will be rendered, which format you are exporting as, the frame rate used, and more. These settings can be found in the Output Properties tab, as shown in Figure 14.12.

Figure 14.12 – Export settings in the Output Properties tab

Let us look at them in more detail:

• Resolution: Firstly, it is important to define the Resolution values. By default, it is set to 1920x1080 (full HD). For quick renders or previews, it is recommended to set the resolution to 1280x720 to reduce render time. Naturally, final renders should be created in higher resolutions.
• Frame Range: When exporting animations, such as the animation we created in Chapter 13, Preparing the Camera for Rendering, it is important to define which frames should be rendered...

Summary

In this chapter, we learned how rendering works in Blender, how to configure render properties, and how to correctly export images and animations. You now have all the fundamental skills needed to render images and videos, but you are encouraged to explore more advanced rendering techniques such as path tracing, subsurface scattering, compositing, and render passing. These techniques are useful for specific situations and can help you further improve your artwork.

This is the last step of a project in Blender, and it allows you to present your works outside of Blender and continue with post-processing in an external image editing program. With all the tools, techniques, and concepts learned so far, you are now ready to create your own materials, textures, texture maps, decals, stencils, light scenes, HDRIs, animations, and renders. This allows you to turn any 3D model into a beautiful, finalized artwork in Blender and start building an impressive portfolio.