Complete Guide to D5 Render

Tour of D5 Render's interface and introduction to Casa Monterrey by Tadao Ando—the Mexican hillside house we'll render throughout the course. The SketchUp model from 3D Warehouse has been cleaned up and grouped by material. We set up three exterior and three interior scenes matching reference photographs, including the internal pool and dramatic staircase views.

Import the SketchUp model into D5 and apply initial materials from the cloud-based asset library. You'll see how materials download to local storage and learn the difference between D5's free and Pro versions. Basic texture application gives immediate visual feedback before we refine everything in later lessons.

Set up the advanced camera tool from the widgets menu—it enables batch rendering and proper aspect ratios rather than just cropping. Configure six cameras with two-point perspective, -0.15 exposure, 24mm focal length, and subtle depth of field. Compare Geo & Sky lighting (better sun control) versus HDRI lighting (better glass reflections), plus fog and weather settings.

Surround the site with vegetation using D5's backdrop planes for distant trees and mountains. Use the size setting rather than scale for better control, and take a layered approach—placing backdrops at different distances for depth. The scatter tools make quick work of foreground vegetation while you eyeball placement per camera view.

Populate the scene with D5's built-in assets including parallax interiors—perfect for giving depth behind windows in apartment blocks. Then extend beyond the standard library with Megascans for landscape features and 3D Sky for premium assets. Each camera view gets individually populated to create convincing compositions.

The second half of the course focuses on matching reference photographs through rigorous self-critique. Use an AI upscaling tool to enlarge precedent images so you can zoom into the detail. Work through modelling tweaks, texture refinements, and asset adjustments until each exterior shot closely matches the real Casa Monterrey photography.

Apply the same self-critique approach to interior shots. Add timber flooring, sculptures, and adjust the curtain wall lip and water depth to match reference images. Separate the staircase into its own texture group and refine interior lighting. Small details like the distance between water and pebbles make the difference between good and photorealistic.

Add spotlights above the staircase after cross-referencing with precedent photos. Master local exposure settings—lifting shadows makes renders more realistic since the human eye softens contrast naturally. Apply LUT files for cinematic colour grading, then take renders into Photoshop for final adjustments using Camera Raw filter and channel editing.

Create one exterior and one interior animation clip using D5's video tools. Set up camera paths with forward dolly movements and depth of field that shifts focus during the shot. D5 renders 4K animations at 24fps in about 20 minutes per clip—fast enough for practical architectural short film production.

Explore the Studio presets—curated environment and effects combinations for aerial shots, interiors, exteriors, morning, and night scenes. Double-click any preset to instantly transform your scene's mood, then tweak using your knowledge of environment and effects tabs. Also covers fog particle systems and the widgets menu for advanced camera tools.

Bonus lesson responding to member requests for more interior focus. Work through a complete Scandinavian-style interior from a SketchUp CGtips.org model, treating it like a live commercial project. Target the clean, high-end aesthetic seen in top archviz work. Use Poly Haven HDRIs for lighting and finish with path tracer rendering for photorealistic results.