SOLIDWORKS Visualize. Why go pro? – 6 Post Processing

Have you thought of trying SOLIDWORKS Visualize to streamline workflow?

Often with rendering programs you must render the image out and take it into a photo editing software such as Photoshop to get the exactly what you want; darken the shadows, exaggerate the highlights, change the saturation of the colours, add some blur for the depth of field. However in SOLIDWORKS Visualize Professional this is no longer necessary as SOLIDWORKS Visualize provides a lot of tools before you even start rendering out.

In this blog we will be look at the post-processing options that can be found in the camera tab, but be sure to check out our other blogs about depth of field, motion blur, bloom and all the other Professional tools in SOLIDWORKS Visualize that can help reduce time on Photoshop. The post processing options are edited by camera which means you can have different effects on different cameras – useful when comparing different options. They can also be used in keyframe animations by editing the values in the post-processing options for every new keyframe.

To start putting post-processing on all you need to do is tick the post processing check- box.

There are number of options to choose between:

Colour filter: adds a colour on the entire render between the model and camera.

Vignette: Adds to the drama of the image by darkening the edges of the image with a gradient to the centre. This can help with draw the eye in too where you want.

Darken: increase to get deeper, richer shadows

Lighten: make your highlights pop and come out of the picture more

Saturation: increase to mak your colours appear more “pure” and dramatic. Decrease to get colour appear more “washed-out”, maybe you want an old fashioned looking render.

Exposure: shift the values for the entire image up or down to blow the highlights.

Gamma Correction: redistribute tonal levels closer to how our eyes perceive them, so make sure your renders look as realistic as possible. Gamma correction is available even when post-processing is cleared

Brightness: adjust the mid-tones of the render while preserving highlights without consideration of the contrast.

The difference between pre-post processing and post post-processing can be seen below. Notice how much deeper and richer the colours are, all without having to do anything in Photoshop.

Lamborghini without post processing:

Lamborghini with Post processing:

Rings without post processing:

Rings with Post processing:

Desk without post processing:

Desk with Post processing:

As with all rendering it is not as easy as saying this is right and this is wrong but with the post processing options it allows you to get something much more close to what you are after.