AI rendering workflows

Motif's AI rendering supports a wide range of input types and design stages. Below are the core workflows, each with guidance on how to get the best results.

Render a 3D model Saved View

Use AI rendering after streaming a Revit model into Motif for quick visual communication with your team or client.

Steps:

1. Create a saved view and place on the Motif canvas. See📄 Create Views for navigation and renders to get started.

2. Click on the image to activate the AI toolbar

💡If a Revit model contains terrain contour lines, hide them before streaming and display the terrain as a 3D model instead for cleaner results.

💡Revit material definitions (such as bricks) can really help Motif render details correctly.

💡Revit RPC elements such as plants and people usually don't render well in Motif. Hide them and use Entourage geometry instead.

💡Concept models are sometimes very abstract. It often helps to tell the tool what the collection of shapes is supposed to represent.

Sketch to Render

Use rough sketches for early ideation or detailed well-constructed sketches to render your ideas.

Steps

1. Draw rough lines in Motif or import a sketch from any other app

2. You will need to capture a screenshot of the sketch in Motif and place that image in the canvas

3. Click on the image to activate the AI toolbar

💡The Photorealistic and Posterize styles tend to produce especially interesting effects from rough input.

💡For illustration styles, start with a hand-drawn sketch. Also try a photographic style if the sketch is reasonably accurate, or just to have some fun.

💡The Watercolor and Photorealistic styles both work well for detailed sketches. Simple, clear sketches tend to produce especially clean results with Watercolor.

Physical Model to Render

You can photograph a physical model and use that image as the input for an AI render. This works with rough material models, foam models, and even everyday objects arranged to suggest architectural forms.

Steps

1. Take a photo of a model

2. Import the image into the Motif canvas

3. Click on the image to activate the AI toolbar

💡Grab a couple of bowls, or Jenga pieces, arrange them, and take a snapshot. Motif AI rendering can work on any kind of image.

⚠If you take phone photos of physical models, make sure to take them in landscape mode (or rotate them so the base/earth is at the bottom). AI can get confused if the orientation is incorrect.

Sketch Over a Saved Model View

Motif allows you to sketch directly in 3D on your model, and the AI rendering engine can interpret those sketch lines as part of the design.

Steps

1. Sketch over the 3D model in Motif and place the saved view on the Motif canvas

2. Click on the image to activate the AI toolbar

3. Describe in the prompt what the sketch should be

⚠Sketching only works well on more or less empty sections of the model. If many other lines are visible around your sketch, the AI may get confused.

⚠Sketching directly on a view or image does not work unless you create a new view that captures both the image and the sketch lines.