Talking about Clay Render in 2020 might seem anachronistic, but believe me it is not.
Let's start with a clarification. Clay means Clay and not white. So Clay Render means Render Clay! And why Clay? And why not white? The processing of clay dates back centuries. Easy to find, the mixture obtained by mixing it with water is simple to work, it can be modeled, cooked and if desired even painted. Widely used in the production of ceramic objects or for the creation of casts, clay has always been an effective solution for showing a model and in particular its topology.
In rendering, each object in the scene is defined by a single material with a matte and warm effect, with a color reminiscent of clay. The result is a monochromatic image. Clay Render is often used by 3D artists specializing in modeling or sculpture.
In almost all software and render engines you can enable Clay rendering, with all lighting methods; it is often used in combination with Ambient Occlusion (AO) - a method used to add realism by simulating the light attenuation in the vicinity of occluded volumes. Clay Render with AO alone provides a smooth render suitable for capturing details.
Clay Render can also be translated as Conceptual Render or Volumetric Render. The definition of both is quite broad and includes, among other things, the renders resulting from post-production, typically used to create quick concepts. In this post, however, I am referring to images rendered by applying a basic material of gray tending to white to the entire scene, or Volumetric Renders.
The reason for these renderings is simple, to verify the volumes and shapes of a digital model or to test the natural or artificial lighting . In other cases it is a matter of quickly communicating a basic idea, a set of volumes emphasized by lights and shadows and the possible impact of the building in the context. It is not a mere exercise in style, this type of rendering is fundamental for any building especially in the development phase, in which the project can undergo modifications or change radically.
But do you really need to launch a render to get a conceptual view? Not if you use Revit, because the software has everything you need to do it in real time. I imagine that these are tools you use every day but perhaps you have never considered them in this light. In the image below we see the result obtainable with a camera view set to the Hidden Line visual style.
Any material or color you have assigned to the categories of your model will not be displayed in this view. The concepts of volume of solids are well expressed by virtue of the digitized design model, but something is missing. The next step will certainly be the activation of the shadows cast by direct light, activating the Cast shadows parameter and, if desired, also the Silhouette to give greater emphasis to the volumes.
Not always necessary, the shadows that can be activated with Show ambient shadows rather similar to Ambient Occlusion, give a further effect of fullness giving more realism. Managing the parameters of Lighting, Sun setting, together with the geo localization of the project, to the consistent True North, will give greater contextuality to your model.
As you can see we are very far from a rendered image but we have never left the software using others than Revit, we have not even used the render button wasting time in calculation sessions for each image. Views like this can be dozens and do not require time to calculate them; the cost-benefit ratio will be clearly in favor of the latter. Furthermore, they will be an excellent complement for the design tables and your portfolio.
But there's more. For this and other reasons we have prepared a course both in the classroom and live/online, to learn how to create images like these, Volumetric Renders and Clay Renders, in Revit, even without the use of external software. An engaging learning path during which we will discover together tricks and procedures to obtain captivating images and at the same time save time and money.
Clay Render.
Volumetric Render.
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