Keeping It Together - A Tutorial by Alex Auró

Overview

Watch our latest tutorial from Alex Auró (Brick Visual), showcasing how he created three images with different moods while keeping everything in one single file, a streamlined archviz workflow that also demonstrates 3ds Max lighting choices.

TL;DR

Alex Auró demonstrates how to build three distinct moods and lighting variations from a single 3ds Max scene, avoiding duplicated files and messy settings. He shares practical tips, sunrise and overcast setups, quick foreground shadow tricks, tonemapping/exposure with LightMix, environment fog, and per-camera/layer organization, to get strong results early. Using Scene Manager to save and restore all parameters, he streamlines switching between setups and wraps with reliable batch rendering in 3ds Max 2023 and V-Ray 6.

Core Challenge Addressed

One of the biggest challenges in archviz is managing multiple lighting conditions and camera angles without ending up with a mess of duplicated files or forgotten settings. In this tutorial, Alex builds three completely different moods and 3ds Max lighting variations from a single scene and keeps everything organized along the way.

Key Techniques and Tips

Sunrise Mood

• Creating a sunrise mood using a simple Sun and Sky.

Foreground Shadows

• Adding foreground shadows with a quick and dirty trick.

Overcast Effect

• Achieving an overcast effect with a combination of a Dome and Sun.

Tonemapping, Exposure, and LightMix

• Using a filmic tonemap, exposure, and LightMix to get a strong base look from the beginning.

Per-Camera and Layer Organization

• Dealing with switching between layers and moving objects around for each camera.

Atmosphere and Depth

• Applying environment fog and aerial perspective to get more depth.

Batch Rendering Setup

• Setting up a render output for each image to prepare them for batch rendering.

Using Scene Manager

After each image, Alex uses Scene Manager to gather and store all the settings. This allows him to jump between the scenes, try out different things, and always restore the saved state. No more manually toggling layers, swapping cameras, or double-checking render outputs before hitting render; everything is locked in per setup. When all three moods are ready, he uses batch rendering to output them in one go.

Practical Insights

What makes this tutorial especially practical is that Alex doesn't just show the final result. He walks through his decision-making process for each mood, explaining why he chose certain lighting approaches and how small adjustments to tone mapping and exposure make a big difference in the final image; insights that are immediately useful for archviz artists.

Tools and Versions

• 3ds Max 2023

• V-Ray 6

• Scene Manager

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