Geometry

Components in CET are usually visualized using a 2D- and a 3D-representation, we simply refer to these representations as to the 2D-model and the 3D-model respectively. Together, the 2D- and the 3D-model form a complete visual representation of a component. We simply call this the model or geometry for that component.

The main purpose of the 2D-model is just to separate it from other 2D-components in the 2D-view so it usually is composed of simple shapes with vivid colors and clear outlines. The 3D-model, on the other hand, should look more or less like the real-world object it is supposed to represent. However, interior objects not visible from the outside should be removed in order to improve performance.

Material

A material is a set of properties that affects how the geometry onto which it is applied interacts with light. For instance, you can specify the color, reflection, and opacity of a material. It is important to understand that it is not the material alone that determines how it will look when applied to a piece of geometry. Properties that belong to the geometry, such as the normal and the texture coordinate associated with a vertex also have a big influence on the quality of the rendering.

In CET we have created two tools that will help you work with materials, Material Lab and Material Explorer. Material Lab lets you create any type of material you like and Material Explorer is a tool that will help you find the materials you have created. More information can be found here.

Lighting

Just as in the real world correct lighting can make or break a photo. We separate between two types of lighting.

• Direct lighting
• Indirect lighting

Indirect lighting is usually much more expensive to calculate compared to direct lighting but it produces a much more realistic end result.