Importance of materials

Lumion has more than 500 ready-to-use materials that are imported in a 3D model, and this takes away a heavy burden from us. Some of the materials available are grass, concrete, bricks, metals, wood, tiles, wallpaper, and some special materials such as the glass and invisible materials.

This doesn't mean we cannot use materials we created while modeling the building. In reality, the materials we used while modeling the 3D model are crucial in order to use the 3D model later in Lumion. Most of the 3D modeling packages will use a default material while we are modeling; for example, SketchUp uses the default material, and this means that by the end of the modeling process, the entire 3D model has the same material, as you can see in the following screenshot:

When we import a 3D model into Lumion, we need to use the Edit Materials button that can be found inside the Import menu, as shown here:

The process to add a material is simple. We need to click on the Edit Materials button and then select the 3D model we want to change or add the materials to. When we hover the mouse over an imported 3D model, Lumion highlights the 3D model with a green color. Then, we need to click on the Add Material button that appears on the left-hand side and select a material from the 3D model.

We did this with the 3D model shown earlier, and this is what happened:

As you can see in the previous screenshot, we selected the 3D model and added a material, but it is clear that something went wrong. Why?