Rendering jewellery, by type
How to render a pendant from a CAD file
A pendant is a small thing that is always shown large, so the render has to survive a close look — the setting, the bail, the way the stone faces the camera. It is also a hanging thing, and a pendant rendered the wrong way up is the commonest mistake. Here is how the studio handles it.
Which way is up
A pendant hangs from its bail, so the bail is the top. CAD files are not always modelled that way — some are drawn flat, some on their side — and the studio renders the file's orientation. If it arrives sideways, Upright pose with a turn of the ring-angle slider sets it right; the Re-frame button then centres it. Once it is right, every pose and camera is relative to it.
Set the category to Pendant.
The bail is a part — treat it like one
The bail is often a different finish from the pendant body, and it is the part a chain passes through, so it is scrutinised. Click it in the viewport to give it its own metal. If it came in fused to the body — one STL shell — it takes the body's metal, which is usually correct anyway.
Tipped, for a stone
A pendant with a centre stone wants the Tipped pose: leaned toward the camera so the table of the stone opens to the light and the setting shows depth. Upright is the flat catalogue view. Flat lay works for a disc or motif pendant with no stone, looked at from the Top camera, and not for anything with a setting.
Stones, and the halo
Auto Jewelry Setup finds the centre stone and a halo's small stones together. A halo of twenty small stones renders well on the Sparkle renderer, which is fast; switch the centre stone alone to Traced for the hero shot — the console tunes stones individually, so the halo can stay on the faster renderer.
The close-up is the listing image
Close-up camera, Hero or Showcase Look, 4K from the Print pack: that is the image a pendant sells on. The Social square pack's Close-up gives the same at 2048². Show it on the chain in a second image from the necklace guide. Everything here happens on your own machine: the file is converted and rendered in the browser through your GPU and is never uploaded, so an unreleased design stays unreleased.
Questions
My pendant renders sideways. How do I fix it?
Use the Upright pose and adjust the ring-angle slider until the bail is at the top, then Re-frame. The studio renders the file's orientation, and pendants are often modelled lying down.
Which pose for a pendant with a stone?
Tipped — leaned toward the camera so the stone's table catches the light and the setting shows depth. Upright for the flat catalogue view.
Can I use different renderers for the centre stone and the halo?
Yes. Stones are tuned individually in the diamond console, so the centre stone can be Traced for the hero shot while a halo of small stones stays on the faster Sparkle renderer.
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