Lumion Vocabulary and Interface
Lumion organizes your work into three modes. Understanding which mode does what prevents a lot of confusion.
You are working with Lumion Education, not Lumion Professional. Some features, material libraries, and object content differ from the professional version. These cards reflect the Education version specifically.
Why this matters
Lumion's interface is divided into distinct modes that cannot be used simultaneously — you are either building the scene, taking a photo, or making a video. Trying to do material work in Photo mode, or camera work in Build mode, produces confusion. Know which mode you're in and what it's for before you start working.
The three modes
| Mode | What it's for | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Build Mode | Everything scene-related: placing and adjusting imported geometry, adding entourage objects, assigning materials, adjusting terrain and weather | The default mode when Lumion opens. Main scene viewport. |
| Photo Mode | Composing and rendering single still images. All Image FX settings live here. | Camera icon |
| Video Mode | Setting camera paths, keyframes, and rendering animations | Film icon |
Build Mode interface
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scene viewport | The main 3D view. Navigate with WASD keys (move), Q/E (up/down), right-click drag to rotate. Scroll to adjust movement speed. |
| Objects library | Tab on the left side — Nature, Transportation, People, Furniture, etc. All entourage content lives here. |
| Materials panel | Appears when you click a surface. Allows browsing and applying materials from the Lumion library. |
| Weather panel | Sun angle, cloud cover, fog, rain, snow, and sky settings for the current scene. |
| Layers panel | Organizes scene content into groups for visibility control. Useful for large models. |
| Import panel | Where you load your Rhino model and manage imported geometry. |
Navigation in Lumion
| Action | How to do it |
|---|---|
| Move through the scene | W/A/S/D keys (hold Shift to move faster) |
| Move up/down | Q (down) / E (up) |
| Look around | Right-click and drag |
| Adjust movement speed | Scroll wheel changes speed multiplier |
| Focus on selected object | F key after selecting an object |
| Fly to a location quickly | Double-click in the viewport to fly toward that point |
Saving in Lumion
Lumion saves project files as .ls files. Save frequently — Lumion does not autosave. Save to the same project folder as your Rhino file. The .ls file references your Rhino model by path, so keeping both files in the same folder prevents link errors when you move the project to a different machine for submission.
Try this
Open Lumion and navigate to each of the three modes without importing anything. In Build Mode, locate the Objects library and the Materials panel. In Photo Mode, note the Image FX panel on the left side. In Video Mode, note the timeline at the bottom. Then return to Build Mode and practice navigating the empty scene using WASD + right-click until movement feels fluid. You'll spend most of your Lumion time in this mode — be comfortable before importing your model.
What breaks
Looking for Image FX in Build Mode — image effects only exist in Photo Mode and Video Mode. If you're trying to adjust lighting or atmosphere and can't find the controls, check which mode you're in.
Losing the model in the scene — if your imported model disappears or the scene looks empty, you may have navigated far from it. Press F with the model selected, or use the Layers panel to make imported geometry visible and navigate to it.