1. Rendering 186.101 Károly Zsolnai-Fehér
Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms (E186) Vienna University of Technology

2. Get Blender (at least 2.68, but preferably the newest) and run it.
Blender and LuxRender
Get Blender (at least 2.68, but preferably the newest) and run it.

3. Blender and LuxRender
Go to File/User Preferences/Addons, install from file, click the LuxBlend zip file (SLG is also there).

4. Blender and LuxRender Go to File/User Preferences/Addons
Tick the box next to LuxRender, save user settings on the lower left so it will remember the plugin installation on startup.

5. Choose LuxRender as a renderer.
Blender and LuxRender
Choose LuxRender as a renderer.

6. Blender and LuxRender
Provide the path to the LuxRender executable file. (save the user preferences again so Blender will remember these settings)

7. Blender and LuxRender
Provide the path to the LuxRender executable file. Note: newer Blender versions may ask for this in the File/User Preferences/Addons menu!

8. Blender and LuxRender
Also provide some temporary directory for the „Output” field if your life (and hard drive structure) is dear.

9. Blender and LuxRender
Load any scene (if there is a .blend file) from the unofficial LuxRender scene repository. Press F12 to render.

10. Blender and LuxRender
Rendering algorithms and their settings can be found under the Rendering tab on the right, and BSDF/material settings are available on the Material tab (as seen on the image). Experiment with them.

11. Blender and LuxRender
After the rendering process has started, you might want to use Auto Linear or the Reinhard tone mapping operators because they are robust for a large class of intensity distributions.

12. Blender and LuxRender A few useful tips:
Use LuxRender light groups! – 1, 2, 3
You can use environment maps with LuxRender easily after adding them as hemispherical light sources. – 1, 2
A nice tutorial texturing and modeling in LuxRender and Blender – 1, 2
Don’t forget to do UV mapping before texturing an object!
Be sure to use smooth shading normals for rendering!
If you know what you would like to do but you don’t know where exactly it is, just push space and write it in the context menu.
Use Blend Swap to look for inspiration and materials. Remember that everything here is under the CC-BY-SA license, therefore you can use it for whatever you wish, but you have to give credit to the original author(s).

13. Blender and LuxRender Tutorials and resources:
- LuxBlend basics (some of these are a bit outdated, rest is fine) - LuxRender + Blender node editor workflow - Some more LuxRender – Blender tutorials - Using the Camera Fly mode in Blender - A neat guide for starting off with LuxRender
If you have found any other tutorials useful, please send me the link so I can add it here. Thank you!

14. Blender and LuxRender Tutorials and resources:
- LuxBlend basics (some of these are a bit outdated, rest is fine) - LuxRender + Blender node editor workflow - Some more LuxRender – Blender tutorials - Using the Camera Fly mode in Blender - A neat guide for starting off with LuxRender
Also, if you can extend this in any way to be more detailed and helpful to others, I would be grateful. Thank you!