How to prepare countertop samples for rendering

Updated October 11, 2026

What to upload

A swatch of the surface: a slab sample for stone or quartz, or several tiles with their grout for a tiled top. Renders put it on the flat worktop only, leaving the backsplash and the walls alone.

The ideal sample

Polished stone and quartz are mirrors, so most bad samples are reflections.

Wide enough to show the veining or pattern as it really runs. A small chip shows too little.
From straight above, so the veining keeps its proportions.
Soft light, angled so no lamp or window reflects in the surface.
Nothing on the surface: no labels, stickers or price tags.
True color, with no filter or edit.

Do this: Ideal
Wide, from above, no reflection.
Avoid: Reflection
A lamp in the polish reads as a white patch.
Avoid: Too small a piece
One vein doesn't say how the slab runs.
Avoid: At an angle
The veining squashes toward the back.
Avoid: Stickers
Anything on the sample ends up on the counter.
Avoid: Color cast
White marble turns cream under warm light.

Illustrations: the same sample each time, with one thing changed.

Measurements

Width and height are read as the size of one piece of the surface.

For a tiled top, enter one tile's width and height.
For a slab, enter the slab's width and height: renders read them as the size of one piece.
Leave depth blank. It's read as how far each piece stands out, which is for stone walls.
There's no pattern repeat box for stone and tile.

Before you save

Check each sample:

Enough of the surface to show the veining.
Straight from above, no reflections.
Nothing on top, true color.
Width and height of one tile, or the slab.
JPEG, PNG or WebP, 4.5 MB or less.

Create your workspace, then choose a plan to render a few of your surfaces before you prepare the rest.

Get started