How to prepare flooring samples for rendering

What to upload

A swatch showing several boards side by side, laid as they would be on the floor. Renders take the floor's color, texture and finish from it, along with the size of its boards and how much they vary.

A lifestyle image of the floor in a room is optional. It shows renders how the finish behaves in real light, and nothing else in it is copied.

The ideal sample

Enough floor to see what a buyer sees: several boards, their joints, and the natural difference from one board to the next.

• Several boards across, with the joints between them showing.
• From straight above, not at an angle, so the boards keep their width.
• A stretch with typical variation, neither the plainest boards nor the wildest.
• Soft light that doesn't flare on a lacquered or oiled finish.
• True color, with no filter or edit.

Measurements

For boards, one number sets the scale: how wide each board is.

• Width, in inches: one board. Renders run the boards in one direction with staggered end joints.
• Height and depth aren't used for boards.
• Herringbone, chevron, parquet or a printed pattern? Enter the pattern repeat instead, and the floor is drawn at that size.
• Left blank, boards are drawn 9 inches wide.
• Guess scale with AI, on the product's page, suggests a width from the sample for you to check.

Tile and stone floors

Filed under Flooring, a product is laid as boards unless you say otherwise.

• Set What is it? to Tile or Stone. It is then laid as separate pieces with joints between them.
• Width and height then mean one tile or one stone.

Before you save

Check each sample:

• Several boards, joints showing.
• Straight from above, even light, no glare.
• True color, typical variation.
• Board width entered, or the pattern repeat.
• JPEG, PNG or WebP, 4.5 MB or less.