AutoCAD has 3D capabilities which range from Solid to Surface to Mesh models.  When creating realistic or relevant environments for your 3D renders you should look at materials, lighting as well as the background. Having your model or objects in a recognizable environment greatly enhances the visualization you will be creating.

Creating a background creates more realism or might highlight a certain aspect of your design when creating the rendered visualization.  These backgrounds can be a solid or gradient colour as well as an image.

First step is to create a view in AutoCAD.

This can be done positioning the model in the view that you want to see it at.  Select the Visualize tab and on the Named Views panel click on New View.  This brings up the New View dialog box and you will name it and select OK.

Once the View is created you select the View Manager and in the General section, select Background.  Here you will have the following options.

Solid background – Here you can select a uniform colour for the background. Selecting the colour of the background will be very familiar as you utilise the same colour tools you use to create your layers namely Index colors, True color as well as Color Books.

Gradient background – This allows you to select up to 3 different colors which blend into each other in the background.

Image background – Need to showcase your design in the true outdoor environment that your product will be placed.  You can use a picture that you have taken and use it as your background image.

Once your background is selected, press render and see how much better your visualization looks.