Before you can click on the rendering button, you need to address three components that contribute to the look of the final image:
Content (materials assigned to geometry)
Light (artificial and natural lights)
Camera (views)
It is recommended that you consider material assignments at the beginning of the project when you first start modeling the elements. It's even better if you create a template file that has most of the commonly used elements setup with proper material assignments.
Rendering also refers to non-photo realistic visualization. For example, materials can be displayed in line-based elevations and sections to create a detailed representation of the building. We will see later in the chapter that ArchiCAD has the option to create sketch style renderings that simulate hand-drawn effects. Sketch style visualization also falls into the category of renderings.