I think Al's thread is much better, but what you really need is a scene with fixed textures and lighting restrictions (not easy). Maybe the best thing would be a scene based on an image? I have a possible example - let me check the poly count and creative rights.

Thanks - The RpTreeMaker is for Windows only. However, we have created about 50 trees with it and stored them on the 3D Warehouse. You can load these into SketchUp and use them as is. These are 2D trees with a shawod mask to create good shadows. RpTreeMaker trees on the 3D Warehouse See this other thread: Library of Trees for RpTreemaker

We just released a new FluidRay RT video tutorial on the material and model library, showing how to edit materials and other scene elements in real-time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9P5KcPck8

New article just posted from CG architect! Go have a read, http://www.cgarchitect.com/2012/10/bloom-unit-cloud-based-collaborative-rendering-for-sketchup More BU fans, always appreciated!

I've now created a new thread for the actual free release, however I'll post the note here as well! Bloom Unit is now free to download and use. Bloom Unit is a cloud based, physically accurate renderer for Sketchup, now downloadable for free. Coming with one free hour you can trial and test with, users then purchase more hours at $6 an hour. Simply head over to http://www.bloomunit.com to download now, also don't forget to check http://www.youtube.com/bloomunit for more movies and interesting features! Note; We are aware of an issue when arraying our light objects where it creates two lights ontop of each other at the terminal point of the array. This is being fixed as we speak. Please post any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer promptly. Enjoy!

You're welcome.

@frv said: I use the latest version of Maxwell rendersuite. Though this feature is hidden for as long its not officially rolled out and properly tested. No idea how this feature will be set up later on in the final version. I do know that it worls great, even in beta. Francois hi Francois, thanks for your reply! its use looks great on your posted image, anyhow, it would be fantastic to see the feature included on the standalone plugin... best V

Totally Amazing!

Got sidetracked by another project. Undetermined yet.

For those attending the BaseCamp 2012 in Boulder, I have a license for Spread3DPro and it is my intention to bring a laptop with it installed for anyone interested trying it out.

@unknownuser said: Try to simulate the reality will make your nights & days more small than never! True that But if you are having fun and making a living........

OK, thanks for the links!

Hi, Nick. I downloaded the demo and I'm trying to create luminous materials, but can't find how. Already searched the manual. EDIT: Nevermind, I realized they're part of an extra pack.

Why don't they post the scene? Don't seem right.

Quite a collection

Ben, I have to be honest that this was just a guess based on reading a lot of discussion over several years in the forums. I was hoping to maybe shake loose an idea that was waiting to hatch anyway. Glad you found the answer with or without my comment.

Thanks for this peeps. Wow, I never realised that you had to calculate all of this stuff just to print something. Everytime I think I'm getting somewhere there's always something else to consider!!! Grrrrrr!!! Jason, I reduced the image to half an A4 page because I knew that if it was too big it may have been blurred but it still wasn't overly clear. Idahoj thanks for that link - I'm going to have to undertake quite a bit of study to familiarise myself with all of this ppi and dpi stuff. Sigh. Cheers Anita

Thanks Escape Artist, The point of my query was to try and step in the right direction knowing full well that it would be years before any true proficiency and artistry would "pop". I do not want to go down a road for architectural rendering that experienced users have found to be fruitless. From your experience are there free versions that will let me explore further than the Shaderlight free plugin allows. With Shaderlight free, I can not experiment with interior lighting and the exterior options are extremely limited. The Pro version trial is good for only a couple of weeks and does not give me the couple of months that I would love to play around with. So, is there a plugin that you can recommend for exterior and interior rendering in a free version? Is this asking for too much? Idahoj, Your three suggestions are constructively positive, and I intend to follow up on them. Your preamble is unduly harsh. I did not intend to waste yours or anyone's time with pointless non-questions. I am sorry, if I did. I thought the inclusion of the architectural exterior and interior parameters would have jump started some suggestions. If that was too vague, again, sorry to you and all. I have always had the approach that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, and a really successful journey of a thousand miles starts in the right direction. I am wanting to avoid tramping thru the "weeds and thickets" of rendering only to be told later," There was an better way." So with that said: From your experience, what would you have liked to know as you stepped into the world of rendering? Are there any rendering packages for SU that are equally suited for professional quality architectural exterior (natural lighting) and interior (artificial lighting) rendering? Or are these needs/rendering engines so specifically different that experienced renderers find themselves using different plugins for each of these? Are the different rendering programs "radically" different, or from your experience did you find that there are enough similarities that you didn't have to back track much or invest a ton of time learning a different UI to get similar results? Which rendering plugin(s) for SU would you recommend to a novice renderer? and in just a few words, why? Cheers, and looking forward to your reply

@krisidious said: That's great. But SU plugin should be cheaper than Revit... Because people who own Revit obviously have money to burn. Gaieus got it! Our BuildEdge Roof plugin (for that other software) is really just a macro that simplifies the creation of pitched roofs... BuildEdge PLAN allows you to create walls and roofs (with a far more intelligent and powerful roof engine) in SketchUp... and SketchUp is awesome!

Seasons contest winners - Forum post The "Seasons" contest has finished and we are happy to announce the winners. We would like to thank all the artists who participated with their renders - they gave life to this contest. We would also like to thank our sponsors for the prizes they offered to the winners. It is worth mentioning that the final decision for the winners came by considering the concept, originality of the idea, the technical details (quality of materials and textures) and the overall render quality. Choosing the winners was not easy, since there were a lot of very nice renders. At the end, such decisions are taken based on personal criteria as well. Finally, we have also decided to give a smaller prize for a 3rd winner. In addition to these prizes, we will also give a single Thea Render license to two participants of the contest that were not licensed users but contributed with noticeable renders. Congratulations to the winners and to all participants! You can see below the results. 1st winner: "Recipe for Seasons" by Rafael Sanchez (aka Rosco) [image: Recipe_for_Seasons_thumb.jpg] 2nd winner: "The Unusual Suspects" by Sandro Sorce (aka SandroS) [image: LineUpFINALFontFix_thumb.jpg] 3rd winner: "Living in Hanoi" by Adona Nomer (aka nomeradona) [image: Hanoi_thumb.jpg]