Easy and free Render
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unfortunately scott both Modo and Cinema 4d are far from free though infact at the complete other end of the scale!
If you want for a really easy to use and free renderer I'd go with stinkie's suggestion and check out Indigo. Podium could be a choice too but you'll note from the gallery the quality is rather limited but good for the price. Though if you are on a mac certainly take a serious look at cheeta. I know I'd be putting some time it with that one if I wasn't on PC!
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Blender (with or without Yafray, a ray tracer) is a free modeler and renderer on Mac, PC, and Linux.
http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
It is more than a little challenging to pick up, in terms of interface, although it has a fanatical userbase ready to help you. They make us look rather lukewarm about our software of choice.
Do a search on these forums and you will find several members using Blender as a rendering package.
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I agree neither a free but you also get a full range of modeling tools as well as excellent render options. A investment upfront will pay off in the end. Modo is by far one of the easiest modelers next to SU. Not to mention an excellent renderer. Under $1000 is far cheaper that MAX but nothing as cheap as Cheetah, BUT cheetah can not model. All personal preference and what ones budget will allow.
Scott
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@unknownuser said:
There are MAC version of both Modo and Cinema 4D. Also, not sure is on a MAC since he is running XP although that could be run through bootcamp.
Scott
ha, yeah.. i was looking at tim's profile instead.. my bad..
i know c4d and modo have mac versions.. just throwing a much cheaper option out there.. either way, none of these suggestions are really helpful to the OP's question because he wants free.. -
@unknownuser said:
Modo is by far one of the easiest modelers next to SU. Not to mention an excellent renderer.
Hmm, it's quite a leap from SU to modo, ease of use wise. And as a renderer, it certainly is not the easiest app for a beginner to pick up. Also, one thing I noticed hanging around the Lux forum: if you want superior quality, a render will still take quite a lot of time.
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LOL, agreed. While there are some GREAT free products out there I can only suggest the ones that I am currently running and happy with. I would love MODO to be free but I do not see that happening anytime soon, in the distant future, or ever!
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Stinkie,
Ease of use is really simple. Of course it is not SU but then again it is not MAX either. After a few hours of video I was modeling quite effortlessly. Granted remdering is never a simple task but I have found Modo to be far easier than lets say Maxwell or Vray for the same results. Render times are always dependent on the machine/farm. If you are using a P4 with 128mb of Ram...come back after summer vaction....if you have 8 cores and 16gb of Ram then things move right along. The same can be said for any renderer.
Scott
I know you have a tendency to lean towards podium so I will not get you too fired up trying to compare apples to apples. I too own Podium and use it occasionally but I am awaiting V2.
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@unknownuser said:
After a few hours of video I was modeling quite effortlessly.
I'm sure you would. But not me - I'm quite the novice. Kwisten tried it too, if I recall correctly. Didn't get far either. lol. Ah, maybe in a year or so. Though I must add SU takes care of pretty much all my modeling needs.@unknownuser said:
I have found Modo to be far easier than lets say Maxwell or Vray for the same results.
Seriously?
I find the exact opposite true! How peculiar. We must have very different brains. 
I must add, I feel, that despite of the above, I find modo an attractive app - and not that expensive either for the features it packs.
Lux has put together something nice.@unknownuser said:
I know you have a tendency to lean towards podium so I will not get you too fired up trying to compare apples to apples. I too own Podium and use it occasionally but I am awaiting V2.
For some things I prefer Podium. For others I prefer Indigo and Maxwell. I too am waiting V2, as I find myself running into 1.5's limitations every now and again. I know a little about what to expect of V2 (you'll forgive me for not spilling the beans), and I'm quite sure it'll be a fine app. Of course, it won't replace the likes of Maxwell - but it's not intended to do that.
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@latetzki said:
@unknownuser said:
Biased: Podium (the free version has an output resolution limit)
Unbiased: Indigo
There's Kerkythea too (both biased and unbiased). Little harder too use.So there is no easy one?
I have tried Podium but it renders way too small pics, if remember right.
EDIT: And now it quits whole sketchup while it renders my model.Kerkythea is fairly easy and free, try it out by yourself. Just grab Getting Started - KT2008 Echo. Kerkythea.net forum is good place to get real answers
Don't forget to download latest SU2KT beta! -
@unknownuser said:
Stinkie,
Ease of use is really simple. Of course it is not SU but then again it is not MAX either. After a few hours of video I was modeling quite effortlessly. Granted remdering is never a simple task but I have found Modo to be far easier than lets say Maxwell or Vray for the same results.
I have to agree with stinkie, it really is hard to beat the shear simplicity of maxwell given the quality of the results one can expect which is certainly better at the worst end then what I have seen from the best of MODO!
If you aren't worried too much about getting perfect materials maxwell really is a one click renderer, this image was rendered with maxwell as it comes straight from the box from SU with only the glass material linked all else is just staight textures painted to the SU model and it rendered in 30min on a 2.8 dual core 1gb ram! Doesn't get much easier!
The beauty I find with Maxwell is the ability to save materials to a library as opposed to the material settings being stored in SU and also the multilight feature that means you only have to worry about your camera fstop setting and all else can be adjusted when rendering has finished including varying quickly between a night shot and daytime shot!
Having tested a host of renderers I'd have to suggest Maxwell is by far the easiest to learn!
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@richard said:
you only have to worry about your camera fstop setting
... and not even about that setting. I just set both the f-stop and the shutter speed so that everything comes out in focus. If I need dof, I just add it in Photohop using a depth map. Much more practical, as far as I'm concerned.
(To some "unbiased" freaks, this is cheating. I say: if it works, it works.)
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Very nice render, Richard..!!
@richard said:
Having tested a host of renderers I'd have to suggest Maxwell is by far the easiest to learn!
You may find it easy to use, but I will claim that I can find many who find it extremely difficult...
Any way... It seem as if some of you have misunderstood the title of this thread...
Easy and free Render
Maxwell is definitely not free...There's a couple of good and free renders available...
Kerkythea 2008 Echo
Indigo
(Sorry - can't think of more..)I suggest you download them and try them out...
They are both excellent render engines and the best is the one you find most comfortable to work with and can learn the intricacies the quickest...My best advice will be that you download and read the tutorials available, which will help you getting started...
One final word, which I find being very wise..
@unknownuser said:
...you must realize having the tools does not make one a carpenter, meaning that there is a level of artistic talent and desire needed in order to set up a scene, composition, lighting, texturing, modeling, and so forth that requires one to have a genuine interest and find much enjoyment in what one is doing in order to succeed.
Hope this can help you further...
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by the way. does any one of you know where to find some good tutorials for Indigo?
I just started using it and it is amazing!(gets quite close to maxwell - and for free!!!)
now I would love to get to know it a bit better (how IES lighting precisely works, why tiff- and png-transparrency doesnt seem to be working, how to use hdri environment maps...). I would love to have a detaild step by step tutorial. the ones I found so far merely pointed out what is possible, but were not very presise in how to do it.
so if anyone knows some good and detailed documentations, I would be truly delighted
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http://www.indigorenderer.com/joomla/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2317
http://www.indigorenderer.com/joomla/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2059&highlight=tutorial
These are the ones I know of. The Indigo forum has a wealth of info strewn about it.
Keep in mind you can't use hdri in Indigo. You have to convert your hdri's to exr.
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In my opinion one of indigos biggest weakness' is it's lack of some good solid documentation. As stinkie said, the best place for indigo info is really those tutorials and the forums.
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@remus said:
In my opinion one of indigos biggest weakness' is it's lack of some good solid documentation. As stinkie said, the best place for indigo info is really those tutorials and the forums.
Whoa, there! All you need, are Whaat's tuts. Really! (He's got one on uv mapping too, btw.) They're very much to the point and practical.
SkIndigo makes using Indigo really very easy. No need for long tutorial vids or a thick manual. I can make an appealling archviz render with Indigo (IMO, anyway) - and I'm a total moron!
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Indeed the skindigo tuts are very good, but have you ever gone to the documentation section? its a bit of a mess really.
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@unknownuser said:
...I can make an appealling archviz render with Indigo (IMO, anyway) - and I'm a total moron!
Well, Stinkie, I'd like to be uch a "total moron" as you are at rendering!
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@remus said:
Indeed the skindigo tuts are very good, but have you ever gone to the documentation section? its a bit of a mess really.
Hm, yes. True. But: a given horse ... It's quite a friendly community too. Ask, and you'll get answered.
@gaieus said:
@unknownuser said:
...I can make an appealling archviz render with Indigo (IMO, anyway) - and I'm a total moron!
Well, Stinkie, I'd like to be uch a "total moron" as you are at rendering!
Trust me, I couldn't possibly explain what, for instance, an "Oren-Nayar" material is. Not a chance! Making a texture map tileable? No idea how to do that. I got a brain like Swiss cheese - and not the kind with holes either. The grated kind. I do however have a lot of patience. That helps, I think. And I don't mind putting in some work. Not even the fanciest hammer swings itself.
Besides, I don't feel I'm very good yet. Lots to learn still. My modelling skills are somewhat meager still.
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Yes, I know...
The most valuable (and for me desirable) element to become a good renderer is TIME (that I unfortunately haven't got mucg lately)
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