Worth the effort - Rendering?

[Matte]

Hi All,
I am at a cross roads, time being the most critical commodity, cost being second. The opinion of those in the "know" would be greatly! Appreciated. I have the "opportunity" to buy an older version of 3DS Max. Is it (in the long run) worth learning it for (photo realistic) rendering purposes alone? I see so many rendering options, and usually get a bit overwhelmed before I can ever get any really "good" images created. I do not mind putting time into learning the "basics" of whatever rendering program that will do the job, as long as it pays off in quick and easy setup after I learn the systems methods, the rendering time is not that much of a concern at this time. Is Max a reasonable rendering solution? Or would I be better off sticking to one of the rendering packages I here you talking about in the forums.
Thanks,
Matte

[ark]

As a architect I like Sketchup because it's fast and easy to model, and therefor test some ideas. And often the geometry is simple.

If I wasn't so hooked on sketchup and the need to adjust the design, I would go for Modo! A good modeler, super quality render, real-time views for render setup, and fast too.

AutoDesk is simply to expensive with their software, compared to the quality, and you have to have a subscription to keep up with the yearly update. If I wasn't forced to use AutoDesk software because of file-exchange I wouldn't touch it!

[EarthMover]

Matte,

Which version of Max is it? If you are just going to use if for rendering stills alone, I wouldn't bother. If you want to also use if for animation and flythroughs, then I would say go for it.

If you just want to render stills, stick with one of the renderers that work easily with Sketchup. Importing a file from sketchup to Max is sometimes very frustrating. However if you can figure it out, the results can be stunning. See here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramy02/2926433667/in/set-72157606246998990/

[remus]

im with adam on this one.

There are plenty of rendering engines (some of them free) for SU, so i dont see a lot of point in forking out for max. However, if you want to do animations etc. itd be very worthwhile going for max. although i havent used it, i understand its animation capabilities to be far in advance of those of SU.

[Matte]

Thanks All for your Advise,
It helps me decide if Max Version 7 or 8 is worth the effort, especially since I also need to make some simple flythru's as well.
Thanks Again,
Matte

[Chris Fullmer]

There have been some significant additions to max since those version for rendering outdoor scenes and scenes that use a sun lighting system. I'd say use it if you had access to a newer version and wanted to learn a full modeling rendering system.

But quite frankly, I tihnk youd be better off using one of the packages that interfaces with SU directly. I've seen some super incredible stuff from Edson using Podium. You might consider that option. Or kerkythea for its freeness - and its also incredible. Anyhow, I tihk you'd be better off learning one of these first and if you want to get into it more fully, then make the jump to 3ds or Maya.

Chris

[Stinkie]

If rendering time is not much of a concern, I suggest you look into Indigo. It delivers output that can stand next to Fry's or Maxwell's, and Whaat has provided us SketchUp folks with a really cool plugin.

Play with it for a week or so, and you'll be up and running.

[evos.]

I would suggest you to stick with Kerkythea. It's free, it's physical accurate, it supports unbiased rendering methods, it has a great forum to support you, it has a great plugin (SUtoKT by Tomasz Marek)to export directly from Sketchup....Need more??

[BillW]

@unknownuser said:

It helps me decide if Max Version 7 or 8 is worth the effort, especially since I also need to make some simple flythru's as well.

I like SU for it's simplicity but I would question the responsiveness in handling large models. With Max (even at 7/8) you can handle very large models, there is an inbuilt xref system for files and objects and sometimes I prefer Max for editing models. There is a different way of modelling using layered (non destructive) modifiers which allows you to backtrack up the modifier tree. I also swear by the sweep modifier - a little like followme but you can edit the path and swept shapes seperately and the path doesnt have to be contiguous.

It is a testament to Max that some SU (ruby) tools have their roots in MAX ie SketchyFFD

From Max 8 onwards, I wouldnt say there has been a vast usability improvement in releases. Rendering wise Vray seems to be the tool of choice for many professionals. It's your choice!

[Matte]

Thanks all again!
I tried dabbling with a few renderers like kerkeythea, but most of the ones that were suppose to give result, were a but to confusing for me to learn. So I figured if I was to struggle thru learning something I was hoping to pick the one that will deliver very good final results. I've learned a few dead end programs in the past that only went so far before I had to abandon them and start fresh with something else. Besides the ability to buy an older version of max, it can do still images as well as flythru animations, something I believed was the task for two seperate programs. But I am still searching, I tried the new IDX renditioner, but it can only seames to work with my small models. My medium-(50 meg)+ models just lock things up. I'll have to give indigo a look see, I have seen it mentioned on the Sketchucation forums, but never checked it out. Thanks again to you all for your time and help.
Aloha,
Matte

[Rafa]

Hi. Kerkythea has options to make flythru animations. You can setup a lot of things directly inside Sketchup, and if you need some others in Kerkythea itself. Imho its verey a verey interesting option. I would recomend give it another try.
Indigo its an interesting option too, and its tuned inside Sketchup.

(And if cash its not an issue consider donate a little to the free render engine you choose )