Sketchup to 3dmax

AkaBear · 12 Mar 2009, 02:21

Still fooling with the Vray for Sketchup renderer demo at home but 3dmax at work. (And not too many days left so decision time soon! )

Is there a magic setting to get the output from Vray in Sketchup to be the same as 3dmax?

I find 1.6 on the camera to nearly get me there, but not close enough for overlays in Photoshop later.

And very hooked on the Vray for sketchup, as an Architect a quick rendering with one less step sometimes is all that is needed rather than the full 'bells and whistles' of 3ds max.

thomthom · 12 Mar 2009, 08:17

No magic setting. But V-Ray for Sketchup and V-Ray for MAx is the same except for some special V-Ray material and lights missing.

Are what you are requesting, being able to match the V-Ray output with SU? If so, I made a plugin which will help you: http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=15491&p=119728
(I assume you're using the demo of the very latest version? 1.05.0x (Service Release 1.5))

EarthMover · 13 Mar 2009, 02:03

I think while the underlying engine is the same for all Vray render systems, there are some definite differences. I think Chaos Group has really evolved the Vray for Max. Parsing times for one make me rather use Vray for Max. It's nice to take a model into Max and hit render and have the light cache begin immediately, instead of waiting for 3 or 4 minutes. It's very frustrating when you are trying to do test rendering. I also like in Max that you can utilize all the different material options with vray, like falloff for reflections and multi/sub materials. It's also nice to be able to control the sun position in max and line it up with the HDRI.

Plus Chaos just released Vray 1.5 SP3 with some major improvements. http://www.chaosgroup.com/en/2/news.html?i=108#newsid108 One of them being that Vray will now recogize the Mental Ray Architectural & Design materials.

thomthom · 13 Mar 2009, 06:44

Hope those changes make it into VfSU2. For the next version all V-Ray material should be included. Apparently ChaosGroup made much more available to the API.

EarthMover · 13 Mar 2009, 17:54

Kayanat, There are tons of tutorials on the net that could answer your questions. Here's one I found doing a quick search - http://www.caddigest.com/subjects/autocad/tutorials/select/081803_parsai_import_max.htm

kayanat · 14 Mar 2009, 12:17

Can anyone help me out with 3D Max 7? I can't remember how to make an AutoCAD plan 3D. I know how to export/import. I just can't remember how to set up the AutoCAD file (I think it was making all the volumes you wanted to turn 3D polylines). And after that, what am I supposed to do once I have the plans in 3D Max?

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AkaBear · 9 Jun 2009, 06:07

@thomthom said:

No magic setting. But V-Ray for Sketchup and V-Ray for MAx is the same except for some special V-Ray material and lights missing.

Are what you are requesting, being able to match the V-Ray output with SU? If so, I made a plugin which will help you: http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=15491&p=119728
(I assume you're using the demo of the very latest version? 1.05.0x (Service Release 1.5))

Thank you very much for this and it has worked fine till now, alas as one's ability increases so does the complexity of one's questions and persuit for perfection.

We, in the office, have noticed that this plug-in produced different results from PC to PC with the same model and same setup. The key factor being "Set the V-Ray Physical Camera's Zoom property to: XXXX". It appears it is relative to the window that is open and therefore with the window varying in size from office pc to office pc, the value must also change. I also tried moving the hotbars on my own pc and found this also altered the value. After many months, my sketchup has a multitude of plugins/extensions.

So an extension and/or clarification to the original question is:

What can be done/set in either Vray for Sketchup or 3dsMax to ensure a render output is of the same size for overlay/comp'ing use in photoshop.

The output size is the same for both. 2048, 1556
The image aspect ratio is the same for both.
The field of view is the same for both. 35deg.
The file was exported as 3ds with 3ds export options > generate cameras checked.

Proportion seems the same but the zoom appears to be different?
So is there a simple way to correct the zoom in VRfS for the same output?
Any ideas most appreciated?

thomthom · 9 Jun 2009, 06:26

@akabear said:

Proportion seems the same but the zoom appears to be different?
So is there a simple way to correct the zoom in VRfS for the same output?
Any ideas most appreciated?

Toolbars will affect the viewport. If one computer has a ton of toolbars and another only a few - the two will have different setups required.