What is the best Rendering Package for Sketchup

dermotcoll · 3 Sept 2009, 14:37

Guys

As a rookie, I was wondering what is the best / preferred rendering package for sketchup so that you can get photo realistic images. I am modelling kithens/bedrooms/studies and have used Piranesi but was wondering what the general consensus was out in the forum as to the best package to maximise the WOW factor?

Look forward to hearing your replies.

Dermot

Ecuadorian · 3 Sept 2009, 18:15

Hello, dermotcoll.

I'd recommend that you check the forum gallery for a while, look for images that correspond with what you're trying to achieve, and ask the artist what renderer he used. This forum is pretty heterogeneous when it comes to rendering programs, there's quite a lot of variety and that's a good thing, as it means developers have to compete and continuously improve their products.

Don't forget to try the demos most programs offer.

And remember what makes a good render is not a piece of software, but your artistic vision and ability to integrate several tricks into your workflow.

remus · 3 Sept 2009, 18:30

There is no single render package that will give you a wow factor.

Rendering is an art, and a good artist can make good images using any rendering engine.

Having said that, some render enginges do certain things better than others. For example, do you have lots of time to spend rendering your images? how long have you got to learn to use your renderer of choice? is cost an issue? how much versatility do you need? etc.

oh, and one post is enough

dylan · 3 Sept 2009, 18:39

You will get many opinions and most will vary.

I would ask, is price an issue?
Do you want ease of use?
Do you want the renderer to work within Sketchup, or is that not an issue?

solo · 3 Sept 2009, 18:56

Dermot, you asked for the best, not the cheapest, easiest, fastest or anything else, so I would like you to look around our galleries, online anywhere and find 3 images of the kind of results you think is what you would like to achieve and post them here so we can better understand your goals.

dermotcoll · 3 Sept 2009, 19:34

Guys thanks for all the replies

Remus - sorry for posting twice - the original post was in the woodworking discussions and I wasn't getting a reply so I thought I was outside my discussion area with the topic - consider my wrist smacked!!!

Solo / Dylan - I dont want to break the bank so I suppose I wanted a package that was below £600 Stg, wasn't too difficult to use, had good tec support and good training and which worked well with sketchup not necessarily within it.

I am a rookie modeller who has spent £3500 on a kitchen design package which has very basic photo realism and is limited in its design capabilities. SU gives me so much more scope to develop bespoke elements within a design and ultimately enhance my design provision to my clients. I want to show top end kitchen design in sketchy / watercolour / photo realistic styles which will bring the clients to the inevitable conclusion that I can deliver their dream!! Thats all!

I need to be sure that any further financial outlay will bring these benefits but that I am not left to struggle through the software on my own (not excluding the fine advice available here)

Dermot

Stinkie · 3 Sept 2009, 20:03

Try something cheap and relatively easy first to get your feet wet: http://twilightrender.com/. Materials look easy to set up, both biased and unbiased rendering modes are available, and the docs/tutorials look quite good. Only $ 59. Just the thing for a 'rookie', I'd say.

In a year or so, look into the more expensive apps.

puck · 16 Sept 2009, 21:43

I agree with the twilight comment. Have a good read of the manual which you can download of the website for some good tips. Really really excellent package and the price is just amazing.

http://www.twilightrender.com is the place to look

Puck

Ecuadorian · 16 Sept 2009, 23:51

@dermotcoll said:

the best package to maximise the WOW factor?

WOW factor = Post-production. In Photoshop/GIMP/Lightroom, you name it. Richard has shown that even raw SketchUp output can look great if you know how to do good post-production.

So don't worry too much about what render package you choose, if you decide to render at all, and learn to do good photo compositing, learn some basic effects like bloom, vignetting, and start your collection of high-quality cutouts of people, plants, etc., for compositing.

xrok1 · 17 Sept 2009, 00:42

i think you'll find as many opinions as you will renderers, but... since mine is the only one that actually counts , get Twilight. its great at any price, it just so happens that the price is as great as the software. (till Sept,24)

honoluludesktop · 17 Sept 2009, 00:46

I use Su, and a "easy to use" renderer because I need to present yesterday, and am very lazy. My renders are not WOW. But what I have seen of "Piranesi" it is very WOW! Is this a case of "greener grass"? Photo realistic is not WOW without a lot of work, experience, and post processing (PS). They have some software that is "real time", but not ray-tracing. Your typical system is not real time, and you cannot see what you are doing. To learn well, you need to have time to burn. Still, look at Solo's stuff for some example of a Master, and if that is your goal, just ask him what he uses (actually I think he uses several systems, each for different things).

Some people are just talented. Here is a unrendered Su presentation that I like.

Whaat · 18 Sept 2009, 15:18

If you are looking for WOW factor, photorealism and ease of use, take a look at Indigo Render
It's a free download if you want to try it out.

honoluludesktop · 18 Sept 2009, 21:17

WOWhaat, So you do more then make great ruby tools?

Whaat · 18 Sept 2009, 21:46

I should clarify that the above render was not done by me or modelled by me. It's just an example of the quality of Indigo.

solo · 18 Sept 2009, 22:00

Great render, LMFAO at the artwork on the wall...'scrat'??

xrok1 · 19 Sept 2009, 00:48

@whaat said:

I should clarify that the above render was not done by me or modelled by me. It's just an example of the quality of Indigo.

i would bet that your PB and SDS had a lot to do with this scene though.

Whaat · 21 Sept 2009, 22:25

@xrok1 said:

@whaat said:

I should clarify that the above render was not done by me or modelled by me. It's just an example of the quality of Indigo.

i would bet that your PB and SDS had a lot to do with this scene though.

I should have also mentioned that the image was not modelled with SketchUp. However, it is definitely possible to model it in SketchUp (Profile Builder and SDS would come in handy all right... )

I did not intend to deceive anyone. I was just giving an example image of the image quality of Indigo Render. I have seen images that look just as good that HAVE been modelled with SU. I just did not post one here. Sorry for the confusion.

pilou · 21 Sept 2009, 23:23

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