Deciding on a Render....

Dragoonprogramming · 10 Oct 2010, 17:56

Hello everyone!

I have finaly decided that I should bite the bullet and buy the full version of a renderer...
I want some advice on which one to get... Post your favorite renderer!
I am currently using the Render [in] engine for sketchup
I want your opinion of each renderer
I also want to know what the pro's and con's of each render engine.
This would realy help!

Thanks,
Taylor

solo · 10 Oct 2010, 18:10

Rich O Brien · 10 Oct 2010, 18:12

Ditto

Dragoonprogramming · 10 Oct 2010, 18:50

wow okay....

yeah kinda figured that...

solo · 10 Oct 2010, 18:54

Taylor,

Firstly why do you want to render?
What do you want to render?
Is it for profit or hobby?
What is your current experiance with rendering?

Dragoonprogramming · 11 Oct 2010, 03:39

1.mostly um... just to get a better visual of my models (things from pr to npr)
2.everything from houses to furniture to devices (a mix of models)
3.A mix of both
4.currently I have used podium and render [in]
Also my budget is alittle over $100

puck · 11 Oct 2010, 09:21

Sounds like twilight would be a good option. It's a really high quality final product, painless to set up and pretty quick. Loads of materials available to download and applying them is simple.

The trial will give you a good idea of the quality you can expect but I don't think anyone here would say it's bad at all.

Puck

kate-art · 11 Oct 2010, 13:04

Why not try Shaderlight? There's a free 14 day trial of the Pro version but you can continue to use it with restricted lighting and resolution for as long as you like! If you're new to rendering, Shaderlight is ideal as it renders interactively. I won't bore you with a list of features here - just take a look at the video demo! http://artvps.com/content/shaderlight/sketchup/what-is-shaderlight

Dragoonprogramming · 11 Oct 2010, 15:30

hmmm.
twighlight refuses to open on my computer so probably not that....
ill try shaderlight though...
anyone else?

Vicspa · 11 Oct 2010, 15:34

Try kerkythea, (free), Right now I'm looking toward Thea render.
But try them all first.

gascat · 12 Oct 2010, 03:30

I use Podium at work and and I purchased Twilight to use at at home.

I'm finding Podium gives great results with interiors but Twilight with exteriors.

Just my thought.

cheers...Wayne

Mary_1.0 · 13 Oct 2010, 06:15

Twilight's great, especially if you want to do animations and videos. For example, I used a model of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building that's in the SketchUp Warehouse, rendered it with Twilight, and made this video. Enjoy!

[flash=480,385:1ypofy0k]http://www.youtube.com/v/3I345cW-7zM[/flash:1ypofy0k]

jason_maranto · 13 Oct 2010, 15:10

This is well outside your budget but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway becasue they are running a promo right now: Maxwell Render http://www.maxwellrender.com/

Pro's:

Incredible Quality.
Outstanding Sketchup plugin that is getting better all the time.
Stand-alone "studio" application for working with assets from multiple softwares and high poly assets that Sketchup can't handle.
Free plugins for many 3D apps so you can take it with you from program to program.

Con's:

Price
Requires Sketchup Pro

Here's a link to some tutorial videos to give you an idea of how it works:

http://think.maxwellrender.com/first10steps.php?categoryFS=15

Best,
Jason.

remus · 13 Oct 2010, 15:28

@jason_maranto said:

Requires Sketchup Pro

Didnt realise that, any ideas why thats the case?

Sorry for the off topic post Dragoon

jason_maranto · 13 Oct 2010, 15:51

My understanding is the Maxwell exporter makes use of the C++ API in Sketchup Pro for mega fast exports to render... Ruby exports can take 10 times longer (or more) for the same scene. Since Maxwell is definitely a "high-end" renderer it seems reasonable to think that the user-base is mostly professionals where time wasted waiting for exports to render would be too costly to tolerate.

Best,
Jason.

remus · 13 Oct 2010, 16:14

Im pretty sure thats not a pro only feature, can only be a good thing though.

jason_maranto · 13 Oct 2010, 16:32

According to what little info I can find on the subject the C++ SDK is a Pro version only feature.

Best,
Jason.

notareal · 13 Oct 2010, 16:42

@dragoonprogramming said:

hmmm.
twighlight refuses to open on my computer so probably not that....
ill try shaderlight though...
anyone else?

I don't recall that twilight itself have particular issues, maybe some other ruby is interfering. If you are on low budget, take a look on Kerkythea (Twilight uses same engine) or maybe luxrender, both are free. Thea Render might also fit in your budget (promotional pricing during beta phase) - it a step upwards with a full studio and interactive rendering.

jason_maranto · 13 Oct 2010, 16:53

No doubt -- Thea would be my first choice if I wasn't using/couldn't afford Maxwell.

Best,
Jason.

remus · 13 Oct 2010, 17:34

Doesnt mention anything about being pro-specific here: http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/downloadsdksubmit.html