Render software advice

holmes1977 · 13 Feb 2012, 19:50

I would go along with what Tom said. Thea and Vue are great choices. Avoid any render-er that works within Sketchup.
Because this will never be able to handle lots of high poly models. As you would use in landscaping.

davids90gt · 15 Feb 2012, 13:24

Thanks guys for the response. I have been jumping into Kerkythea a little bit. Is there any reasons i shouldn't use Kerkythea? I also am looking at the demo version of Thea. I would love some feedback on the pros and cons of these programs.

I've worked with Dynascape software in the past and they are recommending shaderlight. From the looks of it, I can tell a huge difference between Shaderlight and Kerkythea. Can anyone explain the technical differences between the two and why Dynascape would be recommending it?

Schmeade · 15 Feb 2012, 15:48

Hey Guys,
Shaderlights "Replace Me" tool allows you to load massively complicated components (such as the dynascape trees) into your model without killing SketchUp.
Replace Me works by having a low poly placeholder in your SketchUp scene and then when you hit render it is replaced with the high poly version.

Basically it means you get the benefits of both worlds, integrated rendering for a quick work flow and the ability to render very high poly models.

This video explains Replace Me better than I can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czKJfFVb85U

On 3D warehouse there is a bunch of Dynascape trees pre-made as Replace Me components that are ready to render in Shaderlight.

Hope that helps.

solo · 15 Feb 2012, 15:51

@schmeade said:

Hey Guys,
Shaderlights "Replace Me" tool allows you to load massively complicated components (such as the dynascape trees) into your model without killing SketchUp.
Replace Me works by having a low poly placeholder in your SketchUp scene and then when you hit render it is replaced with the high poly version.

Basically it means you get the benefits of both worlds, integrated rendering for a quick work flow and the ability to render very high poly models.

This video explains Replace Me better than I can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czKJfFVb85U

On 3D warehouse there is a bunch of Dynascape trees pre-made as Replace Me components that are ready to render in Shaderlight.

Hope that helps.

In a nutshell, they have a collaboration, hence the endorsement.

davids90gt · 15 Feb 2012, 16:16

Yeah i watched a webinar on shaderlight, and they explained the "replace me" tool. Most of my projects will be landscape construction in someones backyard, so i probably won't have more than a few trees. I personally don't think that feature alone would be enough to buy Shaderlight.

Right now I'm more interested in what people have to say about Kerkythea vs. a paid program such as Thea.

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 16:33

Kerkythea and Thea - in many respects - are very similar. In fact, their developer is the same person. From a landscape designer's point of view, a big difference can be displacement which is not available in Kerkythea. If this is a smaller yard however, you can live without displaced grass and use grass instances that are supported in both. Also if just a couple of trees, they can also be added with no issues similar to SketchUp as they can handle high polygon meshes much better.

solo · 15 Feb 2012, 17:27

@unknownuser said:

a big difference can be displacement which is not available in Thea.

Huh!? you mean not available in KT right? as it is in Thea.

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 17:49

Yes, exactly, thank you Pete (I have corrected my mistake above).

markitekt · 15 Feb 2012, 18:35

I've had good luck with Twilight renderer for SketchUp which is also a stepchild of Kerkythea.
http://www.twilightrender.com/

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 18:44

Yes, Twilight, definitely. Especially for "starters". And you can export your model with all the settings already made to Kerkythea if you want more power (64 bit computing etc.)

markitekt · 15 Feb 2012, 18:48

I'm a bit of a newbie with the rendering stuff, but I was wondering what is "displacement"? Does it do a realistic job of materials like grass without having to instance it? What are good easy to use renderers that incorporate this?
Thanks,
Mark

davids90gt · 15 Feb 2012, 18:50

Thanks for the input! I'm still a bit confused, why is kerkythea free, and what makes all other render programs worth what they sell for?

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 19:05

@markitekt said:

Does it do a realistic job of materials like grass without having to instance it?

More or less yes. It (somehow, don't ask me the technical details) does not only apply hadows and make a surface "bumpy" like a bump map but actually creates real geometry sticking out of the surface. Think of roof tiles, grass etc. (although displaced grass will never be as "real" as instanced but for mid distance, it is okay).

There are many renderers that can do that (like V-ray) but I only have experience with Thea in this respect. Here is a post over their forum where I used a single colour image (purely for testing reasons) as diffuse and a displacement map. Then there is the resulting roof below:
http://www.thearender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=34261#p34261
(Note that I suck at rendering).

@unknownuser said:

I'm still a bit confused, why is kerkythea free, and what makes all other render programs worth what they sell for?

Well, Kerky is a bit exceptional, that's why it's free.
There are ones that's worth the price and there are obviously heavily overpriced renderers.

markitekt · 15 Feb 2012, 19:06

Guys like Solo and Gaieus are the experts on this stuff, but programs like Twilight at least make it easy for the novice like me to do very nice renderings quickly. There are many presets for setting up materials and lighting quickly which can be somewhat daunting if you don't have a lot of experience with it. Also it has the ability to do HDRI skies which is another feature that seems to be on the checklist. Cost is always a major factor since realistic rendering isn't a major priority for our daily architectural workflow. I am extremely impressed with some of the work I've seen on Solo's web site and I believe he uses several renderers including Thea, Twilight, and others. I'm interested in their opinions on what are good renderers based on what an individuals specific rendering needs are.
Mark

Stinkie · 15 Feb 2012, 19:11

@unknownuser said:

I have been jumping into Kerkythea a little bit. Is there any reasons i shouldn't use Kerkythea?

I find its GI a little weak. But that shouldn't be a concern for you, as you do mostly exteriors. Let's see ... 64 bit, studio app, free render-ready tree models, instancing brush, free ready-to-use materials, helpful community, some good free tutorials, biased and unbiased rendering. Might be just the app for a beginner with your needs. Caveat: you won't get great results straight away. Don't be put off -learning to make a decent render takes a bit of practice, regardless of the app you're using.

In short: try Kerky for a year or so.

Stinkie · 15 Feb 2012, 19:14

Oh: don't choose a renderer over another because it does displacement. It's a nice feature and all, but it's terribly slow -in any app. And as Gai says, displaced grass doesn't look good.

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 19:19

@markitekt said:

Guys like Solo and Gaieusare the experts on this stuff, but programs like Twilight at least make it easy for the novice like me to do very nice renderings quickly...

ehm...

@gaieus said:

(Note that I suck at rendering).

Anyway, it was also Twilight for me where I started to "feel" what I am doing.

markitekt · 15 Feb 2012, 19:25

@gaieus said:

@markitekt said:

Guys like Solo and Gaieusare the experts on this stuff, but programs like Twilight at least make it easy for the novice like me to do very nice renderings quickly...

ehm...

@gaieus said:

(Note that I suck at rendering).

Anyway, it was also Twilight for me where I started to "feel" what I am doing.

Don't underestimate your abilities my friend.

Stinkie · 15 Feb 2012, 19:28

Ah, Twilight. Related to KT. Any file exported by TW can be opened in KT. Twilight is easier to use than KT. Setting up materials is dead-easy.

So, what you may want to do, is set up mats and lighting in SU using Twilight, then export, and add render-ready trees from the KT site in KT.

Gaieus · 15 Feb 2012, 19:33

@markitekt said:

Don't underestimate your abilities my friend.

Well, my renders always smell sweat.

@unknownuser said:

So, what you may want to do, is set up mats and lighting in SU using Twilight, then export, and add render-ready trees from the KT site in KT.

Exactly, if you really need those high poly plants. I can often get away with billboards inside Twilight though. And as long as SU can handle them, Twilight has no more issues rendering component instances than Kerky. Also it can render stuff on hidden layers (what a Godsend!)