Render software advice
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@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.
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@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.
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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.
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@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!)
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I'll jump in with my two cents.
I use Thea at work (architecture office) and Kerkythea at home (free). They both work very well/easily with sketchup and either would work just fine for you. If you don't mind paying a bit Thea is the better program (no surprise) but you might not need it.
There are plenty of differences between the two (active development not least) but the two main items I notice switching between the two are displacement and layers. Of these, layers is BY FAR the more important. Displacement is nice, and occasionally I do use it, but it depends on the type of result you're looking for.
Professionally, the images I'm trying to get are meant to show a compelling presentation of the proposed design to the city or a client. Reasonably believable materials and colors are important, as are good shadows (especially to show depth). Either program will do that just fine. Displacement makes for longer render times and more setup. Plus, if they're overdone they look as bad as if they weren't used at all. There are some real artists who use it in their renderings but are you showing closeups that honestly necessitate that detail (possibly) and do you want to spend the extra time required? For me it's rarely worth the time.I tend to like "pretty good" renderings, that specifically establish the desired/required lighting and shadows, and then finish in post-pro (these are some great tutorials for that). It's faster and gives you good looking results, even if it's not PR.
About layers. When models start getting very large (usually when doing detailed exterior scenes) it's really nice to be able to turn off some variation of: the grass, the cars, the trees, the people, etc. It's such a basic feature but unless I've missed it you can't do that with Kerkythea.
Instead of displacing grass, I usually either use instances (very easy to do in either program) or post-pro as in the tutorial listed above.Basically, get Thea if the expense makes sense for your business. Since you're just getting it, I imagine you've been doing fine without it in the past and this is just a new (very helpful) area. If that's the case, kerkythea is the way to go; if it works well then upgrade and the workflow if very similar.
Longer post than I intended. Sorry.
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@unknownuser said:
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.
And can the same be said of Thea?
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@pbacot said:
@unknownuser said:
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.
And can the same be said of Thea?
Yup, and even more. Then there is the progress in process which may soon give even more SU-Thea functionality in the near future.
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@pbacot said:
And can the same be said of Thea?
Well, Kerkythea xml files can be opened in Thea. So a Kerkythea xml file exported from Twilight after some material tweaks, can also be opened and although the material system is somewhat different, much of the settings get through and you need to tweak less in Thea.
This is of course not the "normal" way of doing it as the dedicated Thea exporter has a bunch of functionalities that the Twilight to Kerky exporter does not have (export model hierarchy for instance). But for a quick and dirty job, it works.
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@unknownuser said:
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?
Kerkythea was born from enthusiasm and with active community it did grow in a point when entering into the commercial arena was only feasible option for further development. Even with a new born Thea Render, Kerkythea did stay free and is still been developed (but in slow cycles).
@unknownuser said:
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.
Indeed! For grass I'd use instancing or/and post pro. I rarely seen good enough grass made with displacement (specially when comparing the added render time). Gravel, pavement, stone walls, water... those are good targets for displacement.
@pbacot said:
And can the same be said of Thea?
Like said before, Thea can import kerkythea xml (be it created by Twilight or Kerkythea). Material systems are different, although some similarities can be find. Thea does a KT material conversion with some heuristics, so little fine-tuning may be in need in case of complex materials. Exporting materials/models from Thea to Kerkythea is not possible.
Before jumping to test Thea, it's good to watch overview tutorials.
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