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  • M Offline
    Mill3rLuke
    last edited by 22 Jun 2023, 15:40

    Hi people,

    I want to take my modelling / design game to the next level. I want to start to learn how to render. I keep putting it off as everytime i look at programmes it seems theres so many.

    i would like to pay monthly with no contract, also i intended to start slow so im not looking for all the bells and whistles and i dont need to get lighting spot on but i want to elevate my designs one more step.

    Money is tight so i would like to find something cost effective also.

    What are all your suggestions?

    thanks

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    • R Offline
      Rich O Brien Moderator
      last edited by 22 Jun 2023, 16:21

      Trial as many as you can and go with the one that meets your budget and expectations.

      There's no 'you need this one or that one' when you're starting off. I've seen great renders from apps under $100 and shite ones from apps >$1000. It's not the app its the thing between the keyboard and chair.

      Download the free D'oh Book for SketchUp

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      • N Offline
        ntxdave
        last edited by 22 Jun 2023, 16:33

        @rich o brien said:

        Trial as many as you can and go with the one that meets your budget and expectations.

        There's no 'you need this one or that one' when you're starting off. I've seen great renders from apps under $100 and shite ones from apps >$1000. It's not the app its the thing between the keyboard and chair.

        While I agree with @Rich, I would suggest looking at Twilight Render. Not expensive, fairly easy to learn and good resources & tutorials.

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        • G Offline
          Glenn at home
          last edited by 22 Jun 2023, 19:53

          So many to choose from. My main 2 are SimLab Composer (a 3rd party stand alone and they have a free version for ANY use) and I also use Ambient Occlusion (a direct SU plugin).

          SimLab is pretty nice and will import SU models with ease. Most times you can just import your SU model and click render and you will get a great result. Spent some time learning the software, tweaking materials and lighting and it will be even better.
          https://www.simlab-soft.com/3d-products/simlab-composer-main.aspx?locale=en

          Ambient Occlusion is not as complicated as SimLab but you can still get some great images out of it.
          https://www.fluidinteractive.com/products/sketchup-extensions/ambientocclusion/

          A few test images

          AO

          https://i.ibb.co/Qnhcbk1/SU-render.png

          SimLab

          https://i.ibb.co/cQcndBY/SU-Simlab-test.jpg

          SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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          • S Offline
            solo
            last edited by 22 Jun 2023, 23:37

            My 2c

            Depending on your computer, if you have a decent rig I'd go for a real-time render engine, trust me you want instant results while learning, back in the day I'd have to wait hours to just spot mistakes.

            and there is one, it's fantastic, it also integrates with Sketchup very well and it's free.

            Twinmotion is the direction you want, it has both raster and path racing engines, tons of materials, assets, and most importantly support.

            http://www.solos-art.com

            If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

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            • P Offline
              pilou
              last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 07:17

              You have also an free alternative in a very funny way! πŸ’š

              here with the Free Leonardo (150 images / Day ) Online so no need a monster of computer
              mine is more 10 years old!

              Take any image (in your case a screenshot of your Sketchup project)

              Mode Stable Diff 1.5, (Leonardo style, or without )
              Prompt "Contemporary Villa Design, garden and tree background"
              Mode Image to Image
              Mode Control Net Weight (Depth to image) slider to 0.52

              The concept πŸ€“
              Any Image

              https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/265539187_orig.jpg

              without Lenardo Style

              https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/238997873_orig.jpg

              with Leonardo Style

              https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/333888955_orig.jpg

              The more difficult is to register to Leonardo! https://leonardo.ai

              5 minutes to 5 days following affluence! πŸ˜„
              I use it all day for anything! πŸ˜‰ (some many pages 🀒

              Frenchy Pilou
              Is beautiful that please without concept!
              My Little site :)

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              • L Online
                L i am
                last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 09:57

                Could you post your computer specifications please?

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                • M Offline
                  Mill3rLuke
                  last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 14:46

                  @l i am said:

                  Could you post your computer specifications please?

                  Hi Liam

                  my computer is intel corei7 windows platform.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • N Offline
                    ntxdave
                    last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 15:03

                    What type of models are you looking at modeling (interior/exterior or both)?

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                    • M Offline
                      Mill3rLuke
                      last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 15:16

                      @ntxdave said:

                      What type of models are you looking at modeling (interior/exterior or both)?

                      abit of everything, i model construction work as conceptural designs i also do my own little projects which can be engineering models etc.

                      I am a beginner at rendering, i dont want somthing that will suck me into a deep hole and spend hours on end working out how to use it, Im hoping to find somthing i can start using easily and almost hit a button, and when i understand it more i can start playing with it over time. I just dont have the time at the moment to enter that dark hole at the moment to fully dive deep into it.

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                      • P Offline
                        pilou
                        last edited by 23 Jun 2023, 18:00

                        Same computer than Luke! πŸ˜‰

                        I can Use Twinmotion (free in 2K) or Simlab Composer Lite (free)! πŸ˜‰
                        simlab = ergonomy of Keyshot so no headache! πŸ˜„

                        TwinMotion πŸ˜„

                        https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/gif-poses_orig.gif

                        Simlab

                        https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/verve-mania_orig.jpg

                        https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/bigs1_orig.jpg

                        https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/deckolor01_1_orig.jpg

                        https://images2.imgbox.com/aa/9a/a2znoprd_o.jpg

                        https://images2.imgbox.com/ba/09/ImQWwKMs_o.jpg

                        Frenchy Pilou
                        Is beautiful that please without concept!
                        My Little site :)

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                        • M Offline
                          Mill3rLuke
                          last edited by 26 Jun 2023, 08:42

                          @pilou said:

                          Same computer than Luke! πŸ˜‰

                          I can Use Twinmotion (still and animations images) (free in 2K) or Simlab Composer Lite still image (free)! πŸ˜‰
                          TwinMotion very friendly UI
                          simlab = ergonomy of Keyshot so no headache! πŸ˜„
                          lite = 1920 * 800 so maybe take a previous version 9 (1920 *1040)
                          don't take a free trial ... a normal version then when you launch it choose "Demo mode" πŸ˜‰

                          TwinMotion πŸ˜„

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/gif-tond5_orig.gif

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/gif-poses_orig.gif

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/improbability_orig.jpg

                          Simlab Lite (of course all that is 3D! πŸ˜‰
                          painting is from the genious free Verve by Taron (Dynamic Fluids) 😎
                          you can also use free Vervette Online 😎

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/verve-mania_orig.jpg

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/bigs1_orig.jpg

                          Seems remember that trees are from a pack by Rich πŸ˜‰
                          Deck is from a marvelous Plugin "Deck Builder" by SDMitch 😎

                          https://moiscript.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/8/3938813/deckolor01_1_orig.jpg

                          Textures are from my little unfinished project because Gaugan 2 on line is down 😒

                          https://images2.imgbox.com/aa/9a/a2znoprd_o.jpg

                          https://images2.imgbox.com/ba/09/ImQWwKMs_o.jpg

                          Thank you,

                          i downloaded SIMlab and stuck at the furst hurdle. I tried import a sketchup file and it says the file format is not supported by this version of the application.

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                          • P Offline
                            pilou
                            last edited by 26 Jun 2023, 09:48

                            Hum...
                            Maybe Just in SketchUp Save as the previous Version 2017 πŸ˜‰

                            Frenchy Pilou
                            Is beautiful that please without concept!
                            My Little site :)

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • G Offline
                              Glenn at home
                              last edited by 26 Jun 2023, 11:58

                              No idea what version of SimLab you installed but I am using 11.0.46 and it seems to handle current SU files just fine. Here is a test render of a SU object. Inserted into SL, applied 2 materials and hit the render button and 2.5 min later...

                              SLC test render.png

                              SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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                              • P Offline
                                pilou
                                last edited by 26 Jun 2023, 12:13

                                You have also the quasi real time render for find the good position, ligth etc before the final render if necessary! πŸ˜‰

                                Frenchy Pilou
                                Is beautiful that please without concept!
                                My Little site :)

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • L Online
                                  L i am
                                  last edited by 27 Jun 2023, 11:33

                                  @mill3rluke said:

                                  @l i am said:

                                  Could you post your computer specifications please?

                                  Hi Liam

                                  my computer is intel corei7 windows platform.

                                  Graphics card? Vram? Ram?

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • M Offline
                                    Mike Amos
                                    last edited by 6 Jul 2023, 13:42

                                    Have a look at those offered in free or with a hobby version. Go from there when ready. TM is fine but like all render programs, you need to carefully check required hardware BEFORE the point of any sale.

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                                    • L Online
                                      L i am
                                      last edited by 7 Jul 2023, 06:56

                                      @mike amos said:

                                      Have a look at those offered in free or with a hobby version. Go from there when ready. TM is fine but like all render programs, you need to carefully check required hardware BEFORE the point of any sale.

                                      Correct about TM it is free but as ti the computer requirements which are now over the top as far as CPU/GPU combinations go GTX cards are no longer supported by TM Only RTX cards and some of the higher end AMD's. And 8 GB of vram or the program will not let you play at all.

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                                      • P Offline
                                        pilou
                                        last edited by 7 Jul 2023, 10:05

                                        Load previous TwinMotion versions! πŸ€“
                                        Works fine on my more ten years latop! πŸ˜‰

                                        Frenchy Pilou
                                        Is beautiful that please without concept!
                                        My Little site :)

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • L Online
                                          L i am
                                          last edited by 7 Jul 2023, 12:12

                                          @pilou said:

                                          Load previous TwinMotion versions! πŸ€“
                                          Works fine on my more ten years latop! πŸ˜‰

                                          Can I assume you are not using path tracing?

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