sketchucation logo sketchucation
    • Login
    ℹ️ Licensed Extensions | FredoBatch, ElevationProfile, FredoSketch, LayOps, MatSim and Pic2Shape will require license from Sept 1st More Info

    Giving Maxwell another shot

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Gallery
    29 Posts 12 Posters 3.2k Views 12 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • N Offline
      not registered yet
      last edited by

      @unknownuser said:

      Quote:
      [One workaround to the issue of messy, slow, highpoly models is the use of dummy components. In the case of your image, you could create high poly versions of the table and chairs and then use the Sketchup Component browser to replace the low poly versions just prior to exporting to Maxwell. Even better would be if this process could be performed automatically when you export. This feature will be in the next version of SkIndigo (Indigo exporter). It is a truly powerful and useful feature and I expect other render exporters will also have that feature in the future.
      Whaat

      It's like vray-proxy objects?
      When we waiting!!! 😄

      Posted by spire7k

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • J Offline
        jeff jacobs
        last edited by

        Another shot at the model I rendered in Modo, but this time in Maxwell. Might be a nice comparison for those interested in either of these two renderers.

        Modo render: http://www.sketchucation.com/community/forums/suc/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=254&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=10

        The Maxwell renders are just so much nicer than anything excpet for maybe Vray. It's all about the light and Maxwell has that down to a science. Trying real hard to get the materials thing figured out. I really need to work on my rice paper material. One of these days.


        7a.jpg

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • J Offline
          Jackson
          last edited by

          Jeff,

          I'm messing around with the Maxwell demo just now and am pretty impressed with the results. I love the SU plugin and export (except the materials editor which is horribly buggy), but render times are horrendous. At first I thought they were great, but that was only to a grainy quality- when I try to leave them longer (25 SL passes) to get a grainless result like yours above it takes days on my laptop which is a fairly decent spec.

          I seem to remember you work on a supercomputer (8 CPUs?) Very Happy , but how long would the above image take to render for example?

          HP dv8000
          Centrino Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz
          1.5Gb RAM
          nVidia GeForce Go7400

          Jackson


          Jackson

          HP dv8000, Centrino Duo T2400 1.83GHz, 1.5Gb RAM,
          nVidia GeForce Go7400
          SU, AutoCAD, Progecad, MicroGDS, Vue, Maxwell, VRay, Photoshop, Dreamweaver

          Jackson

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • J Offline
            jeff jacobs
            last edited by

            Jackson,

            The last image ran for 4 hours on my 8-core. A bunch of processors is the only thing that makes Maxwell a real option. I'm going to try to network my old G5 and a couple of dual G4's together to and see if I can't get the network render going. Processors, and lot's of them, are Maxwell's only hope.

            Also, little grain is good in my opinion. If an image is too clean then it doesn't look any better that one with a lot of grain. Try duplicating the main image into another layer. Do a high-pass filter at about 4 percent on the copy and set it to overlay. This will sharpen up the details nicely. Then switch back to he original layer and use a plugin like Noise Ninja. This will help kill some of the noise but the high-pass will help the image stay sharp. I've also used Noise Ninja on the high-pass layer, but at a real low setting. This will help with the noise too. I always render my images to at least 3000-3200 on the long side, then reduce after all the above.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • J Offline
              Jackson
              last edited by

              Jeff,

              Thanks for the info. Sadly without Deep Blue Rolling Eyes or access to a network I'll have to restrict my Maxwell work to hobby only- the render times are unworkable for me. Although I've complained for ages about Vue's artefacts and quality of radiosity, it's render times means it actually compares pretty well with Maxwell and other unbiased renderers.

              Jackson

              p.s. was that render time for a 3000px wide original or for the 800px attachment?


              Jackson

              HP dv8000, Centrino Duo T2400 1.83GHz, 1.5Gb RAM,
              nVidia GeForce Go7400
              SU, AutoCAD, Progecad, MicroGDS, Vue, Maxwell, VRay, Photoshop, Dreamweaver

              Jackson

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • J Offline
                jeff jacobs
                last edited by

                3000

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • jujuJ Offline
                  juju
                  last edited by

                  @unknownuser said:

                  Jeff Jacobs wrote:
                  3000

                  SPARTAAAA!! (x10)

                  Sorry for the OT, but the whole 300 / Sparta thing with macros still gets me laughing.


                  Save the Earth, it's the only planet with chocolate.

                  +++ NB +++ NB +++ NB +++ NB +++ NB +++

                  MEMBERS: Have you read the announcement?

                  Report this post

                  Save the Earth, it's the only planet with chocolate.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • J Offline
                    Jackson
                    last edited by

                    Jeff,

                    Just 4 hours for a 3000 px wide image in Maxwell?!!! How many teraflops does your machine do? 😄
                    Let me know when you're upgrading- I'll start saving up for your old machine now!

                    Jackson


                    Jackson

                    HP dv8000, Centrino Duo T2400 1.83GHz, 1.5Gb RAM,
                    nVidia GeForce Go7400
                    SU, AutoCAD, Progecad, MicroGDS, Vue, Maxwell, VRay, Photoshop, Dreamweaver

                    Report this post

                    Jackson

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • S Offline
                      Sheik
                      last edited by

                      Hi to everyone, just found my way here now. Cool
                      Great renderings Jeff, like always. That is the Saarinen table from FormFonts you have in the first render right? I had trouble with those faceted edges on that one myself. It is true that with the added realism of Maxwell those sharp and faceted edges become more apparent than with some other products. The low poly models seem to work better with a more CG:ish look. The problem is often that low-poly geometry that looks fine in SU just doesn’t render well. I have noticed this also when rendering curved surfaces with a shiny surface.
                      Here is a quick example of three Panton chairs. One is a low-poly FormFonts chair with a messy mesh. One is s rather high poly Evermotion chair with a clean mesh. The third one, found on the SU forum, is something in between. Can you tell which one is the low-poly one?
                      Image
                      When I use high-poly models in SketchUp I always try keeping them on separate layers, so you can turn them of when working on different parts of the model. I think SU can handle a big file, but displaying everything in a high-poly model is where the problems start.

                      Nondestructive bevelled edges is definitely on my SU wishlist.

                      Sheik


                      pantonskd2.jpg

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M Offline
                        mateo soletic
                        last edited by

                        Sheik
                        Really glad to see You back. Your Su-Maxwell
                        expertise was missing here. 😄

                        [Concept Illustrations](http://concept-illustrations.com/)

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • A Offline
                          architectboy
                          last edited by

                          Middle one is low-poly, left one is high-poly, and right one is the mix. 😄

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S Offline
                            Sheik
                            last edited by

                            Bingo! ArchitectBoy gets 3/3 points. Notice how the middle one, the low-poly version, has strange uneven shadows and reflections.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • J Offline
                              jeff jacobs
                              last edited by

                              Greetings from Vancouver. It's BC Day! Woo Hoo!

                              The one on the right is the only one close to the original shape–low poly, high poly, no poly. Very Happy

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • tinanneT Offline
                                tinanne
                                last edited by

                                Who is this "poly" everyone keeps talking about? I've never seen her post her before.... 😉

                                Great work guys! Enjoying the thread.


                                ...still waters, run deep....

                                Tina Anne Stiles, ASAI
                                Quality Digital Watercolor Architectural Illustrations

                                Executive Director : American Society of Architectural Illustrators
                                AIP 30 Competition opens soon. ASAI.org

                                Architectural Rendering

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • 1
                                • 2
                                • 2 / 2
                                • First post
                                  Last post
                                Buy SketchPlus
                                Buy SUbD
                                Buy WrapR
                                Buy eBook
                                Buy Modelur
                                Buy Vertex Tools
                                Buy SketchCuisine
                                Buy FormFonts

                                Advertisement