@valerostudio said: Andy, are you still happy with the workflow in Blender? I haven't quite made the jump to production work in Blender. I've been trying out some higher-poly models to see how well the import works. The biggest issue with workflow right now is where I have a lot of component instances (like a restaurant with furniture for example) it all comes in as one huge model. You can make instances in Blender, so I could bring in one component of each thing and make duplicates in Blender - but, you know - doesn't seem like the best workflow. There's also proxy, which is sweet, but I've only brushed the surface yet. Otherwise, I'm still just learning the ins and outs of Blender. I really love the program, but it's also very deep. I'm also trying to figure out vray settings (using the standalone.) I've been trying to get my renders to look the same as out of vfsu, but it's surprisingly difficult to find all the right settings to switch. GI is handled very differently (dome light), so there's not just the simple switch that we have in vfsu. Artificially lit spaces are much more easy to replicate. I also just don't have a whole lot of time to devote, as I've been booked pretty solid lately. It's a good thing, but I just don't have as much time to play Andy

Yep, both of those used displacement -- which is a shame because they really didn't need it, so I made edited versions for you without displacement: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/41250852/j_edited_concretes.zip For that matter I have already made hundreds of free SketchUp materials with linked MXM's for all of the Arroway textures (including the Concrete set), which you can get here: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=107&t=38528 While it's true the Arroway textures (http://www.arroway-textures.com/) can be slightly expensive, you will find they are the best in the business... and by using my sets you will have whatever you want already ready to use just like any normal Sketchup material. Best, Jason.

@valmach said: Hi All.. using SK8 Pro.. with VRAY and Indigo.. issue I am having.. when i try to render with Vray.. the SU Animation engages autonomously. I have uninstalled/reinstalled everything.. removed Indigo.. Removed VRAY.. still no joy.. please advise. Running Win7 64.. never had this issue.. Not a big issue,go to best settings of animation in vray,if you have other render engines as plugin in Sketchup,just go to Window > Preferences > Extensions and untick all other render engines accept the one you want to render. And one think, i didn't understand your question 100% but i tried to help you guy,may this will be helpful to you.!!!

You're welcome.

No crashes on any of the machines on our office - even with render region.

I finally got around to watching this tutorial. I'm only a quarter of the way through but so far I think it's an excellent overview. My rendering knowledge is spotty and inconsistent so I expect I'll come away with a much better grounding in V-Ray. I notice also that they've added a Twilight tutorial for those who are interested. Some comments on lynda.com for those who haven't used this service before (I'm not in any way affiliated - just a subscriber): lynda.com is a website that offers a very, very wide range of tutorials for many types of software. Subscription is $25/month and you can watch as many videos on as many subjects as you can cram into the month. They make it easy to unsubscribe. I think they expect you to subscribe and unsubcribe often depending on your needs. So a strong thumbs up for this one. Well worth the $25 and after the V-Ray video I think I'll have time to brush up on some of my modo skills, take a look at the Twilight video and maybe even scan through some of the SketchUp videos to see if there's anything new to me.

Totally Amazing!

This setup seems to be working for me. Make sure to save as an EXR to take full advantage of this workflow. I ran a test with an interior scene lit only by a small 4"x 6" hole in the wall using Skylight. Rendered clearly with minimal tweaking. [image: exeo_LWFSetup.JPG]

@frv said: I use the latest version of Maxwell rendersuite. Though this feature is hidden for as long its not officially rolled out and properly tested. No idea how this feature will be set up later on in the final version. I do know that it worls great, even in beta. Francois hi Francois, thanks for your reply! its use looks great on your posted image, anyhow, it would be fantastic to see the feature included on the standalone plugin... best V

@andybot said: Here is some further discussion about using HDRI for interior - and explains my answer above. http://www.chaosgroup.com/forums/vbulletin/showthread.php?69182-HDRI-interior (registration required) thank you for this link

Got sidetracked by another project. Undetermined yet.

Well, if you wait a little while (or a long while, still not entirely sure ) The next version of vray for sketchup is supposed to have proxy support. I am very curious to see what sorts of new goodies will be implemented next. Andy

OK, thanks for the links!

Hi Rich, Yep, I'm running the latest Sketchup v8 and I uninstalled Vray and installed it again. I've removed Maxwell Render in previous attempts when installing Vray and it makes no difference. I have a paid license of Maxwell Render this time and I'm hesitant to uninstall it!! There is obviously something on my laptop that doesn't agree with Vray. And I'm no closer to solving this issue. Vray support team were uselss. Thanks Anita

I've now created a new thread for the actual free release, however I'll post the note here as well! Bloom Unit is now free to download and use. Bloom Unit is a cloud based, physically accurate renderer for Sketchup, now downloadable for free. Coming with one free hour you can trial and test with, users then purchase more hours at $6 an hour. Simply head over to http://www.bloomunit.com to download now, also don't forget to check http://www.youtube.com/bloomunit for more movies and interesting features! Note; We are aware of an issue when arraying our light objects where it creates two lights ontop of each other at the terminal point of the array. This is being fixed as we speak. Please post any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer promptly. Enjoy!

@valerostudio said: It's buggy but I dont think 1.05.30 is a better product. Just the ambient occlusion, IES files, and transparent PNGs are enough to convince me to deal with the bugs. As for the debug menu, you have to go to Plugins - VRay - Help - Debugging. There are a few options in there. Beware that this will reset all materials in your file to defaults. Yea - 1.05.30 is more stable - but the features of 1.49.01 is so good that I can't ignore it. Fortunately a new beta should start soon.

it works when i put some boxes and lights. I'm guessing it may the 1. the file size; 2. overlaping surfaces in the model. i decided to do it all over again, since none of the mentioned solutions worked for me. shame tho, if it's about the file size, SU developers should deal with that ty for your help, though

Hello all, I've created a 3D warehouse collection of compatible Bloom Unit scenes. I'll be adding to it over the coming days, at the moment there are only three, but if you want to explore a scene with lighting and materials already applied you can try these. http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/cldetails?mid=886ddd8b1171375c549aea9f300237 Have fun!

@valerostudio said: Dont forget to set your subdivs high on that refraction glossiness (30 or more). Render times will be a beast but the results are worth it. the subdivs setting will control how smooth the frosted glass looks, the higher the number the smoother it looks (but at significant cost in render times)