External render info

beckdan

i am looking into buying an external render program for SU have so far come across v-ray and su podium. Would love to hear from people what they use, what they recommend, and what other options i should look into...
Thanks

thomthom

I use V-Ray due to its speed. This week a new release is coming up - which will make the workflow smoother.

Chris Fullmer

You'll hear many options. I think most of them have some sort of free trial. Play with that first.

What type of renderings will you be doing? Some renderers are better for some things. Plus some are cheaper than others - some are free for the full thing. What is your price range? What is your ability/desire/need to learn? Is it just for fun?, or for pay?

I also recommend checking out the gallery, and some of the render threads in there. The render threads are open to all renderers. So you can see how outputs from various renderers. But I have to wanr about that, that most of the renderers can churn out professional quality work, it is all in the user. So if you see an ugly render by a certain renderer, it might not be the software.

Good luck,

Chris

pmolson

Hi Beckdan,

I am a big fan of podium. I test drove several programs prior to deciding on Podium.

My reasons for going with Podium are as follows.

Learning curve very short.
Very good quality renders without having to become a graphic artist.
Excellent support through their forums.
Very affordable.

*I am an architectural designer/drafter in the residential design/build industry.

Podium has a new version currently in Beta which has many improvements on an already very
effective tool.

The above image was my first podium render of a sketchup model. Grass & Sky added with photoshop.

Good luck with your search

Gaieus

That's a damn good picture, Paul! Not to speak about a "first render"!

pmolson

Thank you Gaieus,

With the exception of the photo shopped sky and grass it is just
sketchup materials and podium.

The fact that i was able to do this speaks volumes for the ease of use of both
sketchup & podium.

honoluludesktop

Hi Paul, Your render has a very nice nice feel. Where is the shadow on the right side of the building coming from? I often add too much yellow to my landscape and really like your use of green.

d12dozr

Hi Dan,

I use Twilight Render, because its easy to use, priced right, and works right inside Sketchup. Being the complete rendering newbie that I am, I am pleased with their forums where I can ask for help if I need to.

There is a list of renders for Sketchup somewhere here, but I can't find it right now...anybody else?

KXI System

@d12dozr said:

Hi Dan,

I use Twilight Render, because its easy to use, priced right, and works right inside Sketchup. Being the complete rendering newbie that I am, I am pleased with their forums where I can ask for help if I need to.

There is a list of renders for Sketchup somewhere here, but I can't find it right now...anybody else?

Its a sticky in the gallery page which is here.

pmolson

@honoluludesktop said:

Hi Paul, Your render has a very nice nice feel. Where is the shadow on the right side of the building coming from? I often add too much yellow to my landscape and really like your use of green.

I have been asked that same question when I posted this image on the Podium Forum.

There is a tree floating in space off to the left of the view that is casting the shadow.

I moved it over there to get it out of the way while modeling and forgot about it.

When I saw the shadow, I said to myself...no one will notice...ummm I was wrong.

I have to give credit to Oli for the final grass color/tone. It was a darker green when
I first posted this image and he grabbed the image and lightened the grass to more
match the lightness of the sky.

p