Deciding on a Render....

kate-art

Why not try Shaderlight? There's a free 14 day trial of the Pro version but you can continue to use it with restricted lighting and resolution for as long as you like! If you're new to rendering, Shaderlight is ideal as it renders interactively. I won't bore you with a list of features here - just take a look at the video demo! http://artvps.com/content/shaderlight/sketchup/what-is-shaderlight

Dragoonprogramming

hmmm.
twighlight refuses to open on my computer so probably not that....
ill try shaderlight though...
anyone else?

Vicspa

Try kerkythea, (free), Right now I'm looking toward Thea render.
But try them all first.

gascat

I use Podium at work and and I purchased Twilight to use at at home.

I'm finding Podium gives great results with interiors but Twilight with exteriors.

Just my thought.

cheers...Wayne

Mary_1.0

Twilight's great, especially if you want to do animations and videos. For example, I used a model of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building that's in the SketchUp Warehouse, rendered it with Twilight, and made this video. Enjoy!

[flash=480,385:1ypofy0k]http://www.youtube.com/v/3I345cW-7zM[/flash:1ypofy0k]

jason_maranto

This is well outside your budget but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway becasue they are running a promo right now: Maxwell Render http://www.maxwellrender.com/

Pro's:

Incredible Quality.
Outstanding Sketchup plugin that is getting better all the time.
Stand-alone "studio" application for working with assets from multiple softwares and high poly assets that Sketchup can't handle.
Free plugins for many 3D apps so you can take it with you from program to program.

Con's:

Price
Requires Sketchup Pro

Here's a link to some tutorial videos to give you an idea of how it works:

http://think.maxwellrender.com/first10steps.php?categoryFS=15

Best,
Jason.

remus

@jason_maranto said:

Requires Sketchup Pro

Didnt realise that, any ideas why thats the case?

Sorry for the off topic post Dragoon

jason_maranto

My understanding is the Maxwell exporter makes use of the C++ API in Sketchup Pro for mega fast exports to render... Ruby exports can take 10 times longer (or more) for the same scene. Since Maxwell is definitely a "high-end" renderer it seems reasonable to think that the user-base is mostly professionals where time wasted waiting for exports to render would be too costly to tolerate.

Best,
Jason.

remus

Im pretty sure thats not a pro only feature, can only be a good thing though.

jason_maranto

According to what little info I can find on the subject the C++ SDK is a Pro version only feature.

Best,
Jason.

notareal

@dragoonprogramming said:

hmmm.
twighlight refuses to open on my computer so probably not that....
ill try shaderlight though...
anyone else?

I don't recall that twilight itself have particular issues, maybe some other ruby is interfering. If you are on low budget, take a look on Kerkythea (Twilight uses same engine) or maybe luxrender, both are free. Thea Render might also fit in your budget (promotional pricing during beta phase) - it a step upwards with a full studio and interactive rendering.

jason_maranto

No doubt -- Thea would be my first choice if I wasn't using/couldn't afford Maxwell.

Best,
Jason.

remus

Doesnt mention anything about being pro-specific here: http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/downloadsdksubmit.html

jason_maranto

Near the bottom here:

http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/community/developers.html

Doesn't mention Pro only -- but only mentions Pro... there are a few other links to coding forums that back this up.

Best,
Jason.

Dragoonprogramming

Thanks all!
You have all been so helpful!
I will be trying out maxwell and shaderlight

See Ya

Taylor,

fuzzion

@dragoonprogramming said:

Thanks all!
You have all been so helpful!
I will be trying out maxwell and shaderlight

See Ya

Taylor,

Why are you wasting your time? Vray is the only choice.

Frederik

@fuzzion said:

Why are you wasting your time? Vray is the only choice.

Glad you've read all posts in this thread...

@dragoonprogramming said:

Also my budget is alittle over $100

dedmin

@unknownuser said:

Why are you wasting your time? Vray is the only choice.

Vray is the only choice if He lived on the back side of the Moon ...

charly2008

Hi,

Why not try first the free Kerkythea! If you have experience with Kerkythea, you can you still decide otherwise.

Charly

Greg Law

Have a look at this site.

http://www.renderin.com/
It is a beta version of a very simple render. Even adds a sky to out door images. Great for doing fast renders. They say it will cost less than $200.00 when released. At the moment it is a Free beta.