FREE Maxwell Render for Sketchup (free version).

jason_maranto

This is where we bump up against the limitations of the "stand-alone" plugin as far as materials are concerned -- as things stand right now there is no way to map specularity within the stand-alone plugin... you will have to use MXED (I'm sure you've heard me say that before). In order to do that you will have to download the demo version of the full Maxwell Render Suite.

This may change in the future, obviously there is already a request in place to allow the embedded character type materials to map specularity but when (and in what form) this arrives I could not say.

Within MXED mapping specularity is a fairly simple operation which you can see my video for here: http://youtu.be/sof2gfMQXwc

Displacement is a simpler matter within the plugin-- under the bump section you will find that you can choose from bump/normal/displacement and load a texture/settings as needed... but before you get too far into working with displacement materials please read this thread as it will save you alot of wasted time/bad results: http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=352777#p352777

Best,
Jason.

Zoom123

Thanks!

Would it still worth to buy the arroway textures (or similar) even though I will not be able to use the specular maps? How much worst would the result be without the specular maps?

Regarding Bump and Displacement maps, some of the textures would say something like "diffuse 100% - displacement 50mm" (http://www.arroway-textures.com/en/products/stonework-1/contents). With the plugin it doesn't seem possible to change both the bump and the displacement at the same time, it is one or the other. Or maybe I didn't understand something?

jason_maranto

I have already made some of the Arroway materials into MXMs (and linked SketchUp materials) -- however I cannot supply the texture maps to make them work (which each user has to purchased from Arroway on their own).

If you do decide purchase the textures I can share the sets I have already made into materials to at least allow you to have access to the best Maxwell can produce with those particular sets.

The sets I currently have already made are:

http://www.arroway-textures.com/en/products/wood-flooring-1
http://www.arroway-textures.com/en/products/edition-1
http://www.arroway-textures.com/en/products/concrete-1

I'm open to doing other sets but those are the only sets I currently own so it will have to wait until I can purchase more.

As far as displacement (and the plugin) goes you are right, you can only have one method active for any material -- whereas in MXED you can have all three types active in various combinations... hopefully you are getting the hint, it's worth downloading the Maxwell Render Suite demo to get access to MXED (at least until the materials in the plugin are beefed up).

Best,
Jason.

Zoom123

Thanks for the help!!

I am mostly interested in their stone textures ... if I get the Render Suite demo will I be able to create and save the materials and keep those materials to use with the stand-alone plugin even after the demo expires?

@unknownuser said:

at least until the materials in the plugin are beefed up

Any insider info about when that would happen? If I buy the stand-alone plugin now to what sort of free upgrades will I be entitled to? Just minor ones or major ones also? (e.g. 2.6.20, 2.7 or 3 also?)

brodie

There's no difference between the materials you make in the demo or your ability to save them so you'd be able to use them in the free version forever.

You get free upgrades to point releases, and then discounts (as I recall) to upgrading at major releases (ie. v3 whenever that comes out).

-Brodie

Zoom123

Thanks Brodie. I will have a look at the demo then!

brodie

Let us know how you like it. I think you'll really like the material creation process.

-Brodie

jason_maranto

Once you have the demo you will definitely want to watch these videos:

http://support.nextlimit.com/display/tuts/Maxwell+Render+video+course+from+VTC

The ones from "Introducing the Material Editor" forward are a good primer course on the basics of working in MXED and general Maxwell materials principles... which personally I find is one of the most fascinating elements of working in Maxwell.

Best,
Jason.

Stinkie

@jason_maranto said:

I have already made some of the Arroway materials into MXMs (and linked SketchUp materials)

I'd kill for those. Well, not quite, but still. I own most of Arroway's dvds -I'd love to pick your mats apart.

jason_maranto

I'm not sure they would have much relevance outside of Maxwell -- however if you'd like to take a look you can find all of the links for the "edition 1 set" here:

http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=350773#p350773

I haven't posted the next 2 sets because I'm still tweaking them based on tester feedback -- I'm a bit slowed down right now due to a looming deadline for a new tutorial series on Substance Designer.

Best,
Jason.

Stinkie

@jason_maranto said:

I'm not sure they would have much relevance outside of Maxwell

I own a license -so thanks.

Zoom123

From what is said I understand that creating the materials based on the Arroway textures is not as simple as just loading the maps and values provided by Arroway in MXED. Is that correct? In that case maybe instead of trying to create the materials myself with the demo version I would be better off downloading ready made materials created by pros!

jason_maranto

It is alot of work -- each set took me about a week of solid work to put together (including testing time)... and it is not really as straight forward in Maxwell as it might be with Arroway in other engines but I do use the formulas they provide (just interpreted through the Maxwell interface).

There are some marketplaces where you can buy ready made MXM materials -- here's a good place to start:

http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Index.cfm?keyword=&media_typeid=3&include_artist=bubbaloo&display_format=list&page_num=1

and also here:

http://www.dvc3dtextures.com/

Best,
Jason.

brodie

@zoom123 said:

From what is said I understand that creating the materials based on the Arroway textures is not as simple as just loading the maps and values provided by Arroway in MXED. Is that correct? In that case maybe instead of trying to create the materials myself with the demo version I would be better off downloading ready made materials created by pros!

Material creation in any professional program is as much art as science (although maxwell in general and Jason, in particular, has the potential to create materials in a highly scientific way). That said, you should do both. Jason's materials will give you a great idea of how to create your own. The MXED has some wizards that can help you create plastic, glass, textured materials, metals, etc. so it's easy to pick up and get something very good without being a pro. But the more you use it you'll discover what exactly the values and settings do and the process will be faster.

With the arroway textures you can pretty much just use the wizard to create a "textured" material, drop in the arroway maps and you'll be in great shape. Jason tends to take them to the next level though tweaking values and adjusting layers to get them just right (and then generously GIVING his hard work away to the joy of us all!). However, if you're new to Maxwell, photography, and/or rendering in general using Jason's materials could be like learning how to golf with a $400 driver - it won't hurt but it's not going to magically make you a good golfer...or renderer. So keep that in mind, and definitely play around with the material creator as it's one of the most enjoyable parts of Maxwell IMO.

-Brodie

Zoom123

Thanks for the answers! As a newbie and non-professional in this field I think for the time being I will stick with the stand-alone plugin and ready made materials. It seems that I will have to learn a lot to create high quality materials with MXED and there is no point in trying to learn so much within the 30 day demo trial when I am not planning to buy the Render Suite (for now at least).

I was looking at the results of the Maxwell Render For Google SketchUp Competition and I wonder if the images there were created exclusively with the stand-alone plugin (particularly for the "Free Category") without the use of MXED or any other help from the Render Suite.

Stinkie

@jason_maranto said:

http://www.dvc3dtextures.com/

Hmm, nice one. Thanks.

jason_maranto

@zoom123 said:

I was looking at the results of the Maxwell Render For Google SketchUp Competition and I wonder if the images there were created exclusively with the stand-alone plugin (particularly for the "Free Category") without the use of MXED or any other help from the Render Suite.

IMO using MXED does not violate the terms of the free category because it is free also -- the last time I used the demo, MXED did not expire with the rest of the suite... however that may not be the case any longer. Next Limit often run contests and competitions on the Maxwell MXM Resources webpage and to be fair to everybody users would need access to MXED to create their entries, so some of what you can download there was created using demo versions.

I would venture to say that getting high-quality output from Maxwell will require the use of MXED at least sometimes (or ready made MXM materials)... there are simply too many instances where you need to do complex blending of layers/BSDF to get a particular effect.

The embedded character type materials in the plugin are essentially "wizard" materials and were really made for simple convenience of converting SketchUp materials rather than actually taking the place of MXED... the stand-alone plugin concept came much later and the materials have not yet been revisited to deal with the lack of MXED (with the exception of IES emitters).

I would definitely say material making is probably the most complex element of working with Maxwell -- it's an area that even long-term users can have issues with. But bear in mind, if/when the plugin materials are "beefed up" it will have to become more like MXED because that is the basis of all Maxwell material making in all plugins... so learning MXED will never hurt you, nor be wasted time.

However all that said, your particular circumstances are somewhat unique in the sense that you have a particular project you are working on -- and it is unknown if you will need to use the software regularly beyond that. If I were in your shoes I would probably choose to keep it simple as well.

Best,
Jason.

jason_maranto

@unknownuser said:

Hmm, nice one. Thanks.

Sure, I'll also let you know when I publicly release the other Arroway sets I made -- I'll probably be doing some of the wood veneer sets in the near future as well. Another user is purchasing these specific Arroway texture sets for me so that I can then create the libraries for the sets they are interested in using... which is nice for me since I get the textures, and nice for them since they get the ready-made materials libraries.

Best,
Jason.

Zoom123

Thanks Jason

@unknownuser said:

the last time I used the demo, MXED did not expire with the rest of the suite

Anybody can say if this continues to be the case? My impression was that MXED was part of the Render Suite and that I wouldn't be able to use it independently (and for free without time limit!!). If MXED is a separate application could it maybe even be installed by itself without the need to install the whole RS?

As you know I am comparing Maxwell for SU with Twilight Render (it is hard to choose!). After building a new computer and after the latest updates (IES etc) I can say that I like Maxwell more and I get a bit better results with it. But the big plus of Twilight for me is that it can be combined with Kerkythea (which is free), and this seems to be particularly useful for material creation when the limits of Twilight are reached. My impression was that to create MXM I would need the Render Suite which is expensive (compared with Kerkythea). If I can get MXED for free then choosing between the two will become much easier

jason_maranto

No, MXED apparently requires the rest of the Suite to be installed to function -- this was the very first question I asked when I found about about the stand-alone plugin. However since it is not possible to produce anything but materials in MXED there is no danger of anybody misusing it should it not expire.

All I can say for sure is that I used the demo versions for quite some time (almost a year) before purchasing the full Render Suite which allowed me the chance to really get familiar with Maxwell materials... this extended timeframe of working primarily in MXED (and researching the forum) is where I got my deep familiarity with Maxwell material capabilities.

If they now changed MXED to expire, it would be a recent advent.

Best,
Jason.