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    What is your favorite overall rendering engine for SketchUp?

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    • DanielD Offline
      Daniel
      last edited by

      Picking one software through a poll and calling it the best is too subjective. I think the best way to evaluate the various rendering softwares would be under different parameters. For instance, one rendering software might perform great for exterior renderings, but not so well for interior shots.

      My avatar is an anachronism.

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      • thomthomT Offline
        thomthom
        last edited by

        I pick V-Ray solely for it's speed. (Once you know how to use it.) The speed it such a big factor for me that it makes up for the steep learning curve and currently standing bugs and issues.

        Thomas Thomassen โ€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
        List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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        • jason_marantoJ Offline
          jason_maranto
          last edited by

          I voted for Maxwell -- but I think that maybe it is forgotten sometimes that SketchUp itself contains quite a nice NPR render engine in and of itself (or combined with Layout).

          It might be better to classify the different types of render engines since I find equally valid uses for both Photorealistic (Maxwell) and NPR (SketchUp/Layout).

          Best,
          Jason.

          I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

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          • pilouP Offline
            pilou
            last edited by

            Octave = Octane ?
            where's TwiLight and ShaderLight? ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

            and something like Cycles inside Blender ?

            Frenchy Pilou
            Is beautiful that please without concept!
            My Little site :)

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            • CadFatherC Offline
              CadFather
              last edited by

              well, there's 'octave'... ๐Ÿ˜†

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              • Rich O BrienR Offline
                Rich O Brien Moderator
                last edited by

                I've edited the poll to add the missing apps mentioned. It means re-voting but since the OP is not replying I didn't want the discussion to be about what's missing ๐Ÿ˜•

                As Vic reeves once said....

                @unknownuser said:

                "88.2% of Statistics are made up on the spot"

                So get voting ๐Ÿ˜ฒ

                Download the free D'oh Book for SketchUp ๐Ÿ“–

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                • unigamiU Offline
                  unigami
                  last edited by

                  How can anyone vote on this unless they have tried them all and compared them? Furthermore, how do you define "Best Overall"? There are so many factors to that; price, speed, flexibility, SU integration, support, etc. etc, and what is important to me, being a hobbyist, is certainly different than the needs of someone rendering for a living. I just don't think it is a valid poll...

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                  • andybotA Offline
                    andybot
                    last edited by

                    vote early, vote often! ๐Ÿ˜†

                    edit: just for the record, I think this is a flawed idea as others have said, and I'm sure will say. Interesting popularity contest though.

                    http://charlottesvillearchitecturalrendering.com/

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                    • pilouP Offline
                      pilou
                      last edited by

                      Blender but for a special reason ๐Ÿ˜„
                      I have a very old computer so speed render is like as *25 with Blender if I make the same directly with something like Podium or Twillight inside Sketchup even at very low level ! ๐Ÿ˜‰
                      7 seconds against 3 minutes ๐Ÿ˜‰
                      From the cool lighthouse Challenge by Solo ๐Ÿ˜„

                      http://forum.zbrush.fr/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5478.0;attach=10453;image

                      http://forum.zbrush.fr/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5478.0;attach=10454;image

                      http://forums.sketchucation.com/download/file.php?id=38456

                      Frenchy Pilou
                      Is beautiful that please without concept!
                      My Little site :)

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                      • irwanwrI Offline
                        irwanwr
                        last edited by

                        wow, even Kerkythea can compete with paid version render apps ๐Ÿ˜„

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                        • MarianM Offline
                          Marian
                          last edited by

                          I don't see Simlab Composer in there. ๐Ÿ˜„

                          I guess the answer to your question depends heavily on people's needs, ability and budget. For me Simlab is very good right now, but I may also buy Thea one day.

                          http://marian87.deviantart.com/

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                          • V Offline
                            valerostudio
                            last edited by

                            My apologies for forgetting a few and stirring the pot. I guess I wanted to see which was more popular and not the 'best'. There is no best rendering engine. All have there own advantages and disadvantages. I guess I wanted to see where the bigger user base was and so far it seems Thea is the leader.

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                            • david_hD Offline
                              david_h
                              last edited by

                              I can only vote for one, but I use Podium, Thea and twilight.

                              I suck at all 3. ๐Ÿ˜‰

                              If I make it look easy...It is probably easy

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                              • KrisidiousK Offline
                                Krisidious
                                last edited by

                                Vue and Lumion will blow your mind... so fast, so easy such incredible results. movies and renderings. what is also out of site is the price for either one. but it will make you look and feel like a master.

                                this was done in lumion demo in like 15 minutes.

                                By: Kristoff Rand
                                Home DesignerUnique House Plans

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                                • S Offline
                                  sonder
                                  last edited by

                                  I've tried Kerkythea, V-ray and Podium. Of the three, my favorite by far has been Kerkythea. I am really glad to see Thea in the lead, as I am buying that shortly. Kind of makes sense I guess!

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                                  • PixeroP Offline
                                    Pixero
                                    last edited by

                                    I have Thea, Twilight, Vray and LightUp. (Twilight and Vray aren't used much though.)
                                    I think Vray for SU in it's current state isn't quite working for me. No instancing/proxies possible, and the set up time is much longer than with Thea. I did some tests that seem to indicate that Theas Adaptive (BSD) is a little faster than Vray with comparative settings.

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                                    • J Offline
                                      julyyen
                                      last edited by

                                      @irwanwr said:

                                      wow, even Kerkythea can compete with paid version render apps ๐Ÿ˜„

                                      Yep,

                                      I also vote for Kerkythea and I think this render engine with proper settings and a good illuminated hdri can beat big boys!
                                      Any news about new improved version (maybe with IBL ๐Ÿ˜’)?

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                                      • jason_marantoJ Offline
                                        jason_maranto
                                        last edited by

                                        Perhaps a more revealing poll would be something like this:

                                        On a scale of 1 to 10 what are the most important factors for choosing an external Render Engine to you:

                                        Not Important - Most Important
                                        Price:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Ease of Use:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Speed:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Quality of Output:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Photo Realism:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Flexibility/Features:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        SketchUp Integration:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Documentation/Training/Support:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Industry Standard/Familiarity:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        Peer Recommendations:
                                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

                                        And then add the poll we are using here but change to "What is your preferred render engine."

                                        I think that would tell us alot more useful information than the current poll -- something like this can be set up on http://www.surveymonkey.com/ pretty easily.

                                        Best,
                                        Jason.

                                        I create video tutorial series about several 2D & 3D graphics programs.

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                                        • david_hD Offline
                                          david_h
                                          last edited by

                                          I'm planning on buying all of them. I want to expand my suckiness horizons. ๐Ÿ˜„

                                          If I make it look easy...It is probably easy

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                                          • irwanwrI Offline
                                            irwanwr
                                            last edited by

                                            @julyyen said:

                                            I also vote for Kerkythea and I think this render engine with proper settings and a good illuminated hdri can beat big boys!
                                            Any news about new improved version (maybe with IBL ๐Ÿ˜’)?

                                            Well, actually i use Kerkythea only now. Dropped any other "free" with restriction shorted paid version renderers. Agree with that potential it has behind settings as I can see the difference between. Might even beat those paid ones. I'd go for Thea if I got the chance.
                                            Haven't heard much about the new release yet. But the latest Boost (beta?) release really impressed me with the shortened time needed to render in most settings.

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