Whats the best rendering software/plugin

[DaveM65]

Hi Guys, DaveM65, new here, I have been around SU fro a few years now and use it mainly for Exhibition design, the company I work for have finally decided to allow me to move into using a photorealistic rendering software to go along with a SU pro upgrade.

Whats the best for the artificial lighting and texture settings that most exhibition stands would be created from, I have been looking at Podium and Lightup for this and the agreement has been given for payment on these, whats your thoughts as I know there are many Plugins/softwares available.....

Thanks in advance

Dave

[julyyen]

Hi,

The only free without rendering resolution limit and fully compatible with SketchUp is the gorgeous Kerkythea.

[Frederik]

Buhuhuhu Not again...

Really... You should use the forum search before you start a new thread...
There's already plenty of threads posted covering the exact same question...

I hate to repeat myself, but here goes...

@frederik said:

Obviously, my opinion will be seen as biased...

I'm sure many will chime in here (seem to be the never ending story) and tell you which one they prefer...
IMO that doesn't say anything, since it's a matter of personal preference, which - in most cases - is based on limited knowledge... (sorry, don't mean to offend anyone here...)
Many have only tried a couple of applications and they seem to stick with the one, where they grasped the workflow easiest...
(once again, this doesn't say anything about their capabilities or rendering skills...)

I'm sure you will get a better answer, if you make a list of what you want to render...
Is it archvis...?
Is it landscape...?
Is it objects (studio based)...?
Etc... etc...

My suggestion/recommondation...
All render applications have a demo versions available...
I suggest you download the demo version, play around with it and make your decision based on you own observations...

Remember quotes taken from other wise persons here at the SCF...

• There is no one renderer that can do it all.
• All good renders are born from great models.
• The best render app for you is the one you enjoy using, not necessarily the one with the most features.

I suggest that you take a look at the Render application Home pages thread...

[d12dozr]

This may also help you: Sketchup Photorealistic Rendering Intro. Its a short presentation I put together for a local Sketchup meetup group (minus the live demos).

[kylealee]

Hi Dave,

I'm new to the forum as well, but have been lurking for a while now.

I use SU for the exhibit industry and have become very fond of the Maxwell plugin. It is really easy to use, but isn't the fastest renderer out there (the results are worth the time in my opinion though). I was using the free version for a couple of years and finally decided to buy a license for the plugin which really is not that much money compared to other options out there.

Maxwell is a nice all around rendering plugin, but for exhibits I am constantly on the look out for better ones. As an exhibit designer you might find issue with the lack of lighting options. Lights must be built in to the model by assigning emitter materials on to faces of actual objects (geometry). This produces very realistic renderings, but sometimes in the exhibit design world you need to just throw some lights in there with beams coming off of it to show clients that their exhibit will be well-lit. So I use Photoshop a lot to fake my lights.

Hopefully this helps.

Kyle