TX for the great plugin, I love the idea of the crowedmaker.
But under OSX it does not work, the dialog panel is empty for the crowed option.
Francois

I agree Thom,
but the problem is that clients these days get rahter more than what you can do with SU. In the early stages of the design I render my models like scalemodels in for example in wood and glass. Those are very appreciated and do not confuse the discussion with details to be considered only later in the process.

SU images, sketchy or not have a certain cheap look and feel, not always suitable for all projects.

Hi, I searched the forum here abnd found many ways to do this but I can't get it done myself sofar.

I am trying to sweep a curve around a z axis to shape a vase without a bottom or top. Very simple actually but it the extrede edges plugin's keep asking me to select curves and rails without any effect.
Any help appreciated,
Francois

According to most betatesters for SU, Google has set its mind on keeping SU as it is.
In other words, SU will last just as long as it takes for the competition to catch up or unill the plugins have taken over the whole app.

Highend rendering is rather normal these days, even for students in their second year. Sketchy edges and "profiles" are no longer meant for clients, just for indoor use within the office. SU has become just a modeller instead of the presentation tool it was. Therefore a Studio solution to render is these days much more acceptable and even needed.
Francois

Tx for the great plugin. I am modeling a lot scale models for architectural presentations in the design proces.
So I used the plugin for scattering around people and trees.

But, I do not understand the settings very well, especially when using components.
Can someone shed some light on what settings are relevant when you use components. My trees and people sometimes are scattered above the plane they are put on. And I feel I have not much control to randomly change the size of the components. I wonder also how much componets are influanced by the settings as opposed to regular geometry. A setting by setting explenation or manual on what exactly will hapen would be great and save me so much time in "trial and error".

I add some of my test renders (45 seconds render time each) . Rendered in Maxwell.
Tx in advance for the replies,
Francois

yes, the demoversion.

But Vray remains very limited as a renderengine for SU. Simply because all you can render is one SU-file. With Maxwell you render as much as you like SU files combined in one MXS file out of Maxwell's Studio. This means you can can do so much more than is possible with VfSU. Regardless of how comfortable you are with either render app's. Especially with todays plugin's and their generated high polygon organically shaped objects.

Francois

Maxwell has a problem with proper placing of instances. Explode your geometry and things will be fine.
But a new plugin is on its way, may take a while though and as I understand the misplaced instances or components bug is then solved.
Francois

you have style, the images look good and you will make an impression I am sure.

Just some critism, don't take it personally. You could present this design with more power showing just 2 images that are truly different.
Then I feel the arcs landing in the middle of the bridge look dangerous or at least unpractical.
Tx for posting your well done artwork. Its inspiring to look at.
Francois

Thomthom is actually a reliable source here on the forum. Thomthom for me was one of the reasons to get into Vray.

Well, since I have to hang on to my license I wil follow his findings and who know's I might reinstall VfSU. Once I get the feeling things for VfSU have turned around.

Hope to see your posts and tips on Vray ThomThom. I will surely read them.
Francois

Hi, soap ski bubble does still work on the Mac. I use all the latest versions. But instal soap into "tools" instead of "plugins" as the manual describes.

This is a scale model of a building, the model is a work in progress, I will show the rest later. This building is about 60m high. The whole project is much bigger. I make a mass study first and then transform that model into a more photorealistic result.

This is actually my first tryout modelling a fluent organic shape.
I will update this thread later on, need to have some finished work to show for in about 2 weeks.
Francois

Had to do a mass study for a client and had never done much organic modeling in any app.
Downloaded a lot of the plugins from this forum and started to work.
I was actually to make nearly anything with the provided plugins in Sketchup rather quick. Testrender in Maxwell.

Bezier's by Fredo6's plugins for the basic floorplan shapes and the vertical cutout.
Soap bubble for the curved roof in the foreground. Not very visable in this image.
Tools on surface for the extra line on the curved roof.
JPP for the thinkening of the curved wall.

Francois

For testing and rendering exterior scenes Maxwell is faster, a lot really. I have good views on basic renderings in less than 30 seconds. Big models even. Interior scenes are much harder to render quick though.

My problem in VfSU is that I have to do all the work within one SU file to render the image. Using Maxwell I can simply export parts and render 500Mb models all made in SU. In SU a 100Mb model is already hardly workable.

I could no longer afford the hassle to get into VfSU crashing most of the time. I am sure within 2 years VfSU might be a great option.
But I think to have to handle all render issues within SU is silly and unprofessional. Especially working with the current SU material panel. The whole workflow with VfSU is slow, slower at least than exporting SU data to a dedicated render app.

I found the experience with VfSU utterly dissappointing, lost a a serious amount of money as well. I don't really get it that you can't sell a license either. If you buy VfSU and decide after a while you are not getting used to the plugin you have no option to sell or pass the license on to someone else. The only good thing is you can deduct it from tax since the license is, once you no longer use it, totally worthless.
Francois

I was trying to use the soapskin & bubble tool but it does only seem to generate a flat surface. After that the tools seem not to have any effect. Maybe someone can help me see what I am doing wrong.
Tx Francois

I bought Vray for Sketchup, should have reviewed the demo instead of course.

But after a week I decided to uninstall the package. I found it far less speedy in comparison to Maxwell. I get quicker results with better quality with Maxwell. I have a lot of experience with Maxwell though so I might just be too green with Vray.

I startup SU frequently and startup got very slow with Vray installed. Up to the point I got frustrated with my regular workflow that does not requires rendering all the time.

The bugs and crashes were constantly hindering my tests. VfS simply crashes SU every half hour.

The answer from the reseller that I can not get my money back or sell the license to someone made me loose my sympathy with the whole product. Their answer was that the demo version takes care of any dissatisfaction. Iow my own fault. Right of course.

My Vray experience was a bad one. I think VfS is not worth it at all considering equally priced renderoptions. I think Vray by itself might be a great product but the way its brought to SU is not good enough for professional use.

I would like to know of other users who are using VfS on a regular and professional basis in an architectural firm.
Francois

Vectorworks is the best I know off.
I worked with Vectorworks for at least 15 years and for construction drawings its simply the best.

It also has a good 3D functionality, you might even consider to not even use SU any more.
But Vectorworks can read Sketchup files and use it for further 3D modeling or 2D drafting. Vectorworks has a classes and layer structure that is very handy for organizing files.
Its a very advanced package.
Francois

David,
You might have a better tool but I prefer the one that is available. But I wonder if a person needing certainty against piracy over a little plugin in a forum for a select group of enthusiasts can come up with anything well concieved really.

Francois

If I try to disable Vray I don't see Vray in the preferences to be switched off. Any idea ?

Francois
Mac OSX

When I started with Maxwell the same thing happened. Its was buggy as hell, unworkable really. But times have changed after lots of work by NL and now Maxwell does render very well, but you still have to know what you are doing.

Since I have already been there with Maxwell I would offer my license (VfSU for Mac) to anyone interested for 450 USD. Its not that I don't think Vray isn't worth it. I already got some nice renders done with it even in the short time I used it. But to keep up with two high-end renderers for SU is just a bit too much.

If you are interested you can send me a personal message.
Francois

haha, I don't think he wants you to....

I agree, especially if the textures are just used within Sketchup. If you want to render in close up you might need the bigger ones.
Francois