What's the next step with my rendering software.

[paj]

At present I'm using Accurender to render models created in AutoCAD for architectural visualisations. This suits me as Accurender has a very easy to use interface and is not bad at what it does. I have dabbled in Max and Viz but not to any great extent. My question is, is there a next step I should be looking at in terms of rendering software? Viz, Max, Cinema, Maxwell render etc. I'm looking for a bit more photo-realism. I prefer to model in AutoCAD though. Thanks.

[IC]

My question is, is there a next step I should be looking at in terms of rendering software? Viz, Max, Cinema, Maxwell render etc. I'm looking for a bit more photo-realism. I prefer to model in AutoCAD though. Thanks.

 

Any of the above. Try the demos and see what you like.

Maxwell is probably not a great next step for you but keep an eye on it for the future.

[STRAT]

the standard is max and vray, only i find they overcomplicate themselves. i model 100% in autocad then transfer over to cinema4d for rendering. i used to use max and vray (when it first appeared) but jumped to c4d for it's better user friendliness.

 

why not download the various demos and try them out? no s/w is better than the next, just different. see what suits you.

[Ian P]

I would say it depends on your career choices/options, people on this site have produced amazing work in all different software/renderers. The Main reason I chose Max/Vray over the others was purely to keep my Career options and Job prospects as wide as possible.

[paj]

The Main reason I chose Max/Vray over the others was purely to keep my Career options and Job prospects as wide as possible.

I think this is a good reason to go in this direction, as I would also want to be as employable as possible. As I would be modelling in AutoCAD, do I really need Max though? Can I get away with VIZ as most of the time I will only be using it for rendering, rather than modelling. Also are there any examples on the site which show what Viz can do?

[lambros]

As long as you don't need to do any character animation, subobject animation, rigid body simulations and particle works, you don't have to use max. VIZ will be fine for you, Vray will work with VIZ (1.46 version, not 1.47.03), so you can render perfectly. So, any architectural work you see rendered with max, will be exactly the same with VIZ.

[paj]

Not knowing a lot on other software, what is VRAY? I assume it's a bolt-on to VIZ/MAX, but what does it do?

[STRAT]

vray is a max/viz compatible render engine. it makes photoreal renders for you.

[IC]

It's also what you should call ALL your threads in the Finished Work and WIP Forums.

(That's a joke-please don't do that!)

[paj]

vray is a max/viz compatible render engine. it makes photoreal renders for you.

 

Doesn't Viz do this already or am I missing something? Is it better at lighting?

[STRAT]

aye, viz does this already. vray is just another popular option. like mental ray or brazil r/s or final render etc etc....

 

all these extra plugins give us the user more flexability. which is good.

 

each render engine has it's strong and weak points, both in render speeds and quallity and userbility. and because they're external plugins written by different companies from the main software and developed purely for 1 purpose in mind (ie, rendering) they usually produce a 'better' render than a 3d software's resident renderer.

 

not to say the standard max/viz render engine is not good because it certainly is good, but all these renderers have their own styles and outputs and as it happens vray seems to be the industry standard at the mo.

 

i'm personally not a vray fan, i prefer brazil, but horses for courses. it's something you'll need to try out for yourself.

 

probably the ultimate in rendering to date was either LightScape (no longer available) or the new Maxwell system. Maxwell is absolutely the mutt's nutz, but unless you have a render network larger than nasa you might struggle a tad

 

To get it's outstanding quality takes time. and more time. and a bit more time. then some more. it just goes on and on and on and on....

[paj]

Thanks for all the info and replies. I think I'll start off with getting Viz and getting my head round learning it before I go any further with plug-ins (while still running with Accurender). Hopefully not a big learning curve!