Mental Ray and VRAY

[Scotty T]

I just started diving into MR this weekend. Please tell me Vray is better esp. when it come to training myself.

 

I tried a simple interior with MR and nearly pulled all my hair out trying to figure this out.I know its not going to take a weekend getting MR but I don't see it getting any easier even when I get a grasp.

 

If Vray is quicker to pick up then I am staying away from MR until I save up for Vray.

[AJLynn]

Depends. What mental ray version are you using? If it's Max 9 or Maya 8.5, mental ray and Vray have similar learning curves. Older mental rays are more difficult, mainly because they don't have the new easy materials system (which is in many ways easier than the Vray system) and Final Gather has been improved a fair bit in the latest version. Vray's GI is somewhat easier. Both programs are very good, but if this is your first time with a really sophisticated GI renderer it will take some getting used to.

 

Did you try the tutorials for mental ray? The stuff that comes with Max 9 is better than it used to be.

[Justin Hunt]

If you are finding Mental difficult, then get a subscription for a decent hair regrowth solution if you are going to try Vray as well.

 

Vray is just as complicated and there are more settings to play with. There are many tutorials out there and the online forums are an excelent resource.

 

Mentals online resources are improoving everyday, take a look at mymentalray.com for instance. The tutorials that ship with max are a great start and give a good explination of the settings.

 

A weekend is no time at all to learn a very complex subject as GI rendering, no matter which piece of software you are using.

 

JHV

[DavidR]

I liike mr in Max9 better than before, but it still works the same way (photons + FG) and gives the same results as previous mr. Vray does secondary illumination better, esp. when using irradiance/lightcache for eg: interiors with small windows. You'll have a miserable time trying to get close to it's results with mr, and it'll take longer. I still use mr at home because I only have a Vray license at work, and I like it, but not for the situation I described.