I Probably should post this thread!

[interiordesignchu]

hi everyone, i am choosing using vray or mental for my 3ds max rendering. i want to know which one is easier to learn and i am afraid that mental ray will take longer to set up. i know people will say learn mental ray first, because it's free and can also get the same result like vray....well, anyway, i still find it hard to decide which one to continue study, because neither one will be an easy learning subject.

 

PS. I am hoping i can learn vray or mental in a month; i will use one hour per day.

 

thanks everyone in advance.

[marius e]

I always get so frustrated when a question is asked and the answer should be simple like 'which' is easier to learn cause you dont have time or dont want to put the time in etc.......

 

Think both are just as easy or hard, choose one and put the time in, this stuff doesnt just fall out of the air, if you want to be good then you have to have the WILL, the want, the talent as an artist as well....otherwise you just another guy that does 3d, and those are the ones who want to learn something quickly cause its the easy way out....

[Chris MacDonald]

[sarcasm]A month to learn? Pffft, it should only take a day or two.[/sarcasm]

 

Seriously though, if you've got mental ray: Learn it. The outlay for VRay isn't cheap, and render engine skills are transferable so the more you learn in Mental Ray, the more you will be able to just pick up any other render engine and run with it.

 

Good luck learning your trade in a month though lol

Edited April 9, 2013 by Macker

[beestee]

Neither one will be easy to learn, but a month should be sufficient to be confident with either one.

 

If you think about it, why is VRay so popular when Mental Ray is free? There are reasons behind it.

 

Chaosgroup really put the hammer down in the first decade of VRay's development, adding and refining features at a dizzying pace. But this only really matters when it comes to features that one would actually utilize in their visualizations. Chaosgroup still experiments with modern technologies as they are introduced, and they include them when and if they would benefit their users. By comparison Mental Ray is a bit sluggish to keep up despite starting out very much in the lead.

 

But even considering all of this, people have done amazing renderings with every rendering option that exists out there since the beginning, so the render engine itself is only one tool that relies on many other tools and to much greater extent the amount of skill and practice of the artist. Almost like a mouse, wacom tablet, or a pencil, you cannot make great renderings with these items alone, but they can play a big part in the hands of a skilled artist.

[Scott Schroeder]

hi everyone, i am choosing using vray or mental for my 3ds max rendering. i want to know which one is easier to learn and i am afraid that mental ray will take longer to set up. i know people will say learn mental ray first, because it's free and can also get the same result like vray....well, anyway, i still find it hard to decide which one to continue study, because neither one will be an easy learning subject.

 

PS. I am hoping i can learn vray or mental in a month; i will use one hour per day.

 

thanks everyone in advance.

 

If you spend 2 hours a day you'll learn to unlock the easy push button rendering feature that is hidden. But that is only for the dedicated people.

 

Do you have something else pressing that takes up the other 23 hours of your day?

[interiordesignchu]

thanks for the comments! i am working full time and i think the realistic goal/expectation is i can study vray 1 hour a day...thats when i average off days, i hve have some...

[M V]

Realistically speaking, and this is based on my experience, I have been working with it for 10-12 hours a day for 6 years and am still learning. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, I think with V-Ray its 4x that. You're not just learning the buttons and dials, you are learning tricks, hacks, pitfalls, trials, methods, art, design, composition, etc.

 

Just like being and architect, it is a lifelong learning process to become great at it. By the time you become proficient with V-Ray, something new will come along. You have to stay ahead of the curve with technology, or that fresh out of school intern will steal your paycheck.

 

Jump right into it. Rome wasn't built in a day.