Revit questions

[Devin Johnston]

My company is thinking of moving from ArchiCAD to Revit and I have a few questions:

 

-What type of render engine does Revit use and how does it compare to something like Vray?

-What is the workflow like to create photo real renderings in Revit?

-Do you have to use Autodesk's cloud for rendering or can this be done locally?

-How well does the linking between Revit and 3D Studio work?

-How expensive is cloud rendering once you've used up your initial credits?

-Can Revit do animations?

 

Thanks!

[klonk]

Devin, interested in hearing your reasons for moving from Archicad to Revit? Didn't Archicad just integrate Cinema4Ds render engine?

 

Some super quick responses with very simplified answers:

 

-What type of render engine does Revit use and how does it compare to something like Vray?

Mental ray, and although it is theoretically a great engine most pro images will continue to be produced in Max/Vray

 

-What is the workflow like to create photo real renderings in Revit?

Similar, set lights and materials.

 

-Do you have to use Autodesk's cloud for rendering or can this be done locally?

No, can be done locally

 

-How well does the linking between Revit and 3D Studio work?

Via FBX and acceptable, but triangulation, etc complicates things

 

Other people will fill in I'm sure.

[Devin Johnston]

Thanks for the reply Niclas!

 

We've been using archicad for at least 15 years and for the most part it's been good for us, however it's still a small player in the CAD field and Revit seems to be more robust. Also all the consultants we work with use it or AutoCAD and sharing files can sometimes be difficult. It wouldn't be an immediate change it would take several years to implement and it would be expensive. We're weighing the positives and negatives to see if it's in our best interests to move over to it.

[Scott Schroeder]

-What type of render engine does Revit use and how does it compare to something like Vray?

It uses Mental Ray, but don't be fooled. It's like comparing a Yugo to a Ferrari when compared to Mental Ray that you are used to with Max. It is very slow and very clunky.

 

-What is the workflow like to create photo real renderings in Revit?

Go to 3ds Max. Revit renders take too long and look way too made-from-plastic in my opinion.

 

-Do you have to use Autodesk's cloud for rendering or can this be done locally?

You can do local, but expect to wait a while for it to finish.

 

-How well does the linking between Revit and 3D Studio work?

It works quite well. We use it all of the time. You just need to set up your own import preset to get things the way you like them. You also want to set up a "Max" 3d view in Revit so you can hide all of the non-essential crap that Revit files have that have no bearing on a render.

 

-Can Revit do animations?

Yep, my estimate is that they will be done by 2024.