Chaos Group Brings Real-Time to V-Ray 5 for SketchUp

[Georgia Lawson]

Full Spectrum of Visualization, from Real-Time to Photoreal Rendering, Now Available in SketchUp

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – November 9, 2020 – Today, Chaos Group released V-Ray 5 for SketchUp, a new update that connects real-time and photorealistic rendering into a single workflow. With the introduction of V-Ray Vision, users will now be able to see a real-time representation of their current scene, helping them make faster decisions before moving on to full photorealism with V-Ray’s final renderer.

“V-Ray Vision is going to transform how designers work in SketchUp, bringing an always-on real-time view of every project,” said Phillip Miller, VP of product management at Chaos Group. “When real-time is always available, you can understand your design more fully as you craft it, add detailed entourage without burdening the system and know that all your lights and materials are ready for V-Ray photorealism when you need it. It’s a complete visualization solution from start to finish.”

Real-Time Visualization with V-Ray Vision

V-Ray Vision was designed to serve everything that comes before a final render, helping users work through new ideas and client feedback before they move on to total photorealism. Whether designers want to move their model, apply materials or set up lights and cameras, V-Ray Vision will display it all in the moment, offering a real-time view of the scene that updates as you work. Incredibly fast, V-Ray Vision can also quickly snapshot images or output animated sequences, allowing users to share their work with stakeholders.

Automatic Scene Lighting

With the new Light Gen tool, SketchUp users can rapidly explore a variety of lighting possibilities and select the best look for their scene. Light Gen will automatically generate dozens of physically based lighting variations for each project, helping it illuminate exteriors and interiors using V-Ray’s Sun & Sky system and a wealth of included HDRI images. Each preset also factors in real-world lighting conditions, so new lights blend perfectly as they are added by the user.

Beyond Rendering

The redesigned V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB) now includes some of V-Ray 5’s most user-friendly features, making it easy to bring a personal touch to any rendering.

With Light Mix, users can interactively change the color and brightness of any light without rendering again, creating multiple lighting scenarios from a single render. Image adjustments like exposure control, color balance and color corrections can also be added, replacing the need for external image editing tools. For extra control, render layers can be combined using the Layer Compositor to create more nuanced designs, or even saved as presets for later use.

"As soon as we heard about Light Mix, we couldn't wait to get our hands on it. Now, when a client asks for a nighttime version of the shot, we change a few settings and presto, we've got it," said Dan Stone, head of operations of Archilime Visualisations. "This really boosts both the quality and quantity of work we can produce. It's pretty amazing."

Other New Features in V-Ray 5 Include:

• New V-Ray 5 Material Library – The popular V-Ray material library has been expanded and upgraded with V-Ray 5’s new layering controls and texture randomization features. Texture resolutions have also been increased to 4K.
• Coat Layer – Gain extra reflections on surfaces without using blend materials.
• Sheen Layer – Easily simulate fabrics like velvet, satin and silk.
• Built-In Bump Layer – A built-in parameter section will now allow users to adjust bump attributes.
• Dirt and Weathering – New controls for aging materials with procedural streaks have been added to the VRayDirtMtl.
• Line Renderings – Easily create line renderings of any project using simple material overrides.
• New Sun and Sky – Improves accuracy when the sun is at the horizon, including the magic hours right before sunrise and after sunset. New controls have also been added to allow users to easily customize the sun position.
• Texture Randomization – For more realistic textures and materials, artists can now add more variety and subtle imperfections with the new VRayUVWRandomizer map and improved VRayMultiSubTex controls.
• Stochastic Texture Tiling – Automatically remove tiling artifacts with the new VRayUVWRandomizer.

For newcomers, V-Ray 5 comes with access to an extensive library of video tutorials, free technical support and collaborative forums. For a full feature tour, please visit the product page or tune into the V-Ray 5 for SketchUp webinar on November 10.

Pricing and Availability
V-Ray 5 for SketchUp is available now for Windows and Mac OS, with V-Ray Vision Mac support coming soon. A perpetual license is priced at $790, with upgrades available for $395. Term licensing is available at $350 (annually) and $60 (monthly). V-Ray 5 for SketchUp is also included in V-Ray Collection, an annual plan that gives users full access to 15 Chaos Group products and services for $699/year.

About Chaos Group
Chaos Group is a worldwide leader in computer graphics technology, helping artists and designers create photorealistic imagery and animation for architecture, design, and visual effects. Chaos Group’s award-winning physically-based rendering and simulation software is used daily by top design studios, architectural firms, advertising agencies, and visual effects companies around the globe. Today, the company's research and development in ray-traced rendering, cloud computing and real-time ray tracing is shaping the future of creative storytelling and digital design. Founded in 1997, Chaos Group is privately owned with offices in Sofia, Los Angeles, Prague, Seoul, and Tokyo. For more information, visit: chaosgroup.com.