Art. vs. C4D

[Red]

I'm looking to buy a rendering program and I'm just wanting some input on which one is the best.

[Ben Odonnell]

Red wrote:
I'm looking to buy a rendering program and I'm just wanting some input on which one is the best.

Lightwave

[Karl Ottenstein]

Stefan Boeykens' web site has a variety of interesting information to help you see what some of the different products can do and how hard it is to do it:

http://www2.asro.kuleuven.ac.be/asro/English/HOME/SBs/

Karl

[Djordje]

Red wrote:
I'm looking to buy a rendering program and I'm just wanting some input on which one is the best.

The one you know how to do what you clients want with.

I would follow Karl's advice - go to Stefan's site. Analysis, pro et con, all is there.

Another issue to consider: interoperability, workflow, compatibility.

Let us know

[Red]

For the most part the customers I will be dealing with want me to come out and take several pictures of the view they have and use it as the background. I will mainly be doing exterior rendering so they can have a nice little framed picture to hang on their wall. Also very few if any interior renderings (walkthroughs) etc have been requested. But I would still like to be able to do good quality walkthroughs if requested.

So when shopping for a rendering program if one is better at exterior than interior renderings (walkthroughs) that would be mainly what I’m looking for.

[Anonymous]

Red wrote:

So when shopping for a rendering program if one is better at exterior

Best way to get a feel is to run demo programs for at least 2-3 hours. Try this>

I have put together a little file,

http://www.Burginger.com/ARCHICAD_TALK/C4DZIP.ZIP

This is a 3 MB file containing a Cinema4D file that originated in ArchiCAD. For those interested in Cinema4D, download the Cinema4D demo program from:

http://www.maxoncomputer.com/

Then download this file that I put together and you will be able to play with it. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.

This is a really easy to use program, especially if a file is preset for you to browse. This was a quick and dirty, I really don't have the time to perfect the file, but it will give good results.

[James B]

So what's so good about Lightwave?

Nice renders, but I hear it's difficult to use/pick up.


James.

[Anonymous]

I think it's pretty important to consider your current knowledge on rendering before deciding on packages. I appreciated Artlantis initially as I had no (other than AC) render experience prior to picking it up. It is fairly user friendly, easy to learn & it's quite possible to achieve results fairly quicky. I then moved on to C4D once I'd grown out of Artlantis, but the step was huge, learning a new language almost. So for me, it comes down to the time you have available to learn the new package, & the results you expect from it. If you're expecting to get photo-real images straight after cracking the box open out of, say, C4D or Lightwave, forget it. They present the possibility of a better end result, at an extra cost in initial $$ & learning time = down time from making actual money.

Justin
'Not trying to put anybody off, just pointing out what I found hard in the experience...'

[stefan]

If you want to invest time (and courses), then Lightwave, Cinema4D, 3ds max/VIZ, Maya and others can do everything you want. They are expensive.

If you have less money, but still need a flexible 3D-animation program, you can try Carrara, Realsoft3D, Strata3D, Truespace, Pixels3D.

If you have no money, but want to have a full animation tool nonetheless, then the new Blender is looking good. There are others, like 3D Canvas.

If you have no money, but want a better rendering engine (and have some time to invest and learn some coding), then BMRT, Virtualight, POV-Ray, Radiance & similar programs can do a good job. But I find this the hardest way.

So take a look at:
The Render Study:
http://www2.asro.kuleuven.ac.be/asro/English/HOME/SBs/render/render.htm
The Shootout:
http://www2.asro.kuleuven.ac.be/asro/English/HOME/SBs/tutorial/shootout/shootout.htm
ArchiCAD -> Cinema4D
http://www2.asro.kuleuven.ac.be/asro/English/HOME/SBs/tutorial/tips/ac2c4d.htm

And see if this is what you want to do.

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On the other hand, if you don't want to learn much and just want a very straightforward rendering companion for ArchiCAD, then AV-Works or Art*lantis are hard to beat. And then there is this thing ArchiLumos, but only in Japan and Sweden, apparantly.

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It's all down to the time & the money you'd like to invest in it.