Archicad + Cinerender - Is Cinerender obsolete?

[Carstenem]

Hi all and Happy New Year.

Some of you know me from my Archicad Youtube channel - asmtechbase - and some through courses they have signed up too.

I can see that a lot of Archicad users still use Cinerender, because there are a lot of people downloading the free texture pack that is on offer through my website.
Now, even so I think with a direct Link to Twinmotion or Enscape, you don't really need Cinerender anymore. But, there are plenty of users that are quite happy to stay "inside" Archicad for all their 3D render work. I totally understand this as it seems easier and the user is familiar with their working environment.
Because Archicad's Cinerender is using now Redshift as a render engine it is a bit faster too. Not comparable to Twinmotions or Enscape speed but faster never than less.

The question that is coming up now, do I invest and spend time on a new Cinerender course? The current Cinerender course I have is based on creating outdoor/exterior images. This course even today is still very much up to date. What I do contemplate is producing an INTERIOR Cinerender course for interiors only, what are your thoughts on this?

It would be great to hear your thoughts and if you are too busy you can always do a quick vote in the poll re your interest in an interior Cinerender course. Link to click here.

Cheers

[Carstenem]

Hi thanks for your input appreciated. Yes I can see it is extremely useful for initial stages and quick conceptual images. Being familiar with the interface of the renderer, especially if you have used Archicad for a while, it is always useful.

[Carstenem]

Hi all, Thanks for all that did fill out the pool about if Cinerender is obsolete. It was interesting and I can tell you that around 30% still would be happy to see a Cinerender course.

So I have been looking into this while at the same time finishing my new Twinmotion course. If you are interested here is an article I wrote on LinkedIn. I do know quite a bit about Cinerender and rendering in general. After a couple of hours working in Cinerender to get an interior image "going" I had to tell myself: Who would still use this outdated Software? The frustration pretty much started with the first test render. Even so I was on very low settings the render took forever and please don't ask about the look.

Now people that know me and know what I do, being a 3D Digital artist, the difference of working in Cinerender compared to a realtime Software like Twinmotion, Lumion or Enscape, is probably, how to I put this, 100 times enhanced for me. It is really like apple and oranges.

Now for people who only ever have used Cinerender, that is probably not the case which I do understand, as they know no better. So they keep going with what they know which is fair enough if they happy with their results.

The conclusion that I will not invest time in creating a Cinerender course for Interior images.

Cheers Carsten

[mthd]

Hi @Carstenem, thank you for producing your YT videos to help many of us AC users. I appreciate them very much. I have experimented with CR & RS OOTB solutions and agree with the other users here about the results.

If you don’t mind, how would you rate the options that you have used in ease of use and results with AC ? That would also help many of us in choosing a paid option too.

[alemanda]

I always use Cinerender.

I think it's ok for most of the "normal" visualizations we need every day, especially for exterior views.

I think that a new pack of materials and texture will be very helpful to produce better renderings.

I also think that material definition should be much easier than it is now.

There too many parameters in surface settings and most of them produce not significant results.

One of the winning key points of the real time renderers is the easy material settings. The same should be in Cinerender.

[joaomourao]

Hi Carsten, this really come to what your target is...

Cinerender with Redshift is the quick option that comes along with Archicad but it surely is not ranked up comparing to Enscape, Twinmotion, D5 and a few others that do have a direct link to Archicad. If you are aiming to architects that use BIM authoring software not because of renders, then their focus is what comes before rendering and nowadays the real shift is not RED, its "realtime rendering" that you can use as another way to be creative and get feedback as you come with ideas. Waiting for renders is long gone, the game has changed for some years now and once you get into the real time render feedback, you will not go back to producing renders even its for 5 minutes, just like you will always focus on BIM and not 2d CAD methodology. The diference between immediate or minutes until you get a visualization is huge.

Enscape has an advantage relating to other platforms, integration, and in BIM that is very important. Unlike others, with Enscape you do not leave Archicad and there is no standalone software, and little to learn to get to quality renders, either realistic or more conceptual and about project ideas. In the end what WE all want is to make early decisions and this time based on visualization as you evolve your project. Renders are going away from the idea that they are a product you can sell... nowadays and in a near future, you need to sell your ideas and being able to easily see and show what will be built.

Hope it helps, cheers!