Rendering Software Advice

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I’m currently working in a firm that solely uses Archicad for its drafting but recently, the firm that I’m working in has decided they would like to branch out into doing 3d rendering for both clients but also for marketing/advertising purposes. Up until now they have out sourced all rendering to another firm but would now like to proceed with doing it ‘in house’.

Essentially, I would like some information, on the pros and cons of differing rendering software, regardless of whether they are compatible with Archicad. I’ve done some research and heard a lot of good things about 3ds Max/V-Ray (the quality that can be achieved looks amazing); any information on this would be great.

I have listed some of the key bits of information I’m seeking answers for but, also would appreciate any other advice, partially from those in the NZ market.

• Ease of use/learning
• Quality (wanting a software that produces a mid-high-end quality).
• Cost
• Time it takes to render
• Type of computer equipment needed to support the software
• Personal experiences

I realise there are other topics on this forum that are like mine, but I just wanted to ensure I had the most relevant and up to date information.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

It would depend on the quality you need for your renders.

Theres a lot of good options.

If you wanted something that is quick and easy to learn and use, however not the most photorealistic, Lumion is a great option. Maybe look up what their renders turn out like, they are nice but certainly a bit more "game" like I feel. However the renders are pretty much all done in real time (doesn't take hour(s) to produce an image).

3DSMax is going to be a much more serious approach with more emphasis on photorealism however it will require a lot more learning and time to get the better looking results.

Then again you don't always need to use external software either. Cinerender within ArchiCAD, if used well, can produce some great results too!

Some other software to consider/looking into: Artlantis (amazing photorealistic results), Cinema4D, Blender (free software to learn more modelling)

[Lingwisyer]

As mentioned, it depends on the "quality" of the render you desire. This being broken down into resolution and how photoreal you need it to be. Maybe post some example images that meet the quality you are chasing?



Ling.

[Anonymous]

My 2c

To offer this as a service you are probably going to have to recruit, so probably best to find the person with the skills you need and then ask them what tools they need to do the job.

For us it is much cheaper to have visualisation done externally than in house, plus clients are usually happy to pay for this but expect it to be included with our fee when done in house.

Regards
Scott

[Lingwisyer]

Between doing it inhouse and externally, there is also the issue of object and texture libraries. Dedicated visualisation companies will generally have extensive high quality libraries which are a lot of the time not free to acquire. So you would lose out on some of that investment doing it inhouse.



Ling.

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice so far, I have attached some examples of what we currently get done externally (excuse the quality they were scanned on), so ideally they need to be of at least this standard/quality but ideally better. The aim is for most photo-realistic rendering software available.

Thanks,

Shaani

[Lingwisyer]

From the looks of those, they are really basic. Flat textures, face-me plants. If you could find a suitable plant library, it would not be that hard to create equal renders using CineRender. For that you would want more/faster CPU cores and plenty of RAM.



Ling.

[Earthworm]

Agree, these are perfectly doable with cinerender.

This quality is easier achievable in Artlantis. Other options are Twinmotion or Lumion.

All have good AC integration.

We use Twinmotion btw.

Vray / C4D / etc. I would deem to "complex" for what your after.

[Anonymous]

As per Ling’s comment renders of this quality can be easily achieved in Archicad with a little post work in an image editing program such as photoshop (I use Affinity Photo)

Scott

[Steve Jepson]

ShaaniMN wrote:
Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice so far, I have attached some examples of what we currently get done externally (excuse the quality they were scanned on), so ideally they need to be of at least this standard/quality but ideally better. The aim is for most photo-realistic rendering software available.

Thanks,

Shaani

Shaani,
Before you invest in any traditional rendering software ( hi-end or not) you should consider a different way to get what you need. With good hardware and high-res screen you can get better screen captures than those examples. 16K screens, 5G technology are already here ( for some) It seems quite possible to me that traditional rendering engines are not going to be cost effective much longer?
If you can, demo Lumion 9 Pro and take some screen shots and see if they are better than the renderings you can make. The screen on my 17" laptop is sufficient to give me some very good images. I would post some screen shots here but I have already posted some elsewhere. Besides, you will want to see for yourself on your own computer. I stopped making as many renderings when I realized that the people I was sending them to didn't have screens to view a decent rendering anyway. In terms of what is useful for communications during the production of construction documents, screen shots are more than adequate for me. https://www.screencast.com/t/FjuR5Tt8j
https://www.screencast.com/t/KSovHkpwSROm